My plan for transistion and how I secured employment 4 months before retirement. How are you preparing for transition from the military?

I have read article upon article about how veternas are retiring or ets'ing only to find that there aren't jobs waiting for them upon release. It's true, jobs are not just sitting outside the gate waiting for us to walk in and get them. I started my transistion to civilian life three years ago with a plan for transistion. I had no experience in doing it, but I had ACAP/ITAP people to help advise. I also had a LinkedIn account, Facebook, USAjobs.gov, and the ability to network with government contractors that were on post. The key to my employment 4 months in advance of retirement date has most definitely been in networking with contractors. I also went to the DOD Contract Award website to see who had been recently awarded high profile contracts, and put together my short list of companies that I wanted to work for, in relation to the kind of contract awarded.