Army Allowing Spouses to Live Together in Iraq

Long-standing policy gives way in name of boosting morale, re-enlistment
By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 31, 2008 4:48 PM CDT
Army Allowing Spouses to Live Together in Iraq
Staff Sgt. Keisha Frazier and her husband Staff Sgt. Marvin Frazier sit outside at Camp Striker in western Baghdad, Iraq, March 21, 2008.    (AP Photo/Bradley Brooks)

Desperate to combat sagging morale from repeated deployments to Iraq, the US Army has quietly eased rules against married soldiers living together at war, the AP reports. Wedded soldiers in certain camps can now cohabitate in private trailers. "It makes a lot of things easier," said soldier and husband Marvin Frazier.

"Now you can sit face-to-face," Frazier added, "try to work out things and comfort each other." That the Army even considered the policy shows how many couples have been sent to Iraq, but how great the strain of war has been, analysts say. "It's better for the soldiers, which means overall it's better for the Army," said one commander. (More soldier stories.)

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