Transition Assistance Program
Mission
The Transition Assistance Program (TAP) is designed to assist Soldiers leaving the military service to transition to a civilian school/college or to the civilian job market. Another important facet of the counseling process takes place when the Soldier is referred by TAP for ETS counseling.
Eligibility
All Soldiers, including full-time Active Guard Reserve, Reservists and DA Civilian, are eligible for all of the services that TAP has to offer.
- If you are Expiration Term of Service (ETSing), you can start TAP as far as 1 year from your ETS date in accordance with (IAW) Directive-Type Memorandum (DTM) 12-007: Implementation of Mandatory Transition Assistance Program Participation for Eligible Service Members and Operation Order 054-12.
- If you are retiring, you can start TAP as far as 2 years from your retirement date IAW Directive-Type Memorandum (DTM) 12-007: Implementation of Mandatory Transition Assistance Program Participation for Eligible Service Members and Operation Order 054-12.
- Your spouse is eligible for all TAP services as long as you are eligible.
The TAP Process
The TAP process must be initiated early. Allowing Soldiers to start early provides you and the Soldier the flexibility needed to prevent a conflict between mission requirements and TAP services. It also ensures compliance with timeliness standards and promotes the program’s effectiveness. As they prepare for transition, Soldiers need an average of 40 hours, spread over a 12-24 month period of time, to take advantage of TAP services. For more information on timeliness requirements and the need to start early, read Getting Started Early.