I have now begun my terminal leave, and without much fanfare. I told my superiors I did not care for the pomp and circumstance of a farewell or the pinning ceremony for an ETS award, and with the activity the unit was under they seemed happy to oblige. In fact, they did not even realize I had signed out on terminal leave. A week after I had left and moved across the country I received a text message asking me to appear for my final performance evaluation counseling. I responded that that would be a little difficult, considering I had already started my civilian job.
I initially attempted to take advantage of several transition programs to allow me to leave ahead of my terminal leave date, including the new Career Skills Program up to 180 days ahead of your ETS date. This is a fantastic program that allows a Service Member to transition to on-the-job training, free to a future employer, while still being paid a military paycheck, and can lead to employment at the end of that training. The Department of Defense memorandum authorizing the program indicates that the approval authority is a Battalion Commander, and mine was on-board with the program. However, it seems that Installation Generals have decided the program falls under their purview and usurped the program from the DoD's intended location of approval, because they believe there is a technicality in the regulations that a Soldier must be placed on Permissive TDY to partake in this program and Battalion Commanders do not have the approval authority to do that. My installation commander, in lieu of DoD guidance, restricted the program in such a way that no Service Member could possibly qualify under the guidelines, even though my Battalion Commander approved my absence and my future employer was eager to accept me under the conditions of the program. I found this typical of processes in the military, where someone that has never encountered you as an individual finds it easier to rubber stamp "No" on a request. Finding the people in the Military who are willing to work to get to the "Yes" is difficult. For those of you willing to stay in the military, surround yourself with the kinds of people that are willing to find the way to get to the "Yes." I was the person who got in to trouble by trying to ferret out the "yes" answer even after superior after superior told me "no." When I finally found people that would help me find out how to accomplish something, the people that had told me "no" before were, of course, upset that I did not give up. It is those people, the "no" people, who are so prevalent, that drove me to find the pathway out of the Army, because outside the Army is where success can be found. Sure, success inside the Army is a well trod path, but walking that way took me farther and farther from the people I loved.
There are other ways to leave the military earlier than terminal leave allows. One is "Advanced leave," which turns into excess leave upon termination. According to Department of Army regulations, a Battalion Commander can approve up to 30 days of Advanced Leave in cases of morale, family emergencies, etc. Upon termination, excess leave is reimbursed financially to the military as if you simply were not working for those 30 days, so you basically do not get a pay check and have no benefits for those 30 days. However, my higher echelon somehow superceded DA regulations and decided that a Brigade Commander had to sign any request for Advanced Leave and effectively stalled my request until it became meaningless. Again, this was a case of someone simply saying "no" and not attempting to help me find the "yes" answer, even though my employer wanted me and had already tried and failed to get me through the Career Skills Program 180 days early.
There is currently a program for Enlisted Soldiers to exit the Army 180 days ahead of their contract date in order to attend College, you can check with your Reenlistment NCO about that, it's a great option.
Officers with an approved ETS date can also request an earlier release with HRC for the purposes of accepting a job offer or starting school on a specific date, which must be signed by a Brigade Commander. Check with S1, some call it a "curtailment" but that is not the official term which only applies to shortening a tour or a term of enlistment. I had requested a 60 day early release, which I was assured would be approved, but which took HRC 2 months to deny.
In the end, the only process that got me out was my terminal leave date. And be sure to note, not all Soldiers get Permissive TDY for transition, only Soldiers involuntarily separated and Retiring Soldiers. Normal separations are not allowed Permissive TDY by regulation, although apparently some S1's do not understand this and approve the paperwork to the separating Soldier's later detriment!
Showing posts with label career. Show all posts
Showing posts with label career. Show all posts
Monday, August 22, 2016
Thursday, October 15, 2015
Initial In-Person Preseparation Counseling
Last week I began the process with Soldier for Life Transition Assistance Program (SFL-TAP). I'm not sure what the difference is between "ACAP" and "SFL-TAP", it may just be a regional difference or SFL-TAP may be the new acronym for what ACAP used to be. The Army likes to change acronyms for things every few years as a way of showing "progress" and being responsive to critique.
