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Transition Assistance Program (TAP) Job Aid for Service Members and Veterans

Purpose

The primary purpose of this Job Aid is to provide guidance to the Service members and Veterans

on how to navigate from the DoDTAP.mil website on to milConnect and access the Service

member and Veterans portlet on milConnect. Additional guidance is given on how to navigate the

eForm once the Service member is logged into the DoDTAP web page of the milConnect portal.

Similar the previous version, the Service members can initiate or continue to complete the

electronic Form (eForm) online to initialize the pre-separation counseling process, view existing

transition documents, view completed training CRS modules, tracks and mandatory curriculum or

access their training transcript on the VMET (Verification of Military Experience Training) tab.

Additional resources available on the portlet include the Pre-Separation Executive Summary,

Financial Planning Worksheet and the Transition GPS Participant Assessment. Veterans can

access and print their completed DD Form 2648 and download their training transcript (DD Form

2586 and cover letter) from VMET on the same web page.

Background

The Transition Assistance Program (TAP) eForm was developed and designed to support the TAP

policies to include: streamlining the TAP data collection process, reducing redundant data, pre-

populating of PII data from DEERS database, providing explanations on some data fields using

embedded “pop up boxes” and producing a single .PDF (DD Form 2648) upon completion of all

required data input and Career Readiness Standards (CRS) required for TAP.

The eForm is divided into four sections to support collecting the required data in accordance with

the DoD and TAP policies. The sections are divided as follows: Service Member Personal

Information, Pre-Separation / Transition Counseling Needs Assessment (which now includes

Initial Counseling. Initial Counseling will be a separate section in a future release), Other Warm

Handover and Supporting Agencies and Signatures and Remarks.

Service Member Personal Information:

The Service member personal information is pre-populated from the DEERS database. The

Service member must verify the accuracy of the data. Information inaccuracies must be reported

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to and resolved by the servicing personnel office prior to completing the transition process.

Editable elements, such as Unit Identification Code, Unit Name and Anticipated Separation Date

may be filed in by the Service member. The remaining editable fields are completed by the TAP

Counselor.

The new eForm embeds the mandated Initial Counseling within the Service member Personal

Information section. Initial Counseling is mandatory for all eligible Service members no later than

365 days before separation, in accordance with Title 10 United States Code (U.S.C.), Chapter 58,

sections 1142, 1143, 1143a, 1144, 1145, 1146, 1147, 1148, 1149, 1150, 1151 and 1154 as well as

DoD policies. The Service member must receive individualized Initial Counseling provided by

TAP staff or command career counselors to determine the transition pathways and tier level in

which a Service member is placed. Additionally, Initial Counseling is used to determine the

required career readiness standards (CRS) modules and additional tracks in additional to the

mandatory curriculum. An integral part of Initial Counseling is the personal Self-Assessment and

Individual Transition Plan. Initial Counseling is conducted 365 days from anticipated separation

date

Pre-Separation Counseling:

Pre-Separation Counseling is also mandatory for all eligible Service members no later than 365

days before separation, in accordance with Title 10 United States Code (U.S.C.), Chapter 58,

sections 1142, 1143, 1143a, 1144, 1145, 1146, 1147, 1148, 1149, 1150, 1151 and 1154 as well as

DoD policies. The Service member will be informed of available services, benefits, curriculum,

assessments, CRS deliverables as listed on the DD Form 2648 (based on Pathway and Tier Level

as determined during Initial Counseling), and ITP during and after separation, retirement, or

release from active duty. When necessary or requested, eligible Service members will receive

additional counseling and referral to external government agencies for post transition support.

Capstone Review is the final review of the Service member’s progress in accomplishing all

transition goals as approved at the Pre-Separation Counseling session. This is mandatory in order

for the eligible Service members to produce evidence of the deliverables that meet the CRS to

TAP staff or command career counselors before the Capstone Commander’s Verification.

The Commander / Designee Verification session is the last mandatory requirement where eligible

Service members produce evidence of the deliverables that meet the CRS to the Commander or

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Designee Verification.

Other Warm Handover and Supporting Agencies

Eligible Service members may be referred to external Federal or State agencies at capstone based

on the need or requirement for additional support for post transition assistance. The Service

member may also opt in to or request additional assistance during the capstone event with the

TAP Counselor. The TAP Counselor will contact the agency and provide contact information to

the Service member to facilitate post transition coordination.

Signatures and Remarks:

In this section, the Service member is asked to “Opt In” or out of sharing personal contact

information with Federal and/or State agencies for post transition support, critical language skill

call up when needed or post transition follow up surveys.

At the conclusion of the Opt In questions and Capstone event, the Service members and TAP

Counselors digitally sign the eForm. An email is generated to notify the commander/designee of

the Service member’s completing TAP and request commander verification. The

Commander/Designee signs the eForm to verify completion of all CRS and Warm Handover

requirements. The remarks section is provided for the commander to make additional comments

regarding the transitioning Service member.

Note 1: The eForm does not allow two people to access the form at the same time for version control reasons. Ensure you, the Service member, sign-out of the eForm every time after you complete inputting data to allow your TAP counselor(s) to access and review the form.Note2: Below are the screens for navigating from milConnect to DoDTAP website.

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Navigating the DoDTAP Website for Service Members and Veterans

1. Open a browser and enter the URL https://www.dodtap.mil/login.html

2. From the main page of DoDTAP, you will be directed to MilConnect (If it does not work copy and paste this link: https://milconnect -pki.dmdc.osd.mil/milconnect/ )

3. Select the Sign In button (top right).4. Read the instructions to login to MilConnect and click the tab (DS Logon, CAC, DFAS)

for how you would like to logon. At the Self-Service Consent to Monitor, select ‘OK’ button to go to the milConnect home page.

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5. After logging in to milConnect: Select “Correspondence/Documentation” dropdown menu.

6. Scroll down and select DoD Transition Assistance Program (DoDTAP) (Last item on list) and open the DoD Transition Assistance Program for Service Members and Veterans (DoDTAP) page.

7. You should now be on your Dashboard View. From here you may select the VMET Tab and follow instructions to print VMET record and cover letter.

8. To start a new eForm, click My Dashboard tab and scroll down to “Initialize Pre-Separation Counseling”.

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9. Follow instructions to complete form.

Note 1: You should be able to see all your transition documents that you completed or were completed and reported for you on the dashboard.

Note 2: You should be able to see all completed CRS, Mandatory Curriculum and Track sessions on the dashboard.