King, Cramer Press Service Chiefs for “Falling Short” with Transition from Active Duty to Veteran Status

WASHINGTON, D.C.-Today, U.S. Senators Angus King (I-Maine) and Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), both members of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) and the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee (SVAC), sent a letter to the chiefs of each U.S. military service branch expressing concern about a lack of attention to servicemembers transitioning from active duty to veteran status.

The Senators write that the Department of Defense needs to improve the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) by taking a more focused approach to ensuring timely attendance at TAP classes and preparing servicemembers for their transition to the civilian world by improving the warm hand-off connection into the community. The letter urges the services to employ the same type of focused approach they provide to training Marines, Sailors, Sentinels, Soldiers, Airmen, and Guardians when they enter the service.

"The Services are falling short on requirements to assist transitioning servicemembers. The Fiscal Year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act required individualized initial counseling and pre-separation counseling components of TAP occur no later than 365 days before service members are expected to leave military service, with some exceptions such as unanticipated, short-notice separations or retirements," the Senators wrote.

The Senators continued, "In its December 2022 report (GAO-23-104538), the Government Accountability Office (GAO) stated that the majority (70%) of transitioning servicemembers did not begin TAP at least 365 days before leaving military service, while only 25% met this timeliness requirement. The FY19 NDAA also required that pre-separation counseling should be completed at least 365 days in advance of separation, but GAO found that only 11% of servicemembers met this requirement, while 82% did not."

"Servicemembers who start TAP late face challenges with their transition to civilian life, such as being unable to take advantage of programs like SkillBridge or apply for disability benefits before leaving active service. We can and must do a better job to ensure our servicemembers are supported in their transition back to the civilian life," the Senators concluded.

Every year, approximately 200,000 men and women leave U.S. military service and return to life as civilians, a process known as the military to civilian transition. The Transition Assistance Program (TAP) is a statutory program that bolsters opportunities, services, and training for transitioning Service members in their preparation to meet post-military goals.

Representing one of the states with the highest rates of veterans per capita, Senator King has been a staunch advocate for America's servicemembers and veterans. As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, he has been among the Senate's most prominent voices on the need to address veterans suicide, and has repeatedly pressed for action from top Department of Defense officials on this issue. Additionally, he recently spearheaded the passage of legislation to better track and study servicemember suicides by job assignment. Senator King has also worked to properly honor and recognize the sacrifices of Purple Heart medal recipients, protect veterans from fraud, and expand veteran assisted living services.

Senator Cramer has used his seat on the Senate Armed Services Committee and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, to secure funding authorization and language for missions both directly and indirectly benefiting North Dakota's military community and veterans. He has met with many former and active-duty individuals and military leaders to address the top issues impacting America's heroes. He led legislation codifying the Solid Start Program, which requires the VA to conduct outreach to veterans upon leaving active-duty service to connect them with VA programs and benefits, as well as legislation for veterans seeking mental health and substance abuse treatment. Additionally, he led legislation to connect service dogs with veterans experiencing mental illnesses.

A full copy of the letter can be found here and below.

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Dear Service Chiefs:

We are writing to you today to express our concern regarding the Transition Assistance Program (TAP). The Armed Services do a superb job training Marines, Sailors, Sentinels, Soldiers, Airmen, and Guardians-and now we need to take that same focused approach and care to prepare our servicemembers to return to the civilian world with the tools and support they need to thrive in their next endeavors.

The Services are falling short on requirements to assist transitioning servicemembers. The Fiscal Year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act required individualized initial counseling and pre-separation counseling components of TAP occur no later than 365 days before service members are expected to leave military service, with some exceptions such as unanticipated, short-notice separations or retirements.

In its December 2022 report (GAO-23-104538), the Government Accountability Office (GAO) stated that the majority (70%) of transitioning servicemembers did not begin TAP at least 365 days before leaving military service, while only 25% met this timeliness requirement. The FY19 NDAA also required that pre-separation counseling should be completed at least 365 days in advance of separation, but GAO found that only 11% of servicemembers met this requirement, while 82% did not.

Furthermore, service branches and the TAP policy office collect performance information on 2-day class attendance and timeliness. However, two GAO reports from 2017 (GAO-18-23) and 2022 (GAO-23-104538) outline how the services do not fully leverage this information to improve attendance or inform decisions regarding TAP programming.

Servicemembers who start TAP late face challenges with their transition to civilian life, such as being unable to take advantage of programs like SkillBridge or apply for disability benefits before leaving active service. We can and must do a better job to ensure our servicemembers are supported in their transition back to the civilian life.

We need your support in addressing factors that are impeding the proper implementation of the law, some of which have been identified by the GAO to include:

1. Unit mission requirements interfering with TAP attendance.
2. Lack of support from direct supervisors and unit commanders to attend TAP.
3. Lack of individual servicemember understanding of the TAP requirement timeline.
4. Lack of use of collected TAP attendance and performance data.

Therefore, we request that each of you respond at a minimum to the following questions:

1. What challenges have you identified to improve TAP attendance and participation, and how are you addressing them?
2. How are you addressing the shortfalls in the transition process to improve TAP attendance and participation identified by the GAO?
3. Are the TAP attendance and timeliness reports routinely shared with installation leadership and unit commanders?
4. Given that timeliness has been a longstanding issue, could additional steps be taken to hold commanders accountable?
5. How can the Congress be helpful with providing the resources and authorities you require to support transitioning servicemembers?

Moreover, we urge you to work with State Bureaus of Veteran Services and Veteran Services Organizations to improve warm hand-offs for transitioning servicemembers to community contacts in civilian life. Therefore, we request that each of you respond to these additional questions:

1. What efforts are being made to engage State Bureaus of Veteran Services as part of TAP to improve warm hand-offs into the community?
2. What efforts are being made to utilize VSO, or VSO service officers, as part of TAP into the community?
3. What authorities would be helpful in improving the warm hand-off process utilizing State Bureaus of Veteran Services and VSOs within the TAP process?

We look forward to receiving your individual responses addressing these matters. We stand ready to assist you as members of the Senate Armed Services and Veterans Affairs Committees to ensure your commanders have the proper authorities and resources to accomplish this mission. Thank you for your consideration and continued service to our country.

Sincerely,

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