In the military, when you separate, you are required by the Department of Defense to take a course to help you transition out. This class is called the Transition Assistance Program, commonly called TAP. I am currently attending TAP for the second time because it is recommended for those retiring from the military to go through twice, once 24 months out and again 12 months out. There is so much information in this five day class, it is hard to keep up some times.

The first time I went through, I had my laptop and was just hammering away on the keyboard, taking just a ton of notes. We had an entire day dedicated to just Veterans Affairs (VA), you want to talk about a fire hose of information. It got to the point that I just couldn’t keep up with the note taking and just started highlighting information in the books we got as we were discussing it. The employment portion was three days long, and it was very compressed.

This time around I am able to refer back to the notes I took and refine them, adding things here and there that I may have missed. Now, I can pay closer attention to what our instructors are saying, apply information to my own situation, and use knowledge gained from the last time attended and what I’m learning now to my transition coming up this summer. But what do you actually learn in TAP?

Day one is all about general transitioning knowledge to include financial management. We learn about different websites to leverage for helpful resources for finding employment and continuing education. We learn how to research housing markets in areas we potentially want to live in or are moving to when we transition. The last part of the day is dedicated to our financial plan, how much we are making now while in the military versus what we need to be making as a civilian to maintain that quality of life. Let me tell you, this part is an eye opener for sure. We get a lot of benefits on top of our base pay, and when you factor those in, you need to make a lot more that you may be thinking to equal what your getting while serving.

Day two, depending on what day of the week day one is on, may be an almost entire day with the VA with a little bit of health insurance towards the end. This is the day where the fire hose really opens up. I have literal PAGES of notes about the VA information along with the books they gave us with highlighter just all over the place. I learned so much this day that I had no idea about, which I suppose is why we do this course. During the health care portion, which was confusing in its own right, was another fire hose. The saving grace was that they gave us books to keep on all the information they covered.

Days three through five were all employment information. We learned about more websites for finding employment, how to research potential employers to see if you even wanted to work with them. How to build a resume based on a job posting. How to set up an utilize LinkedIn. How to conduct yourself during and interview. These last three days are all about building yourself as a brand.

At the end of it all, I find myself better prepared for what is to come. I am still nervous, but more sure of myself in what I need to do. This summer is coming fast, why wouldn’t it, the last 19 years flew by.

Cheers!