We've all heard the term Space-A travel, but have you ever wondered what it is and how it works? Or how you can take advantage of Space-A flights, Space-A lodging, and military recreational lodging as a service member, military retiree, veteran with a service-connected disability, and more?

You can find out on this week's new Soldier for Life Podcast as we chat with Ms. Stephanie Montague, the spouse of a Retired Soldier and founder of the military travel website Poppin’ Smoke!

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.

If you are going through the Army medical retirement/separation process (we're including Soldiers, their families AND their Army commanders in that "you"), there is a LOT to know and do, but like everything we talk about, there are MANY resources out there to help.

And on this week's all new Soldier for Life Podcast, Mr. Lemuel (Lem) Chance from the U.S. Army Physical Disability Agency walks you through everything that you need to know about medical retirements and separations.

A few of the key resources that were mentioned during the podcast are included below:

👉 Army Physical Disability Agency - https://www.hrc.army.mil/content/US%20Army%20Physical%20Disability%20Agency or 210-221-3046

👉 Army Service Center - https://www.hrc.army.mil/content/Army%20Service%20Center or 888-ARMYHRC (276-9472)

👉 Army Recovery Care Program - https://www.arcp.army.mil

👉 Contact Your RSO – https://soldierforlife.army.mil/About-Us/Contact-Your-RSO

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

On this week's Soldier for Life Podcast, we are excited to talk about the Army’s upcoming 250th birthday celebration and the commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolutionary War.

Listen as we sit down with Captain Jonathan Bratten, the command historian for the Maine Army National Guard and the National Guard Bureau’s Revolutionary War 250 liaison officer to the U.S. Army Center of Military History, to chat about these two important events and why they - along with knowing your Army history AND telling your #SoldierForLifeStory and the Army's story - are important to ALL of us even 250 years later.

And be sure to check out these important links from the podcast!

👉 https://history.army.mil

👉 https://www.army.mil/1775

👉 https://soldierforlife.army.mil/Soldier-for-Life-Mindset/SFL-Stories

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.

Want to hire some incredibly talented employees at your company or organization? (We know you are, of course, emphatically nodding your head yes.) Then you should really be thinking about transitioning Soldiers, veterans, and military spouses!

On this week's brand new Soldier for Life Podcast, we talk with Ms. Lisa Rosser, the CEO and Founder of an organization called The Value Of a Veteran, about what you can do to up your military connected talent game and WHY this is so important for your organization.

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.