This week I finished the Initial PreSeparation Counseling with an SFL-TAP counsellor and was scheduled for the formal briefings required before receiving the all-important DA 2958, which your CO signs off on and gets submitted as part of the UQR (Unqualified Resignation) packet to BDE and HRC which ultimately results in your DA 214 release from active duty form.
During Initial Counseling I was required to Register on the eBenefits website (https://www.ebenefits.va.gov) and MyHealthEVet website (http://www.myhealth.va.gov) with a username and password so they can be accessed without a CAC card after transitioning out. I also was shown how to print out my Verification of Military Experience & Training (VMET, https://www.dmdc.osd.mil/tgps) and Joint Services Transcript and Summary (JST, https://jst.doded.mil), which is like a college transcript and description of all of my military schools and how they apply to the civilian world, so that a civilian employer can better understand what my job in the Army was like in brief, general terms. A lot of transition benefits were described to me as well, and the counsellor offered assistance with a resume. I had one already created, and had already applied to two jobs, which happened to be a requirement for SFL-TAP as well, so I met those requirements during the initial counseling. The counsellor said that these are the hardest parts for most people, because most people in the Army have never had to write a resume or apply for a job. Having done this already made the counseling session go by very quickly, but most of the time this counseling can take an hour to an hour and a half.
The earliest I could get scheduled for the mandatory, full day, week long briefings was Dec 7th, nearly two months from now, and I am on a small post with not many permanent party residents. The short months in the Fall and the natural personnel cycle of the Army means Fall is a big time for separations, so plan accordingly. I am investigating if I can do any other paperwork between now and the mandatory briefings so the time is not simply idle. The briefings include a Transition Overview and creating an Individual Transition Plan, an MOS Crosswalk description and the creation of a GAP Analysis (how your military job experience benefits your future civilian career, as well as an exploration of what careers might interest you), a Financial Planning Seminar and the creation of a 12 Month Post-Separation Budget, and three days of Dept of Labor Workshops with the creation of a Resume rough draft. Finally there are two VA Benefits Briefings. I am also supposed to visit the on-post Guard/Reserve for "Continuum of Military Service Counseling" which is counseling on the benefits of staying with the military part-time as opposed to going into the Independent Ready Reserve (IRR). This week of briefings is scheduled for all day, 0900 to 1700, but the SFL-TAP counselor wants us to show up in business professional attire instead of duty uniform, in part to get us used to the civilian professional environment, I reckon.
Again, as a word of warning, I recommend starting the ETS process as soon as you possibly can. You can always pull back your packet after you've explored the option, but if you start too late then you won't be able to submit the paperwork on time for your desired ETS date!
This week I finished the Initial PreSeparation Counseling with an SFL-TAP counsellor and was scheduled for the formal briefings required before receiving the all-important DA 2958, which your CO signs off on and gets submitted as part of the UQR (Unqualified Resignation) packet to BDE and HRC which ultimately results in your DA 214 release from active duty form.
During Initial Counseling I was required to Register on the eBenefits website (https://www.ebenefits.va.gov) and MyHealthEVet website (http://www.myhealth.va.gov) with a username and password so they can be accessed without a CAC card after transitioning out. I also was shown how to print out my Verification of Military Experience & Training (VMET, https://www.dmdc.osd.mil/tgps) and Joint Services Transcript and Summary (JST, https://jst.doded.mil), which is like a college transcript and description of all of my military schools and how they apply to the civilian world, so that a civilian employer can better understand what my job in the Army was like in brief, general terms. A lot of transition benefits were described to me as well, and the counsellor offered assistance with a resume. I had one already created, and had already applied to two jobs, which happened to be a requirement for SFL-TAP as well, so I met those requirements during the initial counseling. The counsellor said that these are the hardest parts for most people, because most people in the Army have never had to write a resume or apply for a job. Having done this already made the counseling session go by very quickly, but most of the time this counseling can take an hour to an hour and a half.
