WASHINGTON — Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao is warning against a situation in which military families sent overseas for an assignment could become divided by divorce, leaving a spouse and children facing a legal battle in a foreign country.
“It is disturbing that some military members think they can leverage foreign laws by moving their families overseas, only to divorce their spouses and abandon them with no means to return to the US,” Cao said Friday in a social media post.
“This will not become a trend on my watch,” he added, saying his priority includes taking care of Sailors, Marines and their families.
Cao’s remarks came after the case of Jamie Lenio, an American military spouse in Germany who publicly appealed for help returning to the United States with her three children as her marriage to a Marine breaks down.
The case has drawn attention to the legal problems that can arise when a military marriage ends while a family is stationed abroad.
Military Family Fears Getting Stuck in Germany
Lenio says she spent 16 years building her life around her husband’s military career, moving with him from Japan to North Carolina and eventually Germany.
She and her three children have lived in Germany for about four years under command sponsorship connected to her husband’s military assignment. She says the family never intended to make Germany their permanent home.
As the marriage deteriorated, Lenio began seeking legal advice about what could happen if divorce and custody proceedings were handled in Germany.
She said attorneys warned her that German courts could consider where the children have established their habitual residence when determining jurisdiction over custody matters.
That has raised fears that she could eventually be unable to return to the United States with her children if a German court establishes custody arrangements that require the children to remain in the country.
“I am an American military spouse of 16 years living in Germany, and I’m terrified that I’m going to be trapped here with my children indefinitely,” Lenio said in a video posted online.
Cao Orders Marine Corps to Act
Cao has since directed the Marine Corps to issue stateside return orders for Lenio and her family, according to Stars and Stripes. He responded to her appeal by saying, “We hear you loud and clear,” and that the family would be home soon.
Lenio has said she is not asking the Marine Corps to bypass German law or secretly remove her children from the country. She wants the family returned to the United States so the divorce and custody dispute can be handled there.
The Marine Corps previously said it was aware of her concerns and was working with the family to provide resources and ease the hardship.
Overseas Divorce Can Create Complicated Custody Battles
Military families facing divorce overseas can encounter legal questions that do not arise in the same way when they are living in the United States.
Military OneSource says an overseas divorce can be more complicated than a stateside proceeding, particularly when questions involving custody, residency, and jurisdiction arise.
The American Bar Association also warns that divorces involving military families overseas can raise questions about whether a foreign custody order will later be recognized in the United States.
Military Spouses Can Lose More Than Their Marriage
The end of a marriage for a military spouse living overseas can affect far more than the relationship itself.
Housing, immigration status, health care, employment, and the ability to remain in the host country can all become issues as the military connection that brought the family overseas changes.
Military OneSource says a nonmilitary spouse may qualify for military-paid moving expenses to return home after a divorce, while installation legal assistance can provide guidance on family support, custody, and other issues.
The military also has policies requiring service members to provide certain levels of support to family members after separation when there is no agreement or court order, although those rules differ by service branch.
Lenio has argued that military families need clearer procedures for situations in which a marriage ends during an overseas assignment.
She has suggested mechanisms such as an Early Return of Dependents in cases where documented family problems make continued overseas residence untenable.
