<P> Stabler was a Marine and served in Operation Desert Storm . During his time in the military, he was a hand - to - hand combat specialist . He also has three tattoos, notably the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor tattoo on his forearm (the official emblem of the Marine Corps), and the crucifixion of Christ on his left bicep . One of his best friends died in the September 11 attacks . He has a B.A. from Queens College . </P> <P> Stabler harbors a great deal of anger that is sometimes fed by his job . He is often openly aggressive and intimidating towards suspects, which can either complicate the case further, or lead to speedy confessions . When his wife Kathy leaves him in season 6, Stabler's anger rises closer to the surface, and in a few episodes, threatens to boil over . During an interrogation, serial killer Gordon Ricketts (Matthew Modine), whom Stabler had investigated 14 years earlier, tells him that they harbor the same kind of rage, and that if it weren't for his family and his job, Stabler would be just like him . When Benson and Stabler catch Ricketts about to kill a young girl, Stabler appears ready to kill him in cold blood; it is only Benson's intervention that prevents him from doing so . In season 7, he goes to see a psychiatrist, Dr. Rebecca Hendrix (Mary Stuart Masterson), after using excessive force on an abusive parent . Stabler eventually opens up to Hendrix about his personal demons, and they become close until Hendrix is transferred . By season 9, he and Kathy reconcile, and Stabler learns to better deal with his problems . </P> <P> In the season 12 finale, Stabler is forced to shoot and kill a young woman who opens fire in the Special Victims squad room . Before dying in Stabler's arms, she had killed two suspects involved in the rape and murder of her mother and injured a third, as well as killing recurring character Sister Peg (Charlayne Woodard). After the shootout, Stabler is placed on administrative leave by IAB . Although he is eventually cleared, it is nonetheless his sixth career "good shooting" and according to Cragen, IAB "wants to go over his entire jacket...if Elliot wants to keep his job, he's gonna have to submit to a psych eval, anger management, a lot of hoops ." Confirming Benson's assurance that he will instead tell them to "go to hell", Stabler subsequently retires from the police force off screen during the thirteenth - season premiere . Benson and Cragen agree that he's earned it "and then some". Nevertheless, Benson is quietly devastated by his resignation as she breaks down sobbing in the interrogation room . </P> <P> He married his wife, Kathy, when they were both 17 years old, and at the beginning of the series, they have four school - aged children: Maureen (born September 30, 1984), Kathleen Louise (born July 13, 1989), and twins Richard "Dickie", and Elizabeth "Lizzie" (both born February 21, 1993). Richard (he stopped using his nickname upon entering adolescence) is named after Col. Richard Finley, a friend whom Stabler greatly admired . After years of the stress involved with being married to a police officer, Kathy Stabler leaves her husband, taking their children, and temporarily moves in with her mother . Following a case involving a divorce that turned violent, Stabler signs the divorce papers, saying, "when love warps to hate, there's nothing you won't do ." However, after being cleared in the death of a suspect, Stabler realizes that he cannot bear to lose either his job or his family, so he seeks reconciliation with his wife . A short time later, Kathy announces that she is pregnant and asks Stabler to come home . After a serious car accident, Kathy delivers a healthy baby boy, Elliot Stabler, Jr . (Eli) (born November 17, 2007); however, the crash nearly cost Kathy her own life as her heartbeat flatlines while en route to the hospital in the FDNY Ambulance, but miraculously, they are able to save her . </P>

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