JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- In order to provide better individual assistance to Soldiers transitioning into the civilian world, the Soldier for Life Transition Assistance Program (SFL-TAP) was updated as of Oct. 1 at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska.
The program was congressionally mandated due to service members being involuntarily separated by the force structure drawdowns of the late 1980s, and struggling to find work as civilians.
SFL-TAP is a five-day program which meets in Building 600, room B248 on JBER-R. The program contains a three-part curriculum: transition planning and budgeting, workforce knowledge and Veterans Affairs.
“Soldiers are getting a transition plan that is more tailored to meet specific individual needs rather than the ‘one-size-fits-all’ program that’s been the overall standard,” said Walter Herd, director of the Army-wide SLF-TAP program.
The program’s employees will show troops what a civilian job interview is like and teach them to avoid using jargon, teach them how much money they’ll need to make as a civilian to maintain their lifestyles, help troops learn how to advertise their professional achievements to civilian employers, and a variety of other skills.
The changes provide a new self-assessment, an updated curriculum and a requirement that Soldiers join the program 18 months before their estimated time of separation. The program also suggests that anyone retiring should start the program 24 months in advance.
“It is our hope that these changes will provide ample time for transitioning service members to begin thinking about their transition and begin planning accordingly,” said Tamre H. Newton, director of Department of Defense’s Transition to Veterans Program Office.
The end of the program results in the TAP Capstone meeting, where SFL-TAP employees review and ensure each person has completed all the required documents.
“A supervisor recommended I go through a second time, so with reluctance I did,” said one attendee. “It was staggering how many holes in my knowledge the second iteration filled in. At the end of your service, you will be as employable as a civilian counterpart who shares a similar job title; TAP just helps you believe it.”
The Soldier for Life Transition Assistance Program will have further changes added to the curriculum and a new pre-separation briefing at some point in the future.
For more information, visit DODTAP.mil.
(Editor’s note: Information from this story was taken from Reform: Changes Roll Out for Transition Assistance Program, Local Soldier for Life-Transition Assistance Program Officials Excited about Changes, by Mr. Keith Pannell, and Thoughts on TAP, my Second Time Through, by Senior Airman Richard Hayes)