Divorce rates rising in National Guard

DOVER, N.H. – National Guard officials in Maine and New Hampshire say they’re working to address a national trend of increasing divorce rates among soldiers returning from Iraq.

More than 10,000 soldiers got divorced in 2004 – 3,000 more than the previous year – according to a U.S. Army report released last month.

New Hampshire and Maine Guard officials say they don’t keep divorce statistics for their soldiers, but they’re aware of the problem. They also note that it’s difficult to ascertain whether divorces are a direct result of overseas deployment.

Marriage strains don’t emerge immediately after a soldier returns home from active duty, said Maj. David Grover, a New Hampshire National Guard chaplain.

“You don’t really see the difficulties raising their ugly heads until three to six months out or later,” said Grover, who spent a year in Iraq with the Guard’s 197th Field Artillery Brigade. “As a returning soldier, I can vouch that even the strongest marriages will be affected by the prolonged separations.”

In New Hampshire, helping couples and families reconnect is part of “Operation Welcome Home,” a counseling program for returning guardsmen and women launched last winter.

Besides counseling, chaplains and Guard officials in both states are referring people to national programs offering weekend retreats to military couples.

So far, 50 couples in Maine have signed up for retreats in Bangor and Portland. Another 60 couples in New Hampshire have gone on retreats in Portsmouth and Cape Cod.

Lt. Col. Andrew Gibson, a Maine Army National Guard chaplain, says the retreat offers counseling, but also gives couples time away from children and work to get reacquainted.

“It’s not a magic wand, but it does give them tools to be able to have fun and remember why they chose to be together in the first place,” he said.