Lessons From the ‘Divorce Generation’

'Splitsville': Readers of our cover story on divorce came away with varying impressions. One said, "It was refreshing to see that despite the hardships of divorce, the kids from L.A.'s Grant High class of 1982 feel their parents' divorces were for the best." Another wrote, "For David Jefferson and many of his classmates, the pain of divorce led to cynicism about long-term commitment and a lack of confidence in how to 'do' marriage." One longtime teacher found the article "insightful and moving" and plans to "incorporate components into psychology and AP history classes."

The Legacy of Divorce in America
Thank you so much for your portrayal of adult children of divorce ("The Divorce Generation Grows Up," April 21). My sister and I were born in the San Fernando Valley and raised in a close-knit tract community in San Diego. The students of Grant High could have been my schoolmates. So many of their details mirror exactly what it was like for us. I remember when the neighbors first started divorcing. Our kitchen table became the refuge that all the broken kids went to for a hot meal and a hug. Little did I know our day was coming. The rest of junior high is a blur of growing up too fast while our parents tried to redefine themselves. I have since gone on to live a productive life, and our family remains close. Oddly, it was not until my mid-30s, when I married someone whose parents were still married, and spent that first Christmas season with them, that I saw what was robbed from me. Now, with my own family, I feel determined to work through our problems and never let our child feel the sad emptiness of having her life and security pulled out from under him. Thanks for making me feel like I am not alone.
Jennifer Knox Watson
San Diego, Calif.

For the Record
I was surprised to read NEWSWEEK's negative assessment of the U.S. Army's Human Terrain System, which is being employed in Iraq and Afghanistan to better understand these countries' cultures in an effort to reduce the human cost of war ("A Gun in One Hand, A Pen in the Other," April 21). To claim Human Terrain Team members lack expertise is simply not true. The goal of HTS has always been to use teams to advise military commanders and staffs on the ground. These teams are composed of social scientists with the appropriate research skills and methodological approaches, retired and reserve military personnel and other team members with linguistic skills. Because Iraq and Afghanistan have been closed to research for many decades, there are very few social scientists in the United States with the requisite knowledge. What social scientists bring to HTS is their ability to quickly learn how another society works and to communicate that knowledge to the military. That NEWSWEEK dismisses the efforts of those social scientists who have answered the call and taken on the challenges and risks to help make such a necessary program work is disappointing. HTS is another example of the sacrifice of the few for the good of the many.
Gen. William S. Wallace
Commanding General
U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command
Fort Monroe, Va.

Corrections
In the April 21 "Popular Shots" graphic accompanying "A New Reason to Frown," we reversed meanings and should have said that an eyelid spasm is called blepharospasm, and lazy eye, strabismus.

In "A Gun in One Hand, A Pen in the Other," we incorrectly identified retired Col. Steve Fondacaro as a veteran of Special Forces. He was a Special Operations Force officer with the 75th Ranger Regiment. We also described Thomas Johnson as a Pashto speaker. Johnson says he knows a bit of Pashto but not enough to be labeled a speaker. And we incorrectly referred to the company BAE Systems as British Aerospace Engineering.

In our April 28 Periscope interview with Hillary Clinton, the senator identified Helen Clark as the "former" prime minister of New Zealand ("What Hillary's Got in Her Back Pocket"). Clark is, in fact, the current prime minister of New Zealand. NEWSWEEK regrets the errors.

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