Transition Assistance Program

Soldier for Life - Transition Assistance Program

Mission

The Soldier For Life Transition Assistance Program (SFL-TAP) is designed to assist Soldiers leaving the military service to transition to a civilian school/college or to the civilian job market. Another important facet of the counseling process takes place when the Soldier is referred by SFL-TAP for ETS counseling.

Eligibility

All Soldiers, including full-time Active Guard Reserve, Reservists and DA Civilian, are eligible for all of the services that TAP has to offer.

• If you are Expiration Term of Service (ETSing), you can start TAP as far as 1 year from your ETS date in accordance with (IAW) Directive-Type Memorandum (DTM) 12-007: Implementation of Mandatory Transition Assistance Program Participation for Eligible Service Members and Operation Order 054-12.
• If you are retiring, you can start TAP as far as 2 years from your retirement date IAW Directive-Type Memorandum (DTM) 12-007: Implementation of Mandatory Transition Assistance Program Participation for Eligible Service Members and Operation Order 054-12.
• Your spouse is eligible for all TAP services as long as you are eligible.

The SFL-TAP Process

The SFL-TAP process must be initiated early. Allowing Soldiers to start early provides you and the Soldier the flexibility needed to prevent a conflict between mission requirements and SFL-TAP services. It also ensures compliance with timeliness standards and promotes the program’s effectiveness. As they prepare for transition, Soldiers need an average of 40 hours, spread over a 12-24 month period of time, to take advantage of SFL-TAP services. For more information on timeliness requirements and the need to start early, read Getting Started Early.