With the Iraq war in its sixth year and some US soldiers on their third or fourth combat tour, divorce rate is soaring among the military.

There were about 8,700 divorces involving American soldiers last year, compared to an estimated 5,500 in 2001, wrote David Smith in an article in The Guardian, Sunday.

James Pritchard, a chaplain at Loyalty base in east Baghdad, said that 38 soldiers had referred him to discuss marital problems since the start of the year.

“Probably 10 of them had found out or got evidence that their wife was leaving them or seeing somebody else,” he said.

He added, “it’s a big issue, especially with younger soldiers who’ve married somebody they haven’t known very long. They suddenly have extra money coming in and the lifestyle of the spouse at home lends itself to extra-marital affairs. We’ve had soldiers go home and find the house empty, the wife and kids gone.”

In a bid to address the problem, the US army has launched counseling and chaplain-led programs such as Strong Bonds, which includes weekend retreats for couples.

The army has even distributed leaflets among the soldiers offering advice on ‘How to keep a marriage strong during a deployment’, with tips including ‘Read a relationship book together’, ‘Communicate’, ‘Pray for each other’ and ‘Avoid arguments’.

Article was taken from Press TV.

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