Commuting to a Winner

Congratulations, Wendy Burt-Thomas, you've won a book in the Summer Great Book Giveaway! If you email me your address (fivecoat@ozarkmountains.com), I'll send a copy of Tina Tessina's book, "The Commuter Marriage." As always, the Summer Great Book Giveaway is sponsored by www.freelancedaily.net where you can save time by having freelance jobs posted to one daily e-letter that arrives in your mailbox.
Here's Wendy's question:
I've been hearing that the military divorce rate is much higher than the non-military. Do you think the military as a whole is doing enough to keep marriages strong? If not, what do you think they could use help with?

From Tina:
It's hard to tell the truth to a counselor if your job depends on it. Counseling in the military should be as confidential as counseling outside. Then, couples could go and tell the truth, and marriages could be helped. I hear that some of the armed forces are offering classes now in improving relationships, which is helpful. The military code of "closing the ranks" and protecting fellow servicemen (for example, by not reporting that you know a soldier is abusing or cheating on his or her spouse) prevents any improvement of relationships. Soldiers who return from combat with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder can severely impact their relationships, and the military lags behind on treating this emotional disorder.