{"id":61108,"date":"2019-06-28T16:13:58","date_gmt":"2019-06-28T16:13:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/06\/28\/tap-is-getting-a-makeover-this-year-heres-what-you-need-to-know\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T10:34:02","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T10:34:02","slug":"tap-is-getting-a-makeover-this-year-heres-what-you-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/education-transition\/2019\/06\/28\/tap-is-getting-a-makeover-this-year-heres-what-you-need-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"TAP is getting a makeover this year. Here\u2019s what you need to know."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Service members <a href=\"https:\/\/rebootcamp.militarytimes.com\/transition\/\" target=_blank>transitioning out<\/a> of the military this year could be much more prepared for civilian life than their predecessors, thanks to some major changes coming to the Defense Department\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dodtap.mil\/\" target=_blank>Transition Assistance Program<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The program, known as TAP, will be more tailored to service members\u2019 interests and goals through the use of individual assessments. Though the entire program will be shorter, troops will be required to start <a href=\"https:\/\/rebootcamp.militarytimes.com\/news\/transition\/2018\/04\/18\/could-changes-to-tap-curb-veteran-suicide\/\" target=_blank>no later than one year<\/a> before getting out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The changes were included in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/congress\/2018\/08\/13\/space-force-and-midterms-share-stage-as-trump-signs-pentagon-policy-bill\/\" target=_blank>2019 National Defense Authorization Act<\/a> and are scheduled to go into effect for all service branches on Oct. 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe new law allows us to tailor the amount of assistance based on the need of a soldier, which is huge, as opposed to the current process which basically requires everybody to get the same amount of assistance,\u201d said Ret. Army Col. Walter Herd, director of the Army transition division at the Human Resources Command Center of Excellence. \u201cIt\u2019s a win win, I think, across the board.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/veterans\/2019\/02\/20\/which-military-branch-best-prepares-its-troops-to-separate-the-answer-may-surprise-you\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"157\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/classroomC.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Which military branch best prepares its troops to separate? The answer may surprise you.<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">If you\u2019re in this military branch, chances are you\u2019ll feel better prepared when it\u2019s time to get out than if you were in any other service, according to the results of a recent Military Times poll.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Starting in October, every soldier, airman, sailor or Marine preparing to leave the service will meet with a counselor to discuss their plans after separation or retirement. From there, they will be classified into one of three tiers \u2014 essentially really prepared, kind of prepared and not prepared at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFor tier one sailors, they don\u2019t need as much as far as services. They\u2019re pretty much engaged in their transition,\u201d said Anthony Stevens, the military readiness section lead at Commander Naval Installations Command. \u201cMany of them already have a job lined up, or they\u2019re retiring.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Service members in tier two are ready to transition, but not yet fully prepared. In other words, they may be saving their money and looking into careers, but may even still be on the fence about staying in the service, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tier three service members \u201cdon\u2019t have any plans whatsoever,\u201d Stevens said. This could include service members who are being discharged under other-than-honorable circumstances or are leaving the service on short notice because of an injury or disability.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-smg-jwplayer-video\"><atype-video-jwplayer nostick=\"true\" playlisturl=\"https:\/\/cdn.jwplayer.com\/v2\/playlists\/fCzRqMW8?tags=0c861e2e-bbb9-43cd-9fac-c62613947d9d\" poster=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/video-poster-0c861e2e-bbb9-43cd-9fac-c62613947d9d.jpg\" aspectratio=\"16 \/ 9\" mute autostart=\"false\"><\/atype-video-jwplayer><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An Air Force transition expert shares her best tips for getting the most out of the DoD&#8217;s Transition Assistance Program.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Once service members are funneled into one of the three tiers, the counselor recommends a specific track \u2014 either higher education, employment, entrepreneurship or vocational skills training \u2014 based on the person\u2019s goals for life after the military.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Currently, these are <a href=\"https:\/\/rebootcamp.militarytimes.com\/news\/transition\/2018\/02\/07\/see-what-changes-could-be-coming-to-tap\/\" target=\"_blank\">tacked onto the end<\/a> of the five-day TAP course known as Transition GPS. According to a recent Government Accountability Office <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gao.gov\/assets\/690\/688203.pdf\">report<\/a>, only 15 percent of service members participate in these additional, two-day workshops, that will now be included in the main curriculum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the Army, Navy and Marine Corps, the tracks will required for service members in the lowest tier, though troops in any tier can choose to participate. In the Air Force, even those who are the least prepared will be allowed to opt out, according to spokespeople from the various services. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Day one of the new program, which Air Force spokesman Maj. Nicholas Mercurio described as \u201cmore holistic and comprehensive,\u201d will be a general overview of how to plan for your transition. The second day will provide information about veterans benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs, and day three will be a workshop run by the Department of Labor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From there, service members will enter into one of the four two-day tracks of their choice, as determined by their personal assessment and meeting with a counselor. They also have the option to attend more, or as many times, as desired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Joline Miller, transition readiness program manager for Marine Corps headquarters, said the beauty of the revised TAP program is that it\u2019s no longer a \u201cone-size-fits-all\u201d approach in which &#8220;all Marines will be required to complete a specific track during the transition workshop if it\u2019s not tied to their goals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2018\/04\/18\/could-changes-to-tap-curb-veteran-suicide\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"157\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/LoyaSearsBill1-RESIZED.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Could changes to TAP curb veteran suicide?<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Transforming the way service members are prepared for life after the military could curb veteran unemployment, homelessness and suicide. Or, at least that\u2019s the hope behind a new bill being introduced in Congress Thursday that seeks to strengthen the Defense Department\u2019s mandatory Transition Assistance Program.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Current DoD policy allows retiring service members to start TAP two years before they retire and separating service members to start the program one year, but no later than 90 days, before getting out of the military. Required starts dates vary by service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The DoD has previously told Military Times it doesn\u2019t track averages of when service members go through the program, but the GAO report found more than half of service members, 53.3 percent, are not completing TAP by the 90-day mark, and only 2.6 percent are completing the program nine months or more before getting out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Under the new law, everybody will be required to complete initial counseling and pre-separation counseling no later than 365 days before getting out of the military.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cTransition assistance is much like physical training in that you cannot begin too early,\u201d Herd said, noting that the Army\u2019s research has shown that soldiers double their chances of finding civilian employment if they begin TAP six to 12 months out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s real simple,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you begin early, your chance of success is high. If you begin late, your chance of failure is high. So everybody needs to begin early.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Army is gearing up for a symposium in August, where all TAP coordinators will meet to go over the specifics of the changes and discuss challenges and best practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Each of the services appear to be on target to meet the Oct. 1 deadline.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Service members transitioning out of the military this year could be much more prepared for civilian life than their predecessors, thanks to some major changes coming to the Defense Department\u2019s Transition Assistance Program.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":80616,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":7,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[100,7,12,25,68,70],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3383],"class_list":["post-61108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-education-transition","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress","category-your-army"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"POEC3Z4P7BHU5OHHPUNDA4J5SY","arc_canonical_url":"\/education-transition\/2019\/06\/28\/tap-is-getting-a-makeover-this-year-heres-what-you-need-to-know\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>TAP is getting a makeover this year. 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