MYTT isn't a single course you sit through once — it's a running checklist, broken into six windows (24-18 months, 18-12 months, 12-6 months, 6-4 months, 3 months, and 90 days or less), plus a final set of day-of-separation tasks. Each window bundles together the actions that actually matter at that point in your timeline, so you're not guessing what to do next or discovering a deadline after it's passed.
What's actually in each window
The earliest window (24-18 months out) is mostly about starting the process: making your first appointment with a TAP counselor, scheduling your Individualized Initial Counseling and Pre-Separation Brief if you're separating, identifying a mentor, and reviewing your service records (Joint Service Transcript, VMET) for accuracy while they're still easy to correct.
By 18-12 months, the checklist shifts toward concrete groundwork — exploring SkillBridge or credentialing through COOL, scheduling your actual TAP courses, and building a master resume. The 12-6 month window adds financial and medical items: creating a VA.gov account, starting your job search in earnest, and requesting your medical records so nothing gets left off before you separate.
The final stretch (6 months and closer) gets specific and time-sensitive: scheduling your Compensation and Pension exam if you're filing a VA disability claim, registering for TRICARE if you're retiring, and — no later than 90 days before separation — scheduling your Capstone appointment, where a TAP counselor and your commander or their designee verify you've actually completed everything required.
Why this matters more than it looks like it does
The single fact worth remembering from all of this: transition activities must begin no later than 365 days before your transition date, and can start as early as 24 months before retirement. That 365-day line isn't a suggestion — it's when your Individualized Initial Counseling and Pre-Separation Brief are required by law. Waiting past it means compressing tasks that are designed to be spread out, right when you have the least slack to do it.
If you're not sure which window you're in right now, count backward from your separation date and find yourself on the MYTT chart. Everything above it is either done or should be — everything below it is coming.
For the full picture of how MYTT fits into the rest of TAP (Pre-Separation Counseling, the employment tracks, Capstone), see The 4 Types of Transitioning Service Members — GSA/VA Research, which covers how your own transition style should shape how you use a timeline like this one.