1. Once a Soldier, Always a Soldier…A Soldier for Life!
Lt. Col. Wenceslao Angulo, Strategic Communications Director, U.S. Army Soldier for Life
About 100,000 Soldiers will transition out of the Army each year
over the next several years. In 2014, 8,666 Active Duty, Reserve
and National Guard Soldiers with an aviation military occupational
specialty (MOS) retired or separated. To address this changing
landscape of the American military, and to maintain trust among
the Army Family during and after service, the U.S. Army
established the Soldier for Life (SFL) program. This initiative is
designed to enable Soldiers, Retired Soldiers, Veterans and
Families to leave military service "career ready" and connected to
an established network to find education, employment and health
resources.
SFL is the Army’s connection arm with government, communities,
Veterans Service Organizations (VSO) and Military Service
Organizations (MSO), and synchronizes the efforts of the more
than 46,000 organizations who seek to assist the Army family with resources and opportunities for a
successful reintegration following their service. SFL also works
to influence an Army-wide change in how Soldiers, Veterans
and their Families perceive themselves and their service. A
Soldier is a Soldier for Life, serving Army Strong throughout their
military career and applying in society the values and skills they
learn in the Army.
SFL highlights education, employment and health resources as
integral for a Soldier to remain a Soldier for Life and successfully
reintegrate back into society. Education can include traditional
college or graduate school, as well as career skill training and
credentialing. This is especially critical to enlisted Soldiers, 87
percent of which have less than two years of college education.
Education, training and credentialing can make a difference for
Soldiers and their Families in terms of finding meaningful civilian
employment. To address this need, SFL helped outline different
apprenticeship and credentialing opportunities. To date, 15 different apprenticeship opportunities are
available with major companies like Microsoft, GM, to name a few. SFL understands the need for
credentialing as a means to help Soldiers find employment and worked to expand 96 credentialing
opportunities for 47 different MOS’.
Finding meaningful employment after transitioning out of the Army is integral to improved quality of life for
service members once they return home or relocate to new neighborhoods. SFL encourages all Soldiers,
Veterans and their Families, as well as companies looking to hire them, to use the Veterans Employment
Center (VEC), the government solution to addressing Veteran employment. SFL also works with the U.S.
Chamber of Commerce’s Hiring Our Heroes Foundation (HOH) to connect service members and their
Families directly to hiring fairs and potential employers.
The impacts of a healthy force are apparent in and out of the military. SFL collaborates with Army
programs like the Ready and Resilient Campaign, the Warrior Transition Command and others to ensure
Finding meaningful employment after
transitioning out of the Army is integral to
improved quality of life for service
members once they become civilians.
(Photo Credit: Hiring Our Heroes/Released)
James P. Hoffa, President of the International
Brotherhood of Teamsters, speaks at the Pentagon
announcement of a new training program at Fort
Sill, OK. (Photo Credit: David Vergun,
ARNEWS/Released)

2. that the Army Family has access to vital health and wellness
resources and opportunities, so that they can serve strong in
and out of the military.
There is no undertaking quite like armed service to the nation.
Everyone who serves honorably deserves to access the
multiple opportunities that a grateful nation provides. In just
over two years, SFL has impacted improvements in
unemployment, the use of education benefits and the way the
Army trains currently serving Soldiers and leaders to prepare
for transition to civilian life.
Successful reintegration of our Soldiers and their families into
the civilian world is vital to the nation. Acting as the connection arm between the Army and all the key
players who want to support Soldiers, SFL is the best way for Soldiers, Veterans and their Families to
embrace civilian status, and for those communities to accept service members as contributing members
and leaders.
Regardless of length of service, every soldier
transitions. (Photo Credit: Hiring our Heroes /
Released)