VA TAP?

Approximately 200,000 Service members leave military service and return to life as civilians, a process known as military to civilian transition every year. To aid in that transition, Congress has passed various laws intended to prepare eligible Service members and their families to face the many challenges of transitioning from active duty back to civilian life. In response, VA, and its interagency partners at the Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Labor (DOL), Department of Homeland Security, Department of Education, Office of Personnel and Management, and Small Business Administration have implemented various programs to carry out these requirements and ensure that Service members are provided with the tools and information necessary to transition into civilian life.

One of these Congressionally mandated programs is the Transition Assistance Program (TAP), which is an overarching program implemented by each of the military services (U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Coast Guard). TAP is designed to provide transition assistance, information, training, counseling, and services to eligible Service members. It ensures Service members are career ready upon separation, retirement, or release from active duty, tailoring the support to meet the unique needs of the individual and their family. This individualized approach enables them to pursue additional education, seek or return to employment in the public or private sector, start their own business, pursue vocational training, or other activities that meet their specific needs,

As provided by TAP, transition assistance consists of all related transition activities, curriculum, resources, and services provided to enable eligible Service members to attain the career readiness standards (CRS) established by the respective military services. Pursuant to 10 United States Code (U.S.C.) § 1142(a)(4)(C), the eligibility requirement is that all Service members who serve for a period of 180 continuous days or more on active duty, pursuant to 10 United States Code (U.S.C.) § 1142(a)(4)(C), must go through transition assistance. Transition assistance must start no later than 365 days prior to the anticipated date of separation unless otherwise excused. For anticipated retirements, transition assistance must start no later than 720 days. All eligible Service members must participate in TAP to meet CRS utilizing the services and briefings to meet CRS specific to their post-transition goals. The components of TAP (ATTACHMENT A) are codified in 10 U.S.C. § 1142 and 1144 and include but are not limited to the following:

• Initial Counseling (IC): Facilitated by the military services, includes a personal self- assessment/ individual transition plan (ITP) to identify the pathway that determines the Service members’ level of transition assistance needed and post-transition goals in accordance with Section 1142 of Title 10, U.S.C.
• Pre-separation/Transition Counseling: Provided by the military services, provides counseling on various benefits, programs, services, tools, and other important resource entitlements for which they may be eligible pursuant to 10 U.S.C. § 1142.
• Department of Defense (DoD) Transition Day: Conducted by the DoD, delivers an understanding of resilience necessary during transition, identifies and translates current military position description into civilian equivalent, and provides financial literacy training at transition.
• VA Benefits and Services: Conducted by VA, provides information about VA benefits Service members may have earned, how to apply for them, and how to leverage them for the best possible outcome, in accordance with 10 U.S.C. § 1142.
• Department of Labor (DOL) One-Day: Conducted by DOL, provides an overview of employment in the civilian sector, in accordance with 10 U.S.C. § 1144.
• Two-Day Tracks: Provided by various agencies, tracks are chosen by Service members to fulfill their personal self-assessment/ITP and post-transition goals. These include employment, education, vocational, and entrepreneurship.
• Capstone: Conducted by the military services, provides an opportunity for eligible Service members to verify attainment of the CRS by the commander or designee. Based upon the judgment of the commander or commander’s designee, if the service member cannot meet the CRS before transition, the commander or designee verifies, confirms and documents a referral to appropriate interagency partners or local
• Military Life Cycle (MLC) model: The MLC transition model provides information on benefits, services, and resources available to active-duty Service members beginning with their first duty station, through their transition to civilian life.

In support of TAP, VA provides onsite support for the mandatory full-day VA Benefits and Services briefing required under 10 U.S.C. § 1144(f)(1)(B) to 100% of eligible transitioning Service members, and on a space available basis to dependents, caregivers, survivors, and Veterans. VA also provides onsite support to other TAP events, including but not limited to pre-separation counseling, one-one assistance, National Guard and Reserve support, installation engagements (events at the request of installation commanders or other designees such as new arrival events, Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program, local resource fairs, career-preparedness activities, and spouse events) to provide information on where and how to learn more about benefits, programs and services and referrals that ensure the service member is informed on and connected to the appropriate VA benefits that apply to their specific situation.