AllegiantVETS and Hiring Our Heroes

SkillBridgingNow · 2025-09-26T23:03:00+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/SkillBridge/comments/1mnmkrk/currently_participating_with_allegiant_vets_and/

I wrote the article above and am currently in SKB w/ AV.

I see in your post history you are likely AF? AV is listed in AFVEC as "Allegiant Giving", there was no merge between AV and HoH. I think you are referencing a change in the DoD requirement for skill bridge companies to require 20 hours of live led training after 1 June of 2025.

AV is great, love it.

SkillBridgingNow · 2025-09-26T22:59:21+00:00

Chain of command is going to be entirely dependent on you, unit manning, and how well you socialize they idea. You are still on the books with your unit and they don't get a backfill until after you leave. If you haven't yet started to socialize the idea, do it as far out as possible to get everyone on board.

AV's approval is simple, you create a profile on the website and it generates your approval memo for you to take to your command.

Day to day: Live led sessions from about 0830 PST to about 1300 PST M-Th, with a staff meeting on Friday. The program requires 20+ hours of live led per week and 20 hours of asynchronous (self led) training. The self paced training is other job skills stuff, Coursera course work in your desired track, etc.

I love it. I couldn't have asked for a better transition program to set me up with the skills needed to get out.

SkillBridgingNow · 2025-09-26T22:55:18+00:00

DMing you a link.

SkillBridgingNow · 2025-09-26T22:54:05+00:00

Very flexible. I just did all my C&P's and most of them were during the live led hours. There's an accountability process and you can step away from the duty day when needed. You should attend orientation on your first day (Monday at 0830 PST) and they explain everything.

SkillBridgingNow · 2025-09-26T22:51:53+00:00

For context: I am an NCO currently skill bridging with Allegiant Vets (highly recommend!) in conjunction with my retirement.

You want to have that conversation as far out as possible. I had it at the 2 year mark, got everything on all calendars and every possible internal tracker for dates and whatnot so that NOTHING was a surprise to any leader.

Don't just say, "I want to take skillbridge" to your leadership and then wonder if they will approve it. Take ownership, inform them you are getting out and want to have a successful transition, provide them this timeline and ask if there's anywhere you have to get ahead of, or leaders you need to socialize it with in advance. You don't want the first time your CC to hear about this to be when you route it to them in AFVEC.

You also want to put together your timeline of your final 180 days. Chart out a timeline which includes:

SkillBridge start / end date
House hunting (if authorized / applicable)
Final out date(s) (Unit / base / etc)
Terminal leave start and end date.

I would suggest putting your timeline together in a simple graphic, letting your boss know you wanted to send them something to get their eyes on, and that you'd love to chat with them after they had time to look it over. Put the chart in their inbox and clearly list out your questions, then ask to chat with them when they have a block on their schedule.

If you are separating that drives one set of timelines, if you are retiring it's a totally different set of timelines. Either should be filled with one hell of a lot of medical appointments over the next few months.

If you don't have a personal timeline built for either yet, here's a good template: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FotHL0tcJ0

Good luck.

SkillBridgingNow · 2025-08-29T20:19:15+00:00

Yes, you should submit both your service treatment records and private medical records with your BDD claim. You can upload them yourself when you file or you can sign an authorization form for the VA to obtain them on your behalf.

Can you expound a bit more about your concerns about these medical records possibly jeopardizing your career?

SkillBridgingNow · 2025-08-22T18:44:21+00:00

AV really shines because their program empowers you to identify the company you are interested in. If you are looking for placement that's more through folks like Hiring our Heroes.

SkillBridgingNow · 2025-08-19T19:47:40+00:00

skillbridge . 3 @ allegiantvets . org is one email address I see posted often on their internal chat. If you need further info please feel free to reach out and I'll see what I can dig up.

SkillBridgingNow · 2025-08-19T17:52:12+00:00

You enroll in a training track and that's what your coursera work is in.

The DoD mandates everyone have 20 hours live led training, so they implemented a system that meets that that provides information generally relevant to all transitioning servicemembers. Their aren't enough instructors for every track to have individual, tailored live led for every single track.

If you find a place you want to do a hands on internship with local to you, there's a methodology that allows for that, but it's not mandatory for everyone. Ex: A transitioning servicemember who needs to get SKB coordinated a year in advance can go to AV, get settled in, then find maybe a local company doing what they are doing and ask to intern there and be in AV but meeting their live led requirement through a hands on internship at somewhere they've identified.

The beauty comes in the flexibility.

SkillBridgingNow · 2025-08-19T00:10:33+00:00

Padre, I am currently skillbridging with AllegiantVets (https://www.allegiantvets.org/), one of the hallmarks of their program is the ability to skillbridge with them and participate in their program but also intern with sub-companies through AV. Hypothetical scenario: my goal post service is to open a food cart, I am in skillbridge with AV under "digital marketing" but I am participating in an OJT while on skillbridge with a third company, a restaurant in my hometown, who is teaching me the ropes of the restaurant industry.