The earliest I could get scheduled for the mandatory, full day, week long briefings was Dec 7th, nearly two months from now, and I am on a small post with not many permanent party residents. The short months in the Fall and the natural personnel cycle of the Army means Fall is a big time for separations, so plan accordingly. I am investigating if I can do any other paperwork between now and the mandatory briefings so the time is not simply idle. The briefings include a Transition Overview and creating an Individual Transition Plan, an MOS Crosswalk description and the creation of a GAP Analysis (how your military job experience benefits your future civilian career, as well as an exploration of what careers might interest you), a Financial Planning Seminar and the creation of a 12 Month Post-Separation Budget, and three days of Dept of Labor Workshops with the creation of a Resume rough draft. Finally there are two VA Benefits Briefings. I am also supposed to visit the on-post Guard/Reserve for "Continuum of Military Service Counseling" which is counseling on the benefits of staying with the military part-time as opposed to going into the Independent Ready Reserve (IRR). This week of briefings is scheduled for all day, 0900 to 1700, but the SFL-TAP counselor wants us to show up in business professional attire instead of duty uniform, in part to get us used to the civilian professional environment, I reckon.
Again, as a word of warning, I recommend starting the ETS process as soon as you possibly can. You can always pull back your packet after you've explored the option, but if you start too late then you won't be able to submit the paperwork on time for your desired ETS date!
Friday, October 9, 2015
Beginning the Process with Soldier for Life
It's been almost a month since I began in-processing and I am finally getting into a routine, so I began the process of starting my ETS paperwork. From what I found online and at my local "Soldier for Life / Transition Assistance Program" (SFL-TAP) office, you must first take an online briefing, of course powered by a Flash website designed for Internet Explorer 6.0. This means that I cannot access it using my home computer, because I have actually purchased a computer since 1996, unlike the U.S. Government. So I am forced to go to the on-post Library. This online briefing is basically one long video that asks you if you want more information on about 380 different transition assistance programs offered by the U.S. Government. It gives you a couple minute blurb about each, asks you if you want more information, and records your "yes" or "no" answer so the counsellors at SFL-TAP know what to tell you about in greater detail, apparently. So, the online briefing takes over an hour and a half and there's nothing you can do about it. After you're done with it, which I am not yet, you'll sit down with the TAP counsellor and get to hear it all over again, I'm sure. Anyway, this process gets you a DA 2648 or 2648-1 form which confirms you have received the Preseparation Counseling, the first step toward separation. From there, the counsellors will help you produce an Individual Transition Plan and schedule you for mandatory coursework. These include briefings that describe how your military skills are applicable in the civilian world, how to manage your money and produce a budget, creating a resume, and describing VA benefits. SFL-TAP also offers a ton of other resources and tracks hiring fairs and stuff if you don't have a job lined up, as well as info on how to use your educational benefits.
The website for this briefing can be found at: https://www.sfl-tap.army.mil, then hover over "Transition" and click on "Preseparation Counseling". My local SFL-TAP office has so far been helpful in directing me through this step, and has offered computers in their office to help with my transition needs such as performing this online briefing or working on my resume and job materials. I recommend checking with your local office if you're thinking about ETSing, as I have been advised by colleagues that your paperwork needs to be blessed off on by HRC well in advance of 6-months out, as the earliest one can ETS is 6-months from the date that HRC completes your packet. So, even if you have an October ETS date, and you submit your packet by April, if they take two or three months to process it, then you're not leaving until December at the earliest. So START EARLY, definitely begin by 12 months out (24 is recommending if retiring). If you have less time than that, definitely go to your local SFL-TAP first thing and tell them your situation. In fact, if you're thinking about doing it, just go ahead and start the process, because I believe you can pull your own packet and stay in the military even up to the last minute. It's better to get it approved, in my mind, so you know you have it in your back pocket. The website above also should have links to help you find your local office.
