People in the military tend to marry early, at least partially because there are a bunch of benefits that the military provides to spouses. If you get re-assign

People in the military tend to marry early, at least partially because there are a bunch of benefits that the military provides to spouses. If you get re-assigned to a base across the country, the military will pay to move your spouse, but not your girlfriend/boyfriend. If you need to be picked up from the base after work, that's a lot easier for a spouse to do (they have an ID) than a girlfriend/boyfriend. You also get a bigger housing stipend, they get medical benefits, etc. If you're in a long-term relationship anyway, there's a big financial benefit to making it "official".