On 14 July 2009, over 60 military Chaplains and service personnel attended the first UK ‘Marriage Conference for the Armed Forces’, held at the Armed Forces Chaplaincy Centre, Amport House.

The conference was part of an initiative to strengthen military marriages by promoting The Marriage Course and The Marriage Preparation Course within the British Armed Forces.

The Marriage Course and The Marriage Preparation Course are practical, effective courses for engaged, married or co-habiting couples who want to develop strong foundations for a healthy relationship that will last a lifetime.  These courses are increasingly in demand in wider society but until now have only been available to service personnel and their partners on a limited basis. 

Delegates at the conference, including Lady Dannatt and Senior Chaplains from all three services, heard how these courses are suitable for any couple that wants to make a proactive investment in their relationship.  Regardless of how long a couple has been together, or the issues that they might be facing, these courses are able to help to make a good relationship even betterGeneral Sir Richard and Lady Pippa Dannatt.

‘Pippa and I strongly support the use of The Marriage Preparation Course and The Marriage Course in the Army.  Both courses are some of the best resources available to help couples to strengthen their relationships and offer a proactive means of positive support to our soldiers and their partners’

A new, updated edition of The Marriage Course was launched at the Conference, including an additional session entitled ‘Coping with Times of Separation’.  This new session, which was originally developed by an Army couple, Maj Rhett and Liesel Parkinson, has been specifically designed to help military couples during operational deployments. 

Delegates also heard from a US Army Chaplain, Maj Larry Pundt, who outlined how the US military has been making extensive use of marriage enrichment programmes, including The Marriage Course.  He explained how these resources have been having a significant impact in enabling couples and families to better cope in the current operational climate.

Following the conference, it is expected that these courses will become more widely available across the British Armed Forces.  More information, including how to find a course in your local area, can be found at http://relationshipcentral.org/.  Further details on this initiative to strengthen military marriages are available from the Alpha for Forces office.