One interesting thing I learned from the briefing is that, on top of your terminal leave time, you are also authorized 20 or 30 days of Permissive TDY (depending) for post-military career/job and house hunting. If you don't use it, you can add it on to your terminal leave and get out a month ahead of time while still getting a paycheck. I did not know that, so my terminal leave date just got bumped up a month, as I believe I can get all of those things done with passes or on four-day weekends.
Also, the policy seems to be that a unit cannot or is not supposed to derail an ETS or retirement that has already been approved at 6-months out. So if you're already approved for ETS and your unit gets orders to deploy a few months before your ETS date, then you should still be okay. If I find the specific regulation on that then I will come back and update this post.
All in all, so far it seems like an easy process.
Saturday, September 26, 2015
Why I Joined
Any story has to have a beginning for the ending to making sense, so I'll start there.
I joined the U.S. Army out of a sense of duty to my country. I know, right? It felt like an honorable thing to do, considering all of the benefits I received simply by being American. It has been subconsciously ingrained in me that having served is something that a person should do, and all of the strong, confident people I find to be worth emulating have all served. My wife and I were ready for an adventure, too. I was approaching the age limit to join as an officer, which was 30 at the time, and I was at a natural transition point in my career, so we decided that it was now or never. We chose now.
Having served, and having served overseas, I am not sure what I think of the military and that decision we made together. At a small unit level, the Army can be wildly successful as a tactical force. But strategically, it more often than not seems to blunder unguided and without purpose, or with a constantly changing purpose. The Soldiers to your left and your right are almost invariably good and dedicated people, willing to go through a shit storm simply because they would rather be there with you than know they have let you down in any way. It's at those moments, the moments when everything around you sucks, the moments when you can say without doubt that the world does not care about your personal existence, that you can look around and see with complete certainty that the people who are in that moment with you care about your existence in a deep and fundamental way. The team becomes one. Experiencing that, even just to a tiny degree, makes you realize just how bad life is but how wonderful it can be. When humans are at their worst -- taking each others' lives over ideas and resources -- we're also at our best -- giving our own lives so someone else has a chance at survival. It also makes other relationships more pale, and it makes it more difficult to relate to people who have not glimpsed that same horrible epiphany, almost like the veil of reality has been torn apart by the gruesome parts of the world to reveal a deeper beauty. These moments can be so incredibly fleeting, and yet incredibly rewarding. That, along with the fast-paced wide-open-throttle nature of Army life, even during the slow days of "hurry up and wait," can make Army life addicting. I understand why so many people want to make a life of it.
The Army also does a lot to try to "compensate" for the pain it puts you and your family through on a regular basis: free housing and an incredible community of neighbors, top notch health benefits for the family, excellent schools for your children, retirement. You are given so much and your family is tempted to take these things in an attempt to fill the void caused by your absence and emotional distance even when you are around. Ultimately, for us, those things were not enough. In a way, the Army's give-and-take begins to feel like a classic abusive relationship. Fortunately, I have career options; but so many people in the military do not, or at least do not believe they do. And the Army does only token things to help people discover careers outside of the Army. There is a a culture that divides those in the military from those outside the military. It says that civilians are lazy, do not do their jobs right, and don't understand what is important. Military members are productive, intensely focused, and cut through the corporate crap. Well, in my experience that's simply not true. The rank structure of the military teaches people to be confident only in a very narrow range of tasks, while making them scared to "step outside their lane," and we're taught that civilian life is foreign and way outside of our lane. The truth is, the majority of people in the military have very little experience with civilian jobs, even among the highest ranking individuals. Most joined the ranks immediately after school and have not deviated for 20, 30, even 40 or more year careers. They just don't know what life outside the military is like, and that makes the military very conservative and untrusting of change or outside influence. Military members do not know how to transfer their strengths from the military to a civilian job, and the military has no idea how to use a person's civilian experience or credentials within the military. I joined with a specific set of skills born through my civilian job. I went through OCS (officer candidate school) after BCT (basic combat training or "boot camp") and "branched" (was given my broad job description based on Army need and a list of my preferences) just like every other person in OCS. Simply put, a person joining the military to become an Infantry officer takes the same path as a person wanting to become a Finance officer, and they have almost no control over whether or not they will become an Infantry or Finance officer when the time comes to branch. I knew that that is what I signed up to do. In fact when joining I was eager to go into the combat branches which is one of the more likely routes. But looking back at the process now it seems so wasteful. How is the Army supposed to attract talented individuals when they completely disregard that talent? It is one example of the conservative and unerring way the Army operates which makes it unattractive to anyone that already has skills. The Army believes in breaking people down before building them up, but there are times when you can recruit people with skills the Army needs and claims to want without the need to break a person down first. For instance, why would a Certified Public Accountant with the highest degree of financial education available choose to join the military to use his or her accounting skills when there is only a tiny chance of actually becoming a Finance officer after having already signed and committed? And, does a Finance officer with 20 years of military experience have the same qualifications and credentials as a civilian C.P.A.? No, not unless they did it on their own in addition to their military job.
