Noteboom The Law Firm

Transition Program Failing Soldiers On Many Levels

February 17, 2011 - In an effort to make their transition from their military existence to their civilian existence as smooth as possible, the Department of Defense (DoD), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and the Labor Department developed the Transition Assistance Program (TAP). According to new Pentagon reports, however, the TAP program fails soldiers/veterans on a consistent basis.

Approximately 140,000 soldiers go through the 3-day course every year. The program consists of a series of classes with a wide range of topics including:

• Benefits of the new GI Bill;
• Special programs for wounded soldiers/veterans; and
• Relocating.

Pentagon investigators found the program suffered from many faults. Their reports concluded TAP was beset with "significant gaps in consistency of services," suffered from "low spousal participation," and essentially failed to instruct departing soldiers in any subject for which the TAP program was designed. Investigators reported that not only did many of the TAP staff have little to no knowledge about the subjects in which they were instructing, they weren't helping the soldiers find off-base jobs as was their charge.

There is a litany of complaints about how the TAP staff failed soldiers all over the United States and Europe. Both the VA and the Labor Department agree the TAP program is not doing the deserving soldiers justice and changes must be made.