Each project arrives with its purpose, milestones and first tasks written out. Here is how the first three read.
Transition timeline counted back from your exit date
Most service leavers say afterwards that they started too late: resettlement entitlements, courses and job applications all have lead times, and the final months fill up with out-processing. Fixing your exit date and counting back from it, with the last date for each entitlement, course booking and paperwork step, turns a vague sense of time left into a plan you can work to.
First tasks
- Write down your exit date and how certain it is
- Ask the transition office for every entitlement and its booking deadline
- Place each deadline on one dated timeline split into three phases
- Share the timeline with your partner or a trusted friend
Service records and discharge paperwork pack
Civilian employers, universities, licensing bodies and benefit offices will all ask for proof of what you did in service, and getting copies is far harder once you have left. A complete pack of service record, discharge or release document, course certificates, appraisals and references, held on paper and digitally, saves months of chasing an office that no longer knows you.
First tasks
- Ask the personnel office for its list of documents leavers should request
- Request copies of your full service record and every course certificate
- Gather every appraisal or performance report you can find
- Scan the pack and store it in two places outside military systems
Registering with the forces resettlement programme
Most armed forces run a formal transition programme, such as the Career Transition Partnership in the UK or the Transition Assistance Program in the US, and many entitlements only begin once you register or attend the first workshop. Registering early gets you a named adviser, a clear list of what you are owed and access to courses and job boards that close to you once you leave.
First tasks
- Find out how to register with your service's transition programme
- Book the first available transition workshop or briefing
- Ask your adviser to confirm your entitlements and their expiry dates in writing
- Save the adviser's civilian email and phone number in your personal phone
