Your transition starts a year before your last day, whether you plan it or not. The paperwork triggers, the medical appointments, the SGLI conversion window, the claim prep: every one of them has a clock, and nobody is tracking those clocks for you. The service members who land on their feet are not luckier. They started earlier.
Built from real experience. Not theory.
This checklist exists because the deadlines that matter most are the ones nobody reminds you about until they have passed. TAP fills up. The VGLI window opens 240 days out and closes whether you noticed or not. The best time to submit a VA claim is before you separate, not after. Every one of those lessons is on this card because somebody learned it the hard way.
What's Inside
- Five timeline phases: 12 months, 9 months, 6 months, 3 months, and 30 days out
- 30 checkbox actions in sequence, from separation intent through final out
- The SGLI to VGLI conversion window flagged where it actually opens
- VA claim documentation and submission timed before separation, not after
- Resume translation, TSP decisions, housing, and out-processing triggers
- Fillable PDF: check boxes on your phone or print it and run it with a pen
- Transition notes field to track what is done and what is waiting
Who This Is For
Every service member inside their final year: separating, retiring, ETS, or EAS. If your clock is already under 12 months, start at your current phase and work forward. The sequence still holds.
Go Deeper
This card is the timeline. The Military Transition Logbook is the full documentation system built to run alongside it, tracking the whole fight in writing.
More Free Tools From Alpha VI Battalion
- The full Transition Checklist Stack: seven free fillable checklists covering separation end to end
- VA Disability Claim Logbook and C&P Journal System: document symptoms, prep for exams, protect your claim
Free digital download. No shipping. Instant access after checkout.
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