The authors estimate marriage and marital dissolution trends from 1996 to 2005, and the effects of recent deployments on risk of ending a marriage. Marital dissolution rates across services and components are currently similar to those seen in 1996, when the demands on the military were measurably lower. Service members who were deployed had a lower risk of subsequently ending their marriages than those who did not deploy or deployed fewer days.

Introduction -- Developing models of military marriage -- Review of empirical research on military marriages -- Trends in marriage and divorce : reanalyzing military service personnel records -- Evaluating alternative explanations for rising rates of marital dissolution in the military -- The direct effects of deployments on marital dissolution -- Conclusions and future directions for research and policy.