I joined the Army when it was just me and my wife. We had considered having kids but knew the time was not right before. When we decided to give it a shot, it only took one try. I had joined wanting to go in to the combat oriented branches, especially Armor, and seriously thinking I would do 20 years to get the pension retirement. But becoming a future father changed that. I requested the Logistics branches as my top choices knowing that if I deployed at least I would not be the guys going out looking for trouble. I was high on the OML (Order of Merit List) and so it was easier for me to get one of my top choices, but in no sense guaranteed. Lots of my friends were not so fortunate. Becoming a father continued to inform every decision I would make in the Army. Ultimately my family and I decided that I could better serve my wife and son as a civilian at home than as a Soldier abroad. For others, the benefits do outweigh the risks; but I believe the Army could do a lot more to attract and retain the top talents in America instead of leaving those people on the table to be picked up by big businesses and corporations that do not always have the nation's best interests in mind. The Army understandably emphasizes physical fitness, but over a 20 year career a person's body will invariably deteriorate from the stresses. What we need to be emphasizing is not just the physical, and not just the training, but real and true education to attract leaders and Soldiers that understand the goals and will take the initiative at the tactical and strategic level.
In a way, I joined because I thought I could make a difference. In the end, I'm no longer even sure it's possible to make the kind of difference I wanted to make.
I joined the U.S. Army out of a sense of duty to my country. I know, right? It felt like an honorable thing to do, considering all of the benefits I received simply by being American. It has been subconsciously ingrained in me that having served is something that a person should do, and all of the strong, confident people I find to be worth emulating have all served. My wife and I were ready for an adventure, too. I was approaching the age limit to join as an officer, which was 30 at the time, and I was at a natural transition point in my career, so we decided that it was now or never. We chose now.
Having served, and having served overseas, I am not sure what I think of the military and that decision we made together. At a small unit level, the Army can be wildly successful as a tactical force. But strategically, it more often than not seems to blunder unguided and without purpose, or with a constantly changing purpose. The Soldiers to your left and your right are almost invariably good and dedicated people, willing to go through a shit storm simply because they would rather be there with you than know they have let you down in any way. It's at those moments, the moments when everything around you sucks, the moments when you can say without doubt that the world does not care about your personal existence, that you can look around and see with complete certainty that the people who are in that moment with you care about your existence in a deep and fundamental way. The team becomes one. Experiencing that, even just to a tiny degree, makes you realize just how bad life is but how wonderful it can be. When humans are at their worst -- taking each others' lives over ideas and resources -- we're also at our best -- giving our own lives so someone else has a chance at survival. It also makes other relationships more pale, and it makes it more difficult to relate to people who have not glimpsed that same horrible epiphany, almost like the veil of reality has been torn apart by the gruesome parts of the world to reveal a deeper beauty. These moments can be so incredibly fleeting, and yet incredibly rewarding. That, along with the fast-paced wide-open-throttle nature of Army life, even during the slow days of "hurry up and wait," can make Army life addicting. I understand why so many people want to make a life of it.
