The General Accounting Office (GAO) examined the transition assistance programs offered by each military branch and their effectiveness. Data were gathered from the following sources: (1) program descriptions and administrative data; (2) structured group interviews with approximately 70 service members who had participated in the transition assistance workshop, including separatees and retirees and members expected to separate with a disability; and (3) existing studies of the transition assistance program. The following were among the GAO's main conclusions: (1) although each branch of the military provides required pre-separation counseling and offers transition assistance workshops to help service members transition to civilian life, not all eligible service members receive transition assistance; (2) transition assistance varies in content and delivery across the military branches; (3) access to transition assistance varies depending on service members' unique circumstances, including the location at which they are stationed; (4) the service members interviewed generally liked the services they received, and several studies confirm participant satisfaction with transition assistance; and (5) isolating the impact of transition assistance on employment, education, and other outcomes is difficult because of data inadequacies and methodological challenges. A need for additional research on topics such as the impact of transition assistance on employment and on recruitment and retention was identified. (MN)