{"id":119617,"date":"2019-02-20T18:45:11","date_gmt":"2019-02-20T18:45:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/02\/20\/which-military-branch-best-prepares-its-troops-to-separate-the-answer-may-surprise-you\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T14:29:01","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T14:29:01","slug":"which-military-branch-best-prepares-its-troops-to-separate-the-answer-may-surprise-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/veterans\/2019\/02\/20\/which-military-branch-best-prepares-its-troops-to-separate-the-answer-may-surprise-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Which military branch best prepares its troops to separate? The answer may surprise you."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Editor\u2019s Note:<\/b><\/i> This story has been updated to correct the name of the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re in the Army, chances are you\u2019ll feel better prepared when it\u2019s time to get out than if you were in any other branch, according to the results of a recent Military Times poll<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seventy-four percent of soldiers who responded to our survey said they agreed \u2014 either somewhat or strongly \u2014 that if they separated from the military today, they would be prepared for the overall transition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sixty-six percent of sailors, 64 percent of airmen and 59 percent of Marines said the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soldiers were also the best-prepared for challenges related to family reintegration, benefits, education and health care \u2014 bested only in the area of finances by Air Force survey respondents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One reason for this could be an approach taken by the Army\u2019s Soldier for Life program<\/a>, which emphasizes the importance of acing transitions within the military.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLearn and understand how to transition from point to point now,\u201d Southeast Region Director Lt. Col. Rynele Mardis told Military Times in a recent interview about the military-to-civilian transition<\/a>. \u201cWhat are those key benchmarks? What are those key milestones that you need to have at each transition in the military?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asking those questions can help when you get out, so it \u201cdoesn\u2019t come as such a shock to you that you have certain milestones or certain benchmarks that need to be achieved,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Military Times poll was conducted last fall in collaboration with the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University. The confidential, online survey garnered 829 responses from active-duty troops, the majority of whom were white males at an average age of 31 years old. The results were weighted to reflect the overall population of the military and have a 2.6 percent margin of error.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Troops from all Defense Department branches were best prepared for education, followed by family reintegration. They were least prepared in the area of healthcare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The data also showed that women felt more prepared than men.<\/p>\n\n\n\t