Revised Military Transition Program

For the first time in nearly 20 years, the Air Force is overhauling its transition assistance program, which is designed to ease airmen’s shift to civilian life when leaving the military, said service officials. The reworked initiative, which launches in November, bolsters efforts to help airmen to be employment-ready by teaching them how to apply their military experience in the civilian world, according to an Aug. 15 release. “America’s airmen have extraordinary technical expertise and world-class leadership skills that are in high demand,” said Air Force Secretary Michael Donley. Come November, the current three-day, optional program will run for five days and be mandatory, states the release. In addition to building job-search skills, it will include pre-separation counseling, a military-to-civilian skills review, a Veterans Affairs benefits briefing, and financial planning support. Another benefit of the updated program is the inclusion of separating Air National Guardsmen and Air Force Reservists. “We want to take care of all our airmen, and this program does that,” said CMSAF James Roy. (Washington, D.C., report by Joel Fortner)