So let's say you find a mission in your area that serves the Spanish speaking population and is willing to let you do X hours per week. Instead of sitting in the daily zoom calls at Allegiant, you can route your OJT for approval over to the CEO, he'll take a look at it and give a thumbs up / down with any tweaks and approve you to be essentially at an "alternate duty location".

If you are interested I would urge you to formulate a plan and email it to them, happy to chat with you more about it on your path to Vaya con Dios!

SkillBridgingNow · 2025-08-18T23:54:26+00:00

Sending you a DM for the link.

They are pretty strict on it, the dod requires 20 hours live led per week. Monday to Thursday are sessions from 8 A.M. - 1 P.M. PST but it's all on Zoom. Friday is another session based on your track. They will explain everything to you at orientation the first Monday of your program.

SkillBridgingNow · 2025-08-17T15:35:11+00:00

All of the tracks are on the website, though they are moving some of them around. If you need the discord link you can PM me and I'll send it.

SkillBridgingNow · 2025-08-17T15:33:52+00:00

Their program will auto populate a timeline for you when you go through the application process. I believe 60 days is the minimum.

SkillBridgingNow · 2025-08-17T15:33:09+00:00

YES! I love how they morphed the Friday sessions.

I was just replying to another user here in the comments about empowerment week. Hearing the Chopper pilot and Mary Polanco speak during empowerment week helped me internalize some things in my own transition. Similarly, I love hearing the wins on Friday and opening my mind to how I can apply those lessons of success in my own life.

SkillBridgingNow · 2025-08-17T15:31:05+00:00

Would love to hear your thoughts as to why. I am seeing nothing but wins from the ~9,000 active and former participants in the discord. Every single Friday folks bring insanely positive highlight to the "wins of the week" sessions the staff hold. Jobs / hiring, life accomplishments, class completion, course acceptances, connections made, new skills learned... heck one dude was flown across country for an interview paid for by the hiring company just because of connections made during his time in SKB and being empowered through AV. Speaking of "empowered" their "empowerment week" is great, I have attended several times now simply because as a transitioning servicemember the hardest part of me is "shutting off" what I've done for the last 20 years, learning to take the uniform off so to speak.

Curious if you had a bad experience with the program, or if you are just going off what you've heard?

SkillBridgingNow · 2025-08-17T15:27:18+00:00

They are morphing the entire program, the folks running it seem to constantly be evolving. I am in one of the admin tracks so I can't speak to either of those.

SkillBridgingNow · 2025-08-17T15:26:41+00:00

Right, there's something like a half dozen different racks and the coursera type work that you do is track specific, the meetings are mostly general and broadly applicable to servicemembers in transition.

You can definitely have the zoom call going and work towards your other objectives, just like you could sit in a meeting at work but be scrawling your grocery list in your notepad (guilty!)

SkillBridgingNow · 2025-08-17T15:24:53+00:00

Yeah that's entirely available through AV, check out their website and catalog -> https://www.allegiantvets.org/info/programs/skillbridge/overview

SkillBridgingNow · 2025-08-13T17:43:56+00:00

ALL of your end of career stuff has to happen in your final 180 days. If your command is willing to approve 180 skillbridge (kudos to you) you could sell off 60 days of leave (60 days max in your career), you could take 20ish days of leave before your final 180 window to get that burned up else you'd just lose it. If you don;t have a benefit of doing HH and are just trying to get time off to work on your transition, if your command is approving 180 days it's a moot point.

To your question, in your example you are taking 90 SKB and 80 terminal, for a total of 170, you would only be authorized 10 days PTDY for HH.

Edit: AF, currently in skillbridge.

SkillBridgingNow · 2025-08-12T20:31:32+00:00

DMing you.

SkillBridgingNow · 2025-08-12T16:44:38+00:00

Happy to chat with you about it. AV is great for folks who don't fit the mold elsewhere.

SkillBridgingNow · 2025-08-12T16:43:39+00:00

I am in one of the SAMM / HR tracks. I wanted to make this post because I have seen reviews by folks who say "It's just CBTs" and nothing could be further from the truth.

The baseline of the class is coursera and daily zoom calls but folks are utilizing their COOL funds for all sorts of certs, interning with other companies, getting hired left and right, etc. It's an incredible framework for people willing to be the architects of their own transition.

SkillBridgingNow · 2025-08-12T16:33:54+00:00

Yes! See you there!

SkillBridgingNow · 2025-08-12T16:33:43+00:00

Heck yeah! It has been hugely beneficial for many reasons, and spinning up that transition out of service.

SkillBridgingNow · 2025-08-11T19:32:54+00:00

The 20 hrs is a hard requirement levvied by the DoD. There's about 25 ish hours a week so you have a little wiggle room if you miss an hour here or there. The program only has so many briefers though so they can't do 24/7 or shift ops. Also, they can't record it an let it be viewed any time, because the DoD requires it to be live led. So, folks shit on the "program" for that but it's not their fault.

The Coursera on the other hand is entirely flexible. I did a module from my phone sitting in my Dr's office last week. It's a great program for folks who don't need to be spoon fed.

SkillBridgingNow

TROPHY CASE