Benefits of SFL-TAP invaluable to those leaving military service

FORT LEE, VA, UNITED STATES

09.24.2020

Story by Tammy Reed 

Fort Gregg-Adams

FORT LEE, VA. -- Time muscles on even through a pandemic, and DOD service members continue to either reach retirement or their desired end of service. They then face transitioning to civilian life, which can be an unfamiliar world where many feel overwhelmed and lost.

Soldier for Life Transition Assistance Program employees want troops who are thinking of leaving the military, retiring or making a career change to talk to them long before reaching their departure date for help easing into their new life.

SFL-TAP was established by Congress in the FY91 National Defense Authorization Act. Their mission is to provide pre-separation counseling, transition and employment assistance services to active duty, guard and reserve personnel, as well as DOD Civilians facing a reduction in force. Military retirees and all work-age family members of the above groups also are eligible for its services.

“Service members are encouraged to start preparing for separation as early as they can,” noted Nastelle Graves, transition services manager at Fort Lee. “Those leaving the service should make an appointment with us 18 months before their departure date. Those retiring should see us 24 months before the retirement date. A new rule established by program changes in October 2019 requires those voluntarily separating from the service or retiring to make an appointment with us no later than 12 months (before departure) for initial counseling.”

Initial counseling is now considered the official start to the transition process. During the session, service members complete a self-assessment and begin developing an Individual Transition Plan to identify needs and post-transition goals. The ITP identifies where the individual will live, how much money they have to carry them over for three months, education level, technical skills, what kind of job they want and more.

“The questions are put together in a way that when they are tabulated, the counselor and service member pretty much jell together, ... and it allows the individual to choose the classes they need and be more flexible in what they are accountable for,” Graves elaborated.

“If you already have a job lined up prior to getting out, for instance, it means you don’t have to attend the class on job interviews and there’s no need to provide a resume because (employment is already) in place. This program is not one-size-fits-all anymore. You have different courses you can take depending on what you need.”

Like other agencies across the Army, SFL-TAP had to adjust its courses and other benefits, such as career fairs, to virtual platforms due to COVID-19; however, those activities are still alive and well, Graves assured.

SFL-TAP clients start with a transition program overview that covers topics like how to translate military skills into civilian ones, financial planning, effective communication, available resources and much more.
There’s also a one-day Veterans Affairs Benefits and Services Workshop – an interactive briefing designed to help transitioning service members make informed decisions regarding the use of VA benefits.

The Department of Labor Employment Fundamentals of Career Transition is a one-day course that lays the foundation for transitioning from military to civilian life. Attendees are introduced to the essential tools and resources they need to evaluate career options, gain information for civilian employment, and understand the basic hiring process.

“Then, you have the option to do any of the employment, vocational training or entrepreneurial (‘Boots to Business’) training tracks,” Graves explained. “Students can do all three if they wish, with the most popular being the employment track, followed by ‘Boots to Business.’”

The latter is a two-day introduction to entrepreneurship training class developed by the Small Business Administration. Veterans Business Outreach Center instructors teach the class and use subject matter experts such as bankers, lawyers, marketing specialists and accountants to augment the financial education segment of the course.

“Our program services Virginia and West Virginia, and over the past seven years we have helped start more than 350 new businesses,” said Don Miller, VBOC assistant director and senior business counselor.

“We have assisted over 1000 other businesses that needed help in growing their customer base or solving issues. (In response to COVID-19,) we have assisted several of our clients with the SBA’s Paycheck Protection and Economic Injury Disaster Loan programs to secure funding from Congress. Since March, we have moved all of our classes to virtual, but we have (held 54 sessions) in the past 12 months, serving over 1,400 veterans and their families.”

Service members who complete the program and actually start a business can continue to reap the benefits of SFL-TAP and the SBA. Common areas where they continue to offer assistance, Miller noted, are networking, marketing and human resources.

Arizone Brown, president and chief executive officer of ASJ IT Services, LLC, (now doing business as ASJ Solutions) started her company six years ago after almost 26 years as an Air Force maintenance officer and a stint at Lockheed Martin. She is an SFL-TAP and “Boots to Business” success story.

“The SBA course is a lot of help, and Don Miller is a great mentor who helped us get a contract,” Brown acknowledged. “One of the biggest things they taught me is how to work on networking. People first think about cold calling to get started, but they said to do warm marketing where you start with people you already know to grow your business.
“I still work with them even after six years of a successful business,” she continued. “I’m mentoring a former service member now, and I speak during the course at times.”

As a DOD program, Fort Lee’s SFL- TAP works with all the branches of service on the installation. Service members can learn more about DODTAP at www.dodtap.mil/index.html. For additional information about the local program, call 757-550-1766 or 598-1703 or email [e-mail].

• Date Taken: 09.24.2020
• Date Posted: 09.24.2020 16:25
• Story ID: 378639
• Location: FORT LEE, VA, US