On June 26, 1981, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that military retired pay could not be treated as community property in divorce cases. In response, Congress enacted the Uniformed Services Former Spouses Protection Act (USFSPA) which decreed that state courts could treat military retired pay as property in divorce cases if they so chose.
Our service members deploy worldwide for long periods of time and come home war-torn to a family that has at times moved on without them. Reintegration is extremely difficult for these service members. Many times families are unable to continue as they were prior to deployments and fail. As a result, these service members lose their wives, children and large portions of a small retirement pension. This must end.