The Army recently updated rules for soldier participation in training and apprenticeship programs in their final six months of service, cutting down time windows for some in order to prioritize junior service members and maintain unit readiness.
The changes, released in a military personnel message on Thursday, splits ranks into three categories with an associated number of days left on contract before they can use the Army Career Skills Program, Department of Defense SkillBridge and other internship programs.
For category I, or ranks E1 to E5, soldiers may spend up to 120 days in the training before they end their service with the approval of a field grade commander.
Category II, or ranks E6-E7, WO1-CW3 and O1-O3, may participate in up to 90 days of training before the end of their contract with the approval of the first O6 commander in their chain of command.
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Category III includes ranks E8 and above, CW4 and above and O4 and above. Those in category III may use 60 days with the approval of the first general officer in their chain of command.
The goal, Army spokesperson Lt. Col. Orlandon Howard told Army Times in an emailed statement, is to prioritize junior enlisted needs for the program and continue to support all soldiers seeking out such programs while limiting the impact on unit readiness that end-of-contract training may create.
“The Army recognizes the value of the Career Skills Program, SkillBridge, and individual internship programs for Soldiers transitioning from the military to civilian life,” Howard said. “These changes concentrate the programs’ benefits where they’re needed most while limiting the impact on readiness.”
Previously, the Army allowed any rank to be eligible for such training for 120 days and required only the approval of the first field grade commander.
Last year, the Marine Corps cut time in the program for exiting jarheads. The new standard allows Marines up to the rank of E5 to begin the program at the 120-day mark, while all ranks above sergeant may spend up to 90 days in the program, Marine Corps Times reported.
In 2023, Army Times reported that two key senators said the military was “falling short” in preparing troops for their transition to civilian work.
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The comments by Sens. Angus King, I-Maine, and Kevin Craimer, R-N.D., echoed concerns in a Government Accountability Office report.
The report noted much of the transition assistance program was too superficial and that 70% of transitioning troops did not begin the Transition Assistance Program until they were under a year left in their contract, despite the program requiring such TAP training be completed prior to the last year of service.
An estimated 200,000 troops leave U.S. military service annually, Army Times previously reported. Research has shown that veterans face their highest risk of mental health problems and suicide within the first year of separation.
Todd South has written about crime, courts, government and the military for multiple publications since 2004 and was named a 2014 Pulitzer finalist for a co-written project on witness intimidation. Todd is a Marine veteran of the Iraq War.
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