While most people in the state of Washington know what it’s like to go through a rough patch in their marriage, very few people know that these rough patches can be ten times more difficult for military families. Forced to endure months away from their loved ones because of deployments, military officers and their families can often times find the challenges of military life too difficult to bear.
Military divorce is perhaps the most difficult to endure because besides the financial change, there is usually a dramatic affect on the soldier’s psyche as well. In military families, there is a lot of stress placed on what can and should be revealed to a service member. Whether they’re deployed or active duty, their mindset should be on the job at hand and the difficulties of a divorce are often a dangerous distraction.
Many military bases across the nation, including our very own Fort Lewis here in Washington, are now offering family resource centers to help soldiers and their families work out rough patches and hopefully avoid divorce all together. While this may not be possible in every circumstance, having the tools readily available is at least a step in the right direction.
Close-by states including Arizona have recently added Military Family Consultants to their resource pool in an attempt to give service members more access to therapists and programs that can help them resolve many of the issues families face every day. With more and more soldiers returning home from deployments, the Department of Defense has increased the number of these specialists and family help programs in order to help service members make an easier transition back into civilian life.
It’s important to remember that while programs and specialists such as this can be incredibly helpful to military families, divorce may be the best end result in some cases. For these situations, seeking legal representation is never considered to be a bad idea.
Source: dvidshub.net, “Military Family Consultants offer lending hand, lifestyle coaching,” Lance Cpl. Reba James, April 23, 2013