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There is an unsettling trend being experienced by military personnel -- losing custody of their children.  According to the Department of Defense, more than 74,000 active duty military servicemembers (5.4%) are single parents, and 68,000 National Guard and reserve members are as well.  Moreover, divorce among military men and women also has risen some in recent years, with more than 23,000 enlisted members and officers divorcing in 2005.

There is a federal law, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, that is meant to protect military personnel by staying civil court actions and administrative proceedings during military activation.  For example, they can't be evicted; creditors can't seize their property; civilian health benefits, if suspended during deployment, must be reinstated.  However, servicemembers' children can be — and are being — taken from them after they are deployed.

An article published this week in USA Today took a closer look at this trend, discussing several examples of military personnel who have lost custody due to their military service.  Some family court judges say that determining what's best for a child in a custody case is simply not comparable to deciding civil property disputes and the like; they have ruled that family law trumps the federal law protecting servicemembers. And so, in many cases when a soldier deploys, the ex-spouse seeks custody, and temporary changes become lasting.

Source:  "Deployed Troops Battle for Custody of Children" by Pauline Arrillaga, published in USA Today.