The Army also does a lot to try to "compensate" for the pain it puts you and your family through on a regular basis: free housing and an incredible community of neighbors, top notch health benefits for the family, excellent schools for your children, retirement. You are given so much and your family is tempted to take these things in an attempt to fill the void caused by your absence and emotional distance even when you are around. Ultimately, for us, those things were not enough. In a way, the Army's give-and-take begins to feel like a classic abusive relationship. Fortunately, I have career options; but so many people in the military do not, or at least do not believe they do. And the Army does only token things to help people discover careers outside of the Army. There is a a culture that divides those in the military from those outside the military. It says that civilians are lazy, do not do their jobs right, and don't understand what is important. Military members are productive, intensely focused, and cut through the corporate crap. Well, in my experience that's simply not true. The rank structure of the military teaches people to be confident only in a very narrow range of tasks, while making them scared to "step outside their lane," and we're taught that civilian life is foreign and way outside of our lane. The truth is, the majority of people in the military have very little experience with civilian jobs, even among the highest ranking individuals. Most joined the ranks immediately after school and have not deviated for 20, 30, even 40 or more year careers. They just don't know what life outside the military is like, and that makes the military very conservative and untrusting of change or outside influence. Military members do not know how to transfer their strengths from the military to a civilian job, and the military has no idea how to use a person's civilian experience or credentials within the military. I joined with a specific set of skills born through my civilian job. I went through OCS (officer candidate school) after BCT (basic combat training or "boot camp") and "branched" (was given my broad job description based on Army need and a list of my preferences) just like every other person in OCS. Simply put, a person joining the military to become an Infantry officer takes the same path as a person wanting to become a Finance officer, and they have almost no control over whether or not they will become an Infantry or Finance officer when the time comes to branch. I knew that that is what I signed up to do. In fact when joining I was eager to go into the combat branches which is one of the more likely routes. But looking back at the process now it seems so wasteful. How is the Army supposed to attract talented individuals when they completely disregard that talent? It is one example of the conservative and unerring way the Army operates which makes it unattractive to anyone that already has skills. The Army believes in breaking people down before building them up, but there are times when you can recruit people with skills the Army needs and claims to want without the need to break a person down first. For instance, why would a Certified Public Accountant with the highest degree of financial education available choose to join the military to use his or her accounting skills when there is only a tiny chance of actually becoming a Finance officer after having already signed and committed? And, does a Finance officer with 20 years of military experience have the same qualifications and credentials as a civilian C.P.A.? No, not unless they did it on their own in addition to their military job.
I joined the Army when it was just me and my wife. We had considered having kids but knew the time was not right before. When we decided to give it a shot, it only took one try. I had joined wanting to go in to the combat oriented branches, especially Armor, and seriously thinking I would do 20 years to get the pension retirement. But becoming a future father changed that. I requested the Logistics branches as my top choices knowing that if I deployed at least I would not be the guys going out looking for trouble. I was high on the OML (Order of Merit List) and so it was easier for me to get one of my top choices, but in no sense guaranteed. Lots of my friends were not so fortunate. Becoming a father continued to inform every decision I would make in the Army. Ultimately my family and I decided that I could better serve my wife and son as a civilian at home than as a Soldier abroad. For others, the benefits do outweigh the risks; but I believe the Army could do a lot more to attract and retain the top talents in America instead of leaving those people on the table to be picked up by big businesses and corporations that do not always have the nation's best interests in mind. The Army understandably emphasizes physical fitness, but over a 20 year career a person's body will invariably deteriorate from the stresses. What we need to be emphasizing is not just the physical, and not just the training, but real and true education to attract leaders and Soldiers that understand the goals and will take the initiative at the tactical and strategic level.
In a way, I joined because I thought I could make a difference. In the end, I'm no longer even sure it's possible to make the kind of difference I wanted to make.
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