Separating from military services is not always easy, but it is especially difficult when troops have to worry about finding a job upon entering civilian life. The process may become a bit smoother in the coming months, as the transition assistance program becomes mandatory starting in late November, according to Stars and Stripes reports.
The changes to the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) are the first such revisions in nearly two decades. In fact, the Air Force has already begun offering the revised program, which places a greater emphasis on things like career building and budget planning.
"The goal is to bring unemployment rates down and to ensure servicemembers are better prepared to find employment when they leave the services," Peggy Rayfield, Air Force Personnel Center chief of transition assistance operations, told the publication.
The new TAP programs came out of a panel mandated by President Barack Obama in the summer of 2011, with the goal of finding ways to better help soldiers transition to civilian life. The need is especially great now, as more than 300,000 troops are expected to separate from service annually over the next four years.