SFL-TAP's tiered deadlines — the Army's version has more of them
The Army implements the DoD transition program (DoDI 1332.35) as SFL-TAP, and unlike some branches it staggers the components across explicit month markers:
| Deadline | Requirement |
|---|---|
| NLT 365 days | Initial Counseling + Pre-Separation Counseling (DD Form 2648) — Army Directive 2019-26. Hard deadline, and the gate to everything below (SFL-TAP Steps 2–3). |
| NLT 10 months | Army Days — MY Transition, MOS Crosswalk, Financial Planning (SFL-TAP Step 4). |
| NLT 6 months | VA Benefits & Services briefing (8 hours). |
| NLT 5 months | Two-day Career Track — Employment / Education / Vocational / Entrepreneurship. |
| NLT 90 days | Capstone — your commander verifies the Career Readiness Standards for your Tier and your Individual Transition Plan. |
Soldiers with 20+ years of qualifying service may be exempt from the DOL employment day — confirm at your SFL-TAP center rather than assuming. And note the DoD-level rule that retirees should start inside the 24-month window; 365 days is the floor.
The retirement application: generally 12–9 months out
- Officers: voluntary retirement under AR 600-8-24 Chapter 6 (10 U.S.C. §7311).
- Enlisted: length-of-service retirement under AR 635-200 Chapter 12.
- The Army's working window is generally 12 to 9 months before your date — earlier than you'd guess, and earlier than the Air Force's closes. Confirm the current window with your Retirement Services Office and file at the front of it.
Officers: grade determination (AGDRB)
You retire in the highest grade served satisfactorily — and for a recent promotion, "satisfactorily" is a determination, not an assumption. The Army Grade Determination Review Board can set a lower retired grade (AR 600-8-24 / AR 15-80). If your last promotion is close to your planned date, have the conversation with your Retirement Services Office before locking the date.
CSP / SkillBridge
- Initial Counseling must be complete before a Career Skills Program application — another reason the 365-day IC deadline is really an 11-month-plus target.
- Find a provider with a DoD-approved MOU, build the training plan, complete DoD Ethics Training, and submit with time for command approval.
- The approved authorization becomes your PTDY source document — CSP rides permissive TDY, not your leave balance, and leave keeps accruing through it.
WheelsUp tracks every SFL-TAP tier against your actual date — IC, Army Days, the VA brief, Career Track, Capstone, and the CSP chain, each as a live countdown with the citation attached.
SHPE/SHA and the VA claim
- Schedule the Separation History and Physical Exam / Separation Health Assessment early — it feeds both your clearance and your VA claim, and the scheduling backlog at some MTFs is the real deadline.
- The VA BDD window runs 180 to 90 days before your date — file early in it so the rating decision process runs while you're still in uniform. Start assembling evidence months before the window opens.
Leave and outprocessing
- Fiscal-year cap: days over the 60-day carry-over are forfeited at FY end absent special leave accrual (AR 600-8-10).
- Transition leave vs. sell-back: sold leave pays base pay only with a 60-day career cap; transition (terminal) leave keeps pay and allowances running (AR 600-8-10; DoD FMR Vol 7A). The full decision math is in our terminal leave vs. sell-back guide.
- Transition Center outprocessing (AR 635-8) — medical, dental, legal, finance, CIF. The separation-document work here is what becomes your DD-214: verify it line by line before signing.
- SBP election due by your date, effectively permanent (10 U.S.C. §1448) — run the break-even before outprocessing week.
Sources
- Army Directive 2019-26 + SFL-TAP process steps (IC NLT 365 days; Steps 1–6, tier deadlines, Capstone NLT 90 days) · DoDI 1332.35
- AR 600-8-24, Officer Transfers and Discharges, Ch 6 (10 U.S.C. §7311) · AR 635-200 Ch 12 (enlisted LOS retirement) · AR 15-80 (AGDRB)
- AR 600-8-10, Leaves and Passes (transition leave, FY cap) · DoD FMR Vol 7A (sell-back) · AR 635-8 (separation processing)
- 10 U.S.C. §1448 (SBP)
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Every tier, back-planned from your date. WheelsUp turns this checklist into live countdowns with the AR citation on each card — for the Army and all four other branches.