Service Member Transitions Survey

Young woman in a military uniform looks at the door of a large house, photo by SDI Productions/Getty Images

Photo by Getty Images

RAND, a non-profit research organization, is conducting a study funded jointly by the U.S. Department of War and Department of Veterans Affairs. As a part of this project, we surveyed service members who have received military health care and are planning to separate from the military.

The survey is called the Service Member Transitions Survey. Service members had the opportunity to complete two surveys—one before and one after separating from the military. The surveys asked about experiences with transitioning out of the military, including experiences with health care before and after separation. We have completed enrollment for this survey. If you participated, you may receive an invitation for an additional survey.

This survey is endorsed by Ms. Susan Orsega, Deputy Assistant Secretary of War Health Services Policy and Oversight, and Dr. Carolyn Clancy, VHA Assistant Undersecretary for Health, Discovery, Education and Affiliate Networks, as stated in the Letters of Support.

Take the Survey

For this survey, we invited a random sample of service members who were planning to separate from the military in the next few months and recently received military health care. Participants who completed the first survey were contacted for a second survey between January and August 2025.

Prior to transitioning out of the military, participants could agree to be contacted about an additional follow-up survey. If you agreed to this, you will be invited to take the additional survey between January and August 2026. Instructions on how to complete this survey will be sent by email.

This study aims to identify ways to improve the experience of service members as they transition out of the military. It is important for us to hear from service members about their experiences so that the DoW and VA have the information to improve service members' transition experiences. Thank you for your participation.

Your participation in the study is voluntary. As a token of our appreciation, you will be offered $60 for completing the additional survey.

Confidentiality

We will protect the confidentiality of your responses. RAND will not link your responses on the survey to your name or any other information that could identify you. RAND will not include any participant names or other potentially identifying information in any reports.

This survey received all required human subjects and regulatory approvals.