Here at KFOR, we have the opportunity to extend our tour for another rotation if we want to. Caveats apply, of course; the incoming unit that will replace us has to agree to take you on their roster. This implies that they have a need for someone of your skills, and if they don’t need anyone in that job, well, you’re out of luck.

Why in the world would anyone want to do this? You’d be surprised. I’ve met people here who are on their third rotation, and I’ve heard of people who have been here for four or more. To be fair, if you don’t have a job or anything else waiting for you back home, it’s not a bad gig. You get paid decent, you have few actual expenses (food and housing are not impressive, but they are free) and if you like your job, it may be an easy choice.

But another factor, frankly, is not having to do the Transition Assistance Program, or TAP. The TAP is designed to help soldiers transition out of Active Duty life and into a civilian job market. You have to take classes on building a resume, figuring out your marketable skills, think about how to tackle housing expenses, explains how to understand a paycheck and taxes, all that.

It used to be that veterans bounced out of Active Duty and just turned loose. No plan, no job, nothing. Many people had a hard time adjusting and would even wind up homeless. The TAP sounds like a good idea, for young soldiers who’ve never experienced the civilian job market –maybe joining the military fresh out of school– but for those of us who have been around awhile, especially National Guard and Reserves who, by definition, already have civilian lives to return to, it is a tedious waste of time.

We seriously had to take four hours out of our day to attend a dull powerpoint lecture that meticulously instructed us on what a “job” is, and the difference between “net” and “gross” pay, and that we’d have taxes deducted from our paychecks, and stuff like that. Then we had another 4 to 8 hours of online classes that explained –in detail– what a mortgage is, and why you have to have insurance.

I wonder if many people who volunteered to extend were merely trying to save themselves from TAP. I have to admit, it was tempting.