Prior to the redesign initiated in 2011, TAP consisted of four core components: (1) pre-separation counseling, (2) an employment workshop, (3) an optional briefing on federal veteran benefits, and (4) the Disabled Transition Assistance Program. Pre-separation counseling, which includes VA benefits information, was required by law to be provided prior to the VOW Act. A number of revisions, new requirements, and components were added to TAP by the VOW Act and the VEI Task Force. For example, the VOW Act mandates that DOD require that transitioning servicemembers participate in an employment workshop, with some exceptions. Included among the VEI Task Force’s changes to the program are: an extended curriculum with segments on translating military skills to civilian job requirements, financial planning, and individual counseling and assessment with the goal of each servicemember developing an Individual Transition Plan; an updated employment workshop and briefings on federal veteran benefits divided into two sessions.embed information relevant for those who have or think they have a service-connected disability rather than as part of a separate Disabled Transition Assistance Program component; The VA benefits I and II briefings a series of 2-day, career-specific tracks that focus on (1) pursuing college education, (2) entering a technical skills training program, or (3) starting a business. The track that a servicemember chooses depends on his or her post-separation goals; a capstone event during which servicemembers are to demonstrate— and military service commanders verify—that they have met required career-readiness standards. The standards pertain to employment, education, and technical training, depending on the servicemember’s post-separation goals; and a referral process—called a “warm handover”—to connect servicemembers who do not meet the career readiness standards with the appropriate partner agency (VA or DOL) to provide continued support and services as veterans. Additional details about the previous TAP compared to the revamped program are shown in table 1. Figure 1 shows each of the components in the order a servicemember would currently participate in the redesigned program. The services generally implement these core components at the installation level and may include other components in addition to TAP. Rather than TAP continuing to be an end-of-career event, DOD plans to shift to a Military Life Cycle Transition Model after October 2014. This model is intended to integrate transition preparation—counseling, assessments, and access to resources to build skills or credentials— throughout the course of a servicemember’s military career. The VEI Task Force oversaw the design and development of the revised TAP and was led by DOD and VA. Other agencies participating on the VEI Task Force include DOL, the Department of Education, the Office of Management and Budget, the Office of Personnel Management, and the Small Business Administration (SBA). Members of the White House staff and senior representatives from each service also participated. Each agency is responsible for different activities. For example, DOD provides guidance and monitors compliance with TAP provisions, and DOL facilitates the employment workshop. Also, each service coordinates with agencies on scheduling TAP workshops and briefings. The respective roles and responsibilities are spelled out in a memorandum of understanding (MOU), which the agencies signed in January 2014. A new TAP governance structure, established in October 2013, steers implementation of TAP and will modify the program, as needed, through 2016. The new governance structure is co-led by DOD in 2014 and co- chaired by VA and DOL. With the draw down from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and as the military makes ongoing and planned force structure reductions, many servicemembers are projected to depart the military through 2017. TAP is one of a number of federal programs to assist transitioning servicemembers and veterans in developing job skills and securing civilian employment. TAP serves as a gateway to additional information and services that are available, either while servicemembers are on active duty or after they have separated from the military. For example the DOL employment workshop highlights many of the skills and techniques helpful in obtaining employment. After completing the workshop, servicemembers can benefit further by returning to the TAP offices on installations, using services at local VA and DOL offices, or using websites introduced to participants during TAP training. Once servicemembers separate from the military, a number of other federal programs offer assistance. These programs include five employment and training programs overseen by DOL and VA that target veterans.to veterans. For example, DOL provides grants to states to support state workforce agency staff positions, Disabled Veterans’ Outreach Program Specialists and Local Veterans Employment Representatives, who serve veterans through the Jobs for Veterans State Grant Program. In addition, VA provides employment services to certain veterans with disabilities through the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Program. As of 2012, the program was offered in 56 regional offices and 169 satellite offices. In addition, DOD helps National Guard and Reserve members obtain civilian employment though its operation of other programs, including the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program and Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve. For example, the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program serves National Guard and Reserve members and their families by hosting events that provide information on employment opportunities, health care, education/training opportunities, finances, and legal benefits. As of December 2, 2013, DOD, DOL, and VA have implemented changes to the program’s key components at most of the 206 military installations that provide TAP. However, a few program components have not yet been fully implemented by the agencies. For example, the agencies are still using the previous version of the VA benefits briefing at a number of locations and are offering the career technical training track at fewer than half of the TAP locations. Although some agencies had planned to fully implement the revamped TAP at all locations by October 1, 2013, they missed their targeted time frame. According to the revised plan, agencies now expect to implement virtually all components by the end of March 2014, with full implementation planned by June 2014. The planned start dates and the status of agencies’ efforts to implement the key components at the 206 TAP locations are summarized in figure 2. Pre-separation counseling and DOD Core Curriculum: According to DOD officials, eligible servicemembers were participating in pre-separation counseling and the modules in the new DOD core curriculum by November 21, 2012 at all TAP locations. As noted previously, part of the DOD core curriculum includes a module on translating military skills to civilian job requirements. Current military crosswalks map the majority of military occupations to a single civilian occupation. Based on those crosswalks and supplemented by analyses from Army and Navy credentialing websites, tools like DOL’s My Next Move and My Next Move for Veterans can suggest multiple occupations for career exploration. To enhance the existing electronic tools used for the crosswalk, DOL contracted with an organization to identify equivalencies between military and civilian jobs, as required by the VOW Act. According to DOL officials, the results of the military equivalencies study will enhance the military- civilian crosswalk by enabling a mapping of a single military occupation into multiple civilian occupations based on an analysis of embedded skill sets in addition to the similarity of tasks performed. This will be done for a selected set of military occupations that represent 59 percent of current active duty servicemembers. DOL officials said they plan to complete the update of the electronic tools beginning in 2014. DOL Employment Workshop: Effective November 21, 2012, DOD was generally required to mandate participation in the program with some exceptions. According to DOD and DOL officials, the agencies met this participation requirement in the VOW Act by offering eligible servicemembers, with some exceptions, the previous or revised version of the DOL employment workshops at domestic and overseas locations by November 21, 2012. Moreover, as required by the act, the DOL employment workshops are being conducted by contractors at all TAP locations.offered at all TAP locations, according to DOD and DOL officials. As of the spring of 2013, the revised workshop was being VA Benefits Briefing: All departing servicemembers are generally required to be provided the VA benefits briefing. Officials from DOD and VA stated that this participation requirement was met by offering servicemembers the previous version of the VA benefits briefing while implementing a phased rollout of the revised VA benefits I and II briefings. As of December 2, 2013, the revised VA benefits I and II briefings were unavailable at about 8 percent of TAP locations. VA officials said that the revised VA benefits briefings are offered at all domestic locations. However, the revised briefings are not currently offered in all overseas locations, such as Air Force locations in Germany, South Korea, and Japan. Although VA planned to implement the revised benefits briefings by October 1, 2013, full implementation is now expected no later than March 31, 2014, according to VA officials. DOD and VA officials said that VA faced challenges, such as training enough personnel to facilitate the revised briefings at these overseas locations during the extended furlough and delays with negotiating agreements with foreign nations hosting U.S. military forces. Career-specific Tracks: Since late 2012 the agencies had been planning to fully implement these tracks by October 2013. However, as of December 2, 2013, the tracks were not fully implemented, particularly at overseas locations: Entrepreneurial Track: SBA offers the entrepreneurial track at least quarterly at all domestic locations, but this only meets 12 percent of the estimated total demand for the track, according to SBA officials. Moreover, the track is not offered at the majority of overseas locations.