An Other Casualty of War, Marriages

Divorce rate doubles for Army couples.

While U.S. casualties steadily mount in Iraq, another toll is rising rapidly on the home front: The Army's divorce rate has soared in the past three years, most notably for officers, as longer and more frequent war zone deployments place extra strain on couples.

''We've seen nothing like this before,'' said Col. Glen Bloomstrom, a chaplain who oversees family-support programs. ''It indicates the amount of stress on couples, on families, as the Army conducts the global war on terrorism.''

Between 2001 and 2004, divorces among active-duty Army officers and enlisted personnel nearly doubled, from 5,658 to 10,477, even though total troop strength remained stable. In 2002, the divorce rate among married officers was 1.9 percent -- 1,060 divorces out of 54,542 marriages; by 2004, the rate had tripled to 6 percent, with 3,325 divorces out of 55,550 marriages.

Who are the family value conservatives going to blame for the high divorces rate among army couples?

Homosexuals, Liberals, Saddam, Bin Laden, Judges, 9/11, devil, Democrats, or the failed policies of President Bush which lead higher stress levels among military families.