HUFFINGTON
09.01-08.13
INVISIBLE CASUALTIES
a protective factor to being in the
military, very strong social support, a closed network.”
Now, military communities are
vulnerable to the same social ills
that afflict civilians. The divorce
rate inside the military has risen
steadily — for enlisted troops, from
2.9 percent a year in 2000 to 4.1
percent in 2011. Drug and alcohol abuse rose as well through the
decade; in 2011 alone, the Army
sent 24,000 soldiers to substance
abuse programs. The number of
those in the active-duty force who
tested positive for heroin jumped
from 45 in 2005 to 194 in 2011.
“We are not insulated from
those things,” Garrick said. “There
is not a bubble around o