Service members take a Transition Assistance Program course in Maude Hall at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, on Feb. 20, 2025. (Eric Mendiola/Stars and Stripes)

WASHINGTON — The Veterans of Foreign Wars and other veterans advocates urged lawmakers Tuesday to prioritize and improve transition assistance programs that prepare exiting service members for their lives and careers post-military.

The Defense Department spends months training new troops, while transition assistance programs — also known as TAP — for service members leaving the military often take a few days, said Joy Craig, associate director for legislative service at the VFW.

“Why can’t TAP be longer?” Craig asked at a hearing Tuesday of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee’s subpanel on education opportunity. The hearing examined how well TAP prepares separating service members in their final year of duty for civilian life.

A recent Defense Department report found widespread use of waivers by commanding officers to exempt these transitioning service members from the required classes, Craig said. In 2023, 74,000 transitioning service members did not attend the basic two-day TAP course.

About 80% of the 200,000 service members who exit the military annually are not eligible for retirement pay, underscoring the need for robust and effective job transition programs, Craig said. But commanding officers can waive TAP attendance because of a conflicting mission or for other reasons.

“We can do a better job” at sending transitioning service members to TAP, said Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., the House subcommittee chairman. “We need to make sure everybody has the ability to go to this TAP program.”

Commissioned officers should be held responsible and not promoted if they do not follow rules for mandatory TAP attendance, he said.

“As a former Navy SEAL who served this country for 26 years, I have firsthand knowledge of the difficulties that can come with making the change from active duty to civilian life. This is personal to me,” Van Orden said. “When people at the top of DOD do not care about TAP, VA has to pick up the slack to reduce homelessness, suicide and unemployment.”

Because most service members must still perform their regular duties while attending TAP classes, Craig said it often is difficult for them to have the time to create a blueprint for their lives post-military.

Service members leaving the military might have combat-related illnesses and injuries that make adjustment difficult. They also leave behind a network of friends and associates in the military.

“The military builds warriors, but it must also ensure that those warriors are prepared to succeed beyond their time in uniform,” Craig said.

Veterans surveyed by the VFW said they were not provided adequate time and guidance for planning their lives post military, she said.

“Many reported being rushed through TAP, with one participant describing it as a ‘firehose of information’ with no time to act on what was being taught,” Craig said.

The first year after military separation is commonly referred to as “the deadly gap” because veterans are at greater risk of suicide from the pressures of adjusting to civilian life, said Barbara Carson, managing director of the D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University.

Federal law requires the Defense Department to provide counseling and education for separating service members. Not only is the Defense Department required to provide TAP, it also must give veterans the resources that they need for employment assistance, housing resources and health care in their communities.

Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H., said the Defense Department needs to see TAP as a matter of national security.

“Service members are transitioning into a more volatile economy with rising unemployment and a sinking stock market,” he said.

Pappas referred to recent federal cuts of staff and programs that are hitting veterans.

“Our nation’s heroes could suffer if they are not able to rely upon the support of federal agencies because of hiring freezes and firings in agencies like the Department of Veterans Affairs,” he said.

Elizabeth O’Brien, senior vice president of Hiring Our Heroes, said the Defense Department needs to do a better job helping service members understand how they can leverage their military skills and experience to forge careers as civilians.

Hiring Our Heroes is a veterans job assistance program that is part of the Chamber of Commerce Foundation. For more than 20 years, Hiring Our Heroes has tapped business networks at local chambers of commerce to connect veterans with employment opportunities.

O’Brien said SkillBridge is an example of a successful employment-focused program that provides transitioning service members with on-the-job experiences with employers before they leave military service.

SkillBridge interns are placed with employers for up to six months before their discharge from the military. The Defense Department pays their salaries, but there is an expectation they will be hired at the end of their internship.

A total of 45 federal programs run by a dozen different agencies assist veterans transitioning to civilian life. The programs spend about $13 billion a year, according to the D’Aniello Institute. Assistance includes a one-day course at the VA for accessing benefits for tuition, disability compensation and health care.

The VA also offers one-on-one counseling in person and online for transitioning service members and their spouses, said John Green, acting executive director of outreach, transition and economic development at the VA.

“A well-prepared service member leaving the military can become a thriving, productive member of society who brings leadership, adaptability and experience into the civilian workforce,” Craig said.

But the VFW said veterans surveyed often report feeling overwhelmed with important life decisions upon leaving military service.

The Defense Department is expected to collaborate with the VA to provide “a warm handoff” for transitioning service members and point them to resources as they restart lives as civilians, Craig said. But that does not always happen.

Often there is a lack of meaningful support as they near their discharge date, “when service members need it most,” she said.