COL Whitehurst, Director of the Army's Soldier for Life Office, here for a live Q&A on 4/25 at 2pm ET to discuss Soldier for Life. Questions?

Thanks for joining us, COL (Join to see). As an Air Force veteran, I really wish my service branch had a program like SFL when I was transitioning.
How soon can a Soldier start taking advantage of the SFL program & benifits?

Hello COL (Join to see) Colonel. As a retired soldier, I am proud of my service and talk it up whenever I can. Can the Army come up with a better retired patch to wear on Class A's rather than this ugly white patch?

My thanks Col. for returning to answer questions. However, speaking as a Naval veteran, do you have any naval officers on your staff that can answer questions about naval veterans, since the Army and Navy are quite different in their tasks, rules, and various abbreviations that immediately spring to mind of the attentive army veteran, but make little sense to a naval veteran! In addition, I should feel much more comfortable talking with someone who understands my service perhaps better than an army officer. Knowing a few marines as I do, and having worked closely with them on occasion, I would have to say the same for my marine veteran friends. I doubt that they would, as a group, be willing to consult an Army Officer rather than a Marine Officer. I don't know much about the modern Coast Guard, however, my personal view would be similar. I do appreciate this chance to ask a question of you, and my thanks for your service to the flag and country!

COL (Join to see) Welcome and thank you for taking the time to take questions from Rallypoint.

The current SFL program focuses on transition yet I see little or no emphasis on Veterans beyond the resume course offered.

What are the plans to emphasize the skills or training Veterans have acquired in their service to this great country? Example all Senior NCO's are teachers, instructors and mentors

COL, if I get out for a while and then am still under the IRR, can I get back in and keep my 20 year retirement and not be forced onto that 401K thieving nonsense?

Thank you being being available.
Background: I retired at 20 years as a 19D4G Cavalry PSG. I'm 63 now but still fit. I currently work in EMS and have for roughly 5 years. After leaving service I became a CDL owner/operator for 10 years. After 9/11 I found a military teaching position and was a primary instructor at what is now the Army Reconnaissance Course, 316th Cavarly, Fort Benning, GA.
Pretty much never left the Army as I consider myself 'Retired Reserve'.
My question is: What can I do to further help?

Bout to be omw to Afghanistan again. Yay!

Left hand high, Sir!

I was interested as I'd heard of something within Na5l Guard called Citizen Soldier for Life (CSFL), and didn't know if yours was the sa!e program. I've been most eager to try to be allowed to participate in the Army Volunteer Corps (AVC), at a Reserve Ctr near where my wife and I live, and have asked the relevant staff atboth AVc, and those involved with the Reserve Ctr, if I might perhaps be of an possible use. I'm esp interested in STEM, having been trained as an engineer, physicist, mathematician, and as an allied health doctor, though, unfortunately, I'm now total perm disabled, and have sought to be allowed to get involved in the fashion I describe for something intellectually stimulating to do. The Reserve ctr near us has USAR, ARNG, USNR, and USMCR, the Army educ programs I've been told are quite well organized, though the USNR and USMCR programs less so, though I gather the Reserve Ctr is mainly an ARNG/USAR facility, for the most part, or such has been my impression. I'd been told that the CSFL program is run by a 3rd party contractor, so, being total permmdisabled, I obv can't do anything with them, though hat was why I'd looked at AVC, and was wondering if you might perhaps be able to find a possible use for me as a volunteer through tat mechanism there, being as the facility is so close by us. There's a state university also very close by the Reserve ctr, where the vet dir is aware of my desire to try to volunteer there as well, as I had taught there for a semester as an adjunct yes before my disability, I've been able to get some encouragement, and am also looking to try to volunteer to assist a local VA hospital wit clinical research under a new volunteer program in VA called the Phyisian Ambassador Program (PAP). I was never a physician, only doctoral level allied health, also, due to my total perk disability, we had to shut my clinical license sevl yes ago. However, I'd be most eager to try to help those drilling at the Reserve ctr with their educ goals, esp though not solely STEM, of course. If, for all those reasons, i might perhaps he of any possible use to you in your program there through AVC, I'd obv be most grateful for any possible assistance, certainly. The rules governing what I can be allowed to volunteer to assist with, being as I am total perm disabled, are, unfortunately, extremely strict, as we'l as very narrowly defined, though I have researched how I might perhaps conceivably be allowed, though, of course, any help toward that end would be most welcome, as we'll as most gratefully appreciated. If I could possibly be of any such use, and if in fact CSFL is your program, or related to it, I'd as I said, be most sincerely grateful for any possible help and/or advice you might offer. Time I'm afraid tends to hang quite heavily for me under the circumstances, which is why I've sought such an Intellectuappy creative outlet, and would obv be most grateful for any possible help and/or suggestions you might possibly he able to offer. Even if I could be so allowed, I'd obv need to have such a request be approved, and check to see if my doing such volunteering might perhaps be allowable under !y circumstances, however, being as you were apparently on the app, and I'd noticed the apparent similarity between your program na!e, and that of CSFL, I'd merely thought to ask about any such possibility, I !merely thought asking here a good opportunity, just in the event that your program is in fact the sa!e one as the one at the Reserve ctr near is, many very teal thanks, I'd be most eager to hear amything back, very much appreciated, of course, even if the program is a different one, which I obv realize might well perhaps be the case, certainly.