Get Task & Purpose in your inbox Sign up for Task & Purpose Today to get the latest in military news each morning. The Department of Defense recently updated its rules on “continuity of mental health care” for separating troops, a policy meant to connect departing service members to mental health resources as they leave service. A key part of that transition is a mental health assessment, or MHA, required for military members within 180 days of separating. But that mental health screening, experts told Task & Purpose, does not fully capture the new stresses that many troops run into soon after leaving. That report found that the Pentagon did not track whether service members were receiving outgoing mental health assessments before separation.