To download DD Form 2586, the Verification of Military Experience and Training (VMET), log in to the milConnect portal at milconnect.dmdc.osd.mil, open Correspondence/Documentation, select the DoD Transition Assistance Program (DoDTAP), click the VMET tab, and generate the PDF. The whole thing takes a few minutes once you’re signed in.
What You Need to Log In
milConnect is the only place to generate the VMET, and it accepts two kinds of credentials.
- A Common Access Card. If you’re still on active duty or hold a valid CAC with a working chip, insert it into a card reader and choose the CAC login option. This is the most straightforward route.
- A DS Logon. Veterans and anyone without a CAC can use a Department of Defense Self-Service Logon at Level 2 or higher, which requires identity verification during registration.
The DoD is rolling out a replacement sign-in system called myAuth, described as a new multi-factor authentication method that will eventually replace DS Logon across DoD websites. DS Logon credentials continue to work on milConnect during the transition. If you’ve already set up myAuth, you can use it instead.
Steps to Pull the Document
Once you’re inside milConnect, follow this path:
- From the main menu, select Correspondence/Documentation, then choose DoD Transition Assistance Program (DoDTAP).
- Click the VMET tab.
- Select the radio button next to “VMET document (DD-2586).” You’ll see a separate option for a Cover Letter as well.
- Click Submit to generate the PDF.
The system compiles your data and produces a PDF that opens in a new browser window or drops into your downloads. Save it to a personal device so you don’t need to log back in each time you need a copy. Keeping both a digital file and a printed version on hand is worthwhile since you’ll use it repeatedly during job applications and school enrollment.
If the PDF Never Opens
The most common snag is a pop-up blocker killing the new window before the PDF loads. In Chrome, look for a small “Pop-up blocked” icon in the address bar, click it, and select “Always allow pop-ups and redirects from” the milConnect site. In other browsers, check your pop-up settings and whitelist milconnect.dmdc.osd.mil. On a government or employer-managed computer, the network administrator may control these settings, and you might need to request an exception.
If the Data Looks Wrong
Errors on the VMET usually trace back to the source. Your branch’s personnel system either reported incorrect data or never reported certain training at all, and the VMET mirrors whatever sits in the database. To correct an actual error, contact your branch’s military personnel office so they can fix the underlying record. The next VMET you generate will reflect the update.
Don’t wait for a perfect VMET to start your transition paperwork. You can supplement it with your DD-214, evaluation reports, training certificates, and course completion records to fill any gaps.
Who Can Generate a VMET
All DoD service members and veterans can pull a VMET through milConnect. That includes active duty, National Guard, and reservists across the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Space Force.
Two boundaries are worth knowing before you try. If you served before October 1, 1990, your records may not appear in the system, because the VMET database draws from digitized personnel files and data before that cutoff often wasn’t captured electronically. And the Coast Guard has never submitted data to the VMET system, so Coast Guard personnel receive an error message when they attempt to pull their records. The Coast Guard’s own transition assistance program directs members to alternative documentation.
What’s on the Form
The VMET is an automated summary drawn from Department of Defense personnel databases. It organizes your career into three parts:
- Every Military Occupational Specialty, Air Force Specialty Code, or Navy Rating you held, described in plain civilian workforce terms so an employer unfamiliar with military jargon can understand what you did.
- Official course titles, completion dates, and DoD course identification numbers for the formal training you received.
- American Council on Education credit recommendations, listing recommended semester-hour equivalents in specific academic subjects for your military training.
Each branch feeds data into the system independently, so the level of detail varies with how thoroughly your service recorded it.
The Cover Letter Option
Alongside the VMET, milConnect offers a separate one-page Cover Letter that explains what the document is and gives context to anyone reviewing it, such as an employer who has never seen military training paperwork. Generate it at the same time so you can hand both to a hiring manager or admissions office as a package.
VMET Is Not the Joint Services Transcript
Searchers often confuse the two. The VMET is a career summary aimed at employers and describes your military work in civilian language. The Joint Services Transcript is the official academic transcript that colleges and universities use to award transfer credit, and more than 2,500 institutions accept ACE credit recommendations through it. If you want college credit for military training, you need the JST, requested separately at jst.doded.mil. For a complete transition file, get both.