Many service members experience difficulties when transitioning to civilian life after leaving the military. A new report has revealed that, during a 23-month period, the Department of Defense (DOD) failed to assist more than 4,000 at-risk troops.
A report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the Department of Defense (DOD), despite having a policy to assist at-risk service members during their transition, failed to help 4,300 troops between April 2021 and March 2023. This assistance, known as a “warm handover,” is supposed to provide these troops with a person-to-person connection to support agencies, such as the Veterans Administration (VA), to aid in their transition.
“According to DOD’s policy, service members who do not meet all applicable career readiness standards (such as developing a financial plan or completing an individual transition plan) are to receive a warm handover,” the report states.
Other requirements for service members to receive the handover include those who were not honorably discharged, who do not have plans for housing, employment, health care, or transportation, and who are determined to need peer support.
Hundreds of thousands of service members each year make the transition from the military to civilian life, and some are at risk of severe challenges, including homelessness.
Veterans also have a higher rate of suicide than civilians. According to the latest VA report, there were 6,392 veteran suicide deaths in 2021, an increase of 114 from 2020.
“Veterans remain at elevated risk for suicide. These numbers are more than statistics. They reflect veterans’ lives prematurely ended, which continue to be grieved by family members, loved ones, and the nation,” the American Association of Suicidology (AAS) reported. The AAS review of the 2023 VA report showed that from 2020 to 2021, the age- and sex-adjusted suicide rate among veterans increased by 11.6 percent, while those same rates among non-veteran adults increased by 4.5 percent.
Transitioning to civilian life is challenging for many veterans, whether they are considered at risk or not.
One veteran, who wasn’t considered to be at risk, had a solid plan in place for when he left the military and spoke about the transition.
Brian Wheat, who joined the Army in May of 2002 as a military police officer, told The Epoch Times, “I was motivated to get involved because after graduation from college, the attacks of 9/11 weighed heavy on my mind, and I stayed in the service because it was a very fulfilling career that helped me grow as an individual and provided an outlet to give back to those less fortunate.”
Mr. Wheat worked his way through the ranks over 20 years and was discharged in 2022.
“Transitioning was very difficult and scary at the same time,” said Mr. Wheat. “Finding time to attend the hiring events, transition classes, scheduling medical appointments, and writing a resume were all difficult. The military has you working (in general) until the last few weeks before your ETS [expiration date of service] date, if they can.”
Mr. Wheat said even writing a resume and applying to jobs proved to be a full-time job itself. He said, “The biggest surprise during that transition was how different the application and career process was from my time in the Army. In the military, there’s a clear path from A to B to C, careerwise. It can be flexible based on your interests and skills, but the general steps are the same.”
Jim Whaley, CEO of Mission Roll Call, questioned in an op-ed if the funding increases to the DOD and VA have improved the outcomes for veterans.
“Recognizing that more money does not always mean better results, what can the government do to not waste its resources for veterans? For starters, it can improve the transition to civilian life process from the Department of Defense to the VA,” Mr. Whaley wrote.
He indicated community care and local nonprofits can be tapped to help when the VA fails to timely serve veterans, and partnerships with corporations can help support veteran employment.
Mr. Whaley said the change is never easy for the nearly 250,000 veterans who transition every year and it’s made “even more difficult by a confusing and fragmented system involving both the VA and DOD.”
He pointed out veterans are given what he called a “cookie-cutter assessment” that does not always meet veterans’ individualized needs and “service members often fall through the cracks for lack of a warm hand-off between the DOD and VA.” It leaves veterans facing the challenges of transitioning without preparation, education, or support, he wrote.
The GAO report showed the process is a fragmented one with little accountability, as DOD officials did not analyze why some transitioning troops didn’t receive assistance. The Defense Department also did not have a plan in place to assess if the service members who were provided with a warm handover actually received services from the other agencies or if the veterans achieved a positive outcome.
The GAO made six recommendations to improve the warm handover process and the DOD concurred with them all.
