The system that supports an estimated 245,000 service members as they transition out of the military each year is “fragmented and under-resourced,” according to a report released Thursday by the Council on Criminal Justice’s Veterans Justice Commission. The commission, led by former Secretaries of Defense Chuck Hagel and Leon Panetta, offers a thoroughly detailed plan of action for restructuring the transition process and placing new veterans on a track for greater success in the civilian world.

Among the flawed and inadequate programs the commission seeks to improve is the Transition Assistance Program. While required of departing service members, the course is neither uniformly attended nor demonstrably effective, the commission found. Another program, SkillBridge, can be effective in linking veterans with job training to prepare them for a civilian career, but because it pulls service members from their unit for 180 days, some commanders deny attendance due to its interference with “commanders’ primary and most essential responsibility — maintaining mission readiness.”