RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 

AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

 

IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2011-02419 

 COUNSEL: NONE 

 HEARING DESIRED: YES 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: 

 

He be allowed to transfer his Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits to his 
dependents. 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: 

 

He was on terminal leave from 29 Jun - 30 Sep 09, and was never 
contacted about transferring his benefits to a dependent. He was 
unaware of the transferability to dependent option when he 
retired on 1 Oct 09. 

 

He attended a Senior Transition Assistant Program (TAP) class in 
Jan 09, and an Executive TAP class in Mar 09, and in both 
instances the subject of transferability of educational benefits 
was glossed over as a remote possibility; and the timing of the 
enactment of the overall Post 9/11 GI Bill was addressed with 
uncertainty. 

 

In support of his request, the applicant provides copies of his 
DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active 
Duty, Retirement Orders, and Permissive Temporary Duty (TDY) and 
Terminal Leave Request/Authorization Forms. 

 

The applicant's complete submission, with attachments, is at 
Exhibit A. 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

STATEMENT OF FACTS: 

 

The applicant retired in the grade of colonel effective 1 Oct 09 
after serving 30 years, 2 months, and 15 days of active duty 
service. 

 

Additional relevant facts pertaining to this application, 
extracted from the applicant’s military records, are contained in 
the letter prepared by the appropriate office of the Air Force at 
Exhibit B. 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

 


AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 

 

AFPC/DPSIT reviewed this case and states the applicant should be 
allowed to sign up for the Transfer of Benefits and be allowed to 
transfer those benefits to his dependents. DPSI states this is 
one of many unfortunate cases of individuals during this time 
frame (1 Jun 09 – 1 Oct 10) where the information available to 
members was sometimes lacking. The fact that the Department of 
Veterans Affairs (DVA) website was not very user friendly, and 
the Air Force’s website for transfer of benefits was not up and 
running until 1 Aug 09; a lot of misinformation was passed around 
during and before this period. 

 

The complete DPSIT evaluation is at Exhibit B. 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 

 

On 29 Jul 11, a copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to 
the applicant for review and comment within 30 days. To date, a 
response has not been received (Exhibit C). 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT: 

 

1. The applicant has exhausted all remedies provided by existing 
law or regulations. 

 

2. The application was timely filed. 

 

3. Sufficient relevant evidence has been presented to 
demonstrate the existence of error or injustice. We took notice 
of the applicant's complete submission in judging the merits of 
the case and agree with the opinion and recommendation of the Air 
Force office of primary responsibility and adopt it’s rationale 
as the basis for our conclusion the applicant has been the victim 
of an error or injustice. We note the Air Force, through various 
means attempted to inform eligible personnel of this new benefit; 
however, it appears through no fault of the applicant he was not 
timely made aware of the steps necessary to transfer his benefits 
to his dependents. In view of this, and noting the applicant was 
otherwise eligible, we recommend his records be corrected to the 
extent indicated below. 

 

4. The applicant's case is adequately documented and it has not 
been shown that a personal appearance with or without counsel 
will materially add to the Board's understanding of the issues 
involved. Therefore, the request for a hearing is not favorably 
considered. 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 


THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT: 

 

The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air Force 
relating to APPLICANT, be corrected to show that on 30 September 
2009, he elected to transfer his Post 9/11 GI Bill Educational 
Benefits. 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket 
Number BC-2011-02419 in Executive Session on 12 Sep 11, under the 
provisions of AFI 36-2603: 


 

All members voted to correct the records, as recommended. The 
following documentary evidence was considered: 

 

 Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 23 Jun 11, w/atchs. 

 Exhibit B. Letter, AFPC/DPSIT, dated 18 Aug 11. 

 Exhibit C. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 29 Jul 11.