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: no later than 9 months out
- Officers: voluntary retirement under AR 600-8-24 Chapter 6 (10 U.S.C. §7311). Apply not earlier than 12 months and no later than 9 months before your retirement date — or before your transition leave starts, if that is earlier (AR 600-8-24 para 6-16b).
- Enlisted: length-of-service retirement under AR 635-200 Chapter 12. Submit at least 9 months before the retirement date (AR 635-200 para 12-12c) — the regulation sets no earliest date.
- The 9-month cutoff is earlier than you'd guess, and earlier than the Air Force's closes. Confirm the current window with your Retirement Services Office and don't leave it to the last month.
Officers: grade determination (AGDRB)
You retire in the highest grade served satisfactorily — and for most officers that determination is automatic (AR 15-80 ¶2-3a). It stops being automatic when the statutory time in grade was not met or service in that grade may not have been satisfactory; then the Army Grade Determination Review Board can set a lower retired grade. 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 Ch 1 ¶4.1.1, Ch 35 ¶2.1.1.2, 2.2.1.1). 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 ¶2-3 (automatic grade determinations; the AGDRB)
- AR 600-8-10, Leaves and Passes (transition leave, FY cap) · DoD FMR Vol 7A Ch 1 ¶4.1.1 (pay on leave), Ch 35 (accrual, sell-back) · AR 635-8 (separation processing)
- 10 U.S.C. §1448 (SBP)
Spot an error? Tell us — citations are the product here.
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.