The Soldier for Life Podcast

We talked in detail about what the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) is on our last Soldier for Life Podcast episode, so this week, we are going to dig deeper and discuss the factors that you need to consider in making your decision about whether or not to participate in the SBP as we sit down again with Patty Cruz, the Deputy Director of Army Retirement Services and the Army Survivor Benefit Plan Program Manager. ➡️ SFL Website SBP Decision page - https://soldierforlife.army.mil/Army-Retirement/Retirement-Planning/Survivor-Benefit-Plan-Decision

The U.S. Army Reserve Private Public Partnership (P3) program provides one-on-one, personalized assistance to Army Reserve Soldiers, family members, and veterans to help them find meaningful employment with the help their Army Reserve Employment Specialists (ARES) across the country. Learn more on this week's new Soldier for Life Podcast episode as we chat with the Director of the P3 Office, Mr. Michael Masley, and P3's ARES for Oregon and Washington state, Mr. Ocean Ulugaono. U.S. Army Reserve P3 Program - https://www.usar.army.mil/P3

Ever wonder why we talk so much about networking and the importance of having a mentor when it comes time to find post-military employment? Find out in this week's Soldier for Life Podcast as we talk with Leslie Coffey, the Vice President of Military Engagement for American Corporate Partners (ACP), about the important roles mentorship and networking play in helping transitioning Soldiers, veterans, and military spouses find their next career.

Operation Homefront provides relief and recurring family support programs and services to help military and veteran families overcome short-term difficulties, including critical financial assistance, housing assistance, the Back to School Brigade, the Holiday Toy Drive, Holiday Meals for the Military, the Military Child of the Year Award, and more! Learn more about the work that Operation Homefront does to help support our military and veteran families on this week's Soldier for Life Podcast episode as we chat with U.S. Navy Rear Admiral (Ret.) Alan Reyes, the President and CEO of Operation Homefront.

An extremely important piece of information that every retiring United States Army Reserve or Army National Guard Soldier needs to know is that they MUST APPLY to receive their retired pay - this is NOT automatic. On this week's all new Soldier for Life Podcast episode, host Maria Bentinck, the Director of Army Retirement Services, talks with LTC John Broderick, the Chief of the Gray Area Retirements Branch for the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, about the steps that you need to take to ensure that you receive your Reserve Component retired pay. Here are some of the important resources mentioned in the podcast: 👉 HRC GAR Website – https://www.hrc.army.mil/content/Gray%20Area%20Retirements%20Branch 👉 Army Service Center – 888-ARMY-HRC 👉 Contact Your RSO – https://soldierforlife.army.mil/About-Us/Contact-Your-RSO

Task Force Movement works with the private sector, military, academia, and government and nongovernment organizations to help identify and solve problems that our military and veteran families face when it comes to finding civilian employment AND to help create smoother civilian career pathways for the military community. Learn more from our discussion with Elizabeth Murray-Belcaster, the Executive Director of Task Force Movement.

Our Soldiers for Life are Army ambassadors. They are amazing individuals who chose to dedicate themselves to serving their country, to making a difference. They help people in their communities understand - and connect with - our Army. And they help inspire the next generation to serve. And one of the most important ways that they do all of this is by telling their Army and Soldier for Life stories and by encouraging others to do the same. They - and their stories - are, in the words of our esteemed Soldier for Life Podcast guests today, not only aspirational, but inspirational, and they inspire and empower us all. On this week's episode, we had the opportunity to chat with MG (Ret.) Mari K. Eder and CW5 (Ret.) Phyllis J. Wilson - who are both dedicated to helping to tell the stories of our Soldiers and Soldiers for Life in their post-military careers - about how important it is to tell your story and the difference that you make both to yourself and the U.S. Army when you do.

Are you planning for your U.S. Army retirement? If so, this week's Soldier for Life Podcast episode includes everything that you will need to know for your retirement planning journey! Listen as CW3 (Ret.) Lynn Peterson - the RSO Program Manager for the Army Retirement Services Office and our all-around retirement planning guru - shares LOADS of information and resources about planning steps, retirement resources and where to find them, major things to consider (including financial considerations, employment, healthcare, retirement locations, family considerations), veteran benefits, and SO much more! There were WAY too many great resources and links to websites/pages included in the podcast to include them all in this post, but here are a few to get you started (be sure to listen all the way through so you don't miss any of the fabulous resources that are available to you!): 👉 SFL Website Retirement Planning Section/Pages (including checklists, Retirement Planning Guides, briefing slides, Change of Mission newsletter, SBP information, and MUCH more) - https://soldierforlife.army.mil/Army-Retirement/Retirement-Planning 👉 MyArmyBenefits Website - https://myarmybenefits.us.army.mil 👉 Contact Your RSO – https://soldierforlife.army.mil/About-Us/Contact-Your-RSO

The Warrior-Scholar Project hosts intensive, one-week college-prep academic boot camp programs for enlisted service members and veterans at America's top universities to help ease their transition from the military to higher education. Learn more as we chat with the CEO of the Warrior-Scholar Project, Ryan Pavel.

Looking for a resource to help you find your next career OR valuable military talent for your organization (because I hope we all know what a smart move that is for any company!)? On this week's Soldier for Life Podcast, we chat with Kandi Tillman, the Co-Founder of 50strong, an organization that helps connect service members, veterans, military-connected students, and spouses with employers AND employment across the country.

The MyArmyBenefits website is the U.S. Army's official one-stop shop for information about all of the federal and state benefits that Soldiers, veterans, and their families have earned from serving their country in the United States Army. The website even includes planning calculators to help with things like Army retirement, survivor benefits, and deployment! Learn all about this fantastic resource as we chat with the Program Manager for the MyServiceBenefits Program in the Army Retirement Services office, Ms. Chelsea MacDougall.

National Veterans Small Business Week is November 11-15, so today, we are talking about the importance of celebrating NVSBW AND all of the fantastic resources that the United States Small Business Administration offers to help our military families on their entrepreneurial journey. Our guest on the show is Mr. Robert Yannuzzi, the SBA's Assistant Administrator for its Office of Veterans Business Development. Links mentioned in the podcast: NVSBW - https://www.sba.gov/nvsbw SBA OVBD Veterans Resources - https://www.sba.gov/veterans

Are you a Soldier or veteran who is interested in pursuing an education degree? Then this brand new Soldier For Life Podcast episode is just for YOU! Tune in to hear our discussion with Service to School CEO Alec Emmert about the free college and grad school application counseling, mentorship, and resources they offer to veterans and service members.