COOL for You

Use Credentialing Opportunities On-Line (COOL) to:

Find civilian credentials related to your military occupational specialty
Understand what it takes to obtain the credentials
See if there are available programs that will help pay credentialing fees

Locked on Target

National Focus on Credentialing

Policymakers at all levels of government are working to make it easier for Service members and Veterans to get civilian licenses and certifications. Credentialing is increasingly being recognized as a way to help improve transition to the civilian workforce, while helping to professionalize active duty staff.

Having a license or certification may be the difference between getting a job and not getting job when people leave the Service. This fact is recognized by the White House, Congress, the Department of Defense, state officials, Veteran Service Organizations, and other stakeholders, and they have all been working hard to reduce barriers to licensure and certification. Credentialing Task Forces, federal and state legislation, a National Credentialing Summit, and pilot programs with selected credentialing agencies are just a few of the recent initiatives to promote licensure and certification of Service Members.

Having a certification or license has never been more important for active duty and transitioning Service Members – and COOL is all about helping you to find them! Use COOL’s search feature to find credentials related to your MOS, and to learn what you need to know to get certified!

"Locked on Target" is an Army COOL feature highlighting items worthy of special attention.

National Guard and Reserves Members

If you are a member of the National Guard or Reserves, you may be able to receive GI Bill reimbursement for licensing and certifications test fees. Qualifying members of the Guard and Reserve can now receive reimbursement of up to $2,000 per test. The benefit has been available to Active Duty service members through the GI Bill since 2002, and was extended to qualifying members of the Guard and Reserve in January 2006. For more information and to find out whether you qualify for this benefit, please see the Department of Veterans’ Affairs Licensing and Certification Brochure.

Promotion Points

Soldiers competing for promotion to sergeant and staff sergeant can now receive promotion points for approved technical certifications. COOL identifies these certifications with the promotion points icon: . Look for the icon as you review information for your military occupational specialty.

For information about technical certification and promotion points, see:

The Technical Certification and Promotion Points Fact Sheet
The U.S. Army Human Resources Command Technical Certification Matrices Web page