RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2011-05029 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO _________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: He be allowed to transfer his Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits to his dependents. _________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: He met the eligibility criteria to transfer his benefits to his dependents in August 2009; however, he was completing a permanent change of station (PCS) move at the time and was unable to officially request the transfer. He arrived at his new duty station with no mention of the requirements of this program when he in-processed. With his focus on assuming his new command and unpacking his house, he forgot to recheck the status of the program. He is now planning to retire in September 2012, but cannot execute the transfer of his benefits because he no longer has the requisite three years of retainability. The Air Force should have used the PCS out/in processing check list to aid in ensuring service members understood the requirements to transfer education benefits to their dependents. Notification to register was not widely disseminated to service members. The applicant's complete submission is at Exhibit A. _________________________________________________________________ STATEMENT OF FACTS: The applicant is currently serving on active duty in the rank of lieutenant colonel (Lt Col). Post-9/11 GI Bill: Any member of the Armed Forces (active duty or Selected Reserve, officer or enlisted) who, on or after August 1, 2009, is eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill, and satisfies the following service requirements, is eligible to transfer their unused educational benefits to a qualifying dependent: • Has at least 6 years of service in the Armed Forces on the date of election and agrees to serve 4 additional years in the Armed Forces from the date of election. • Has at least 10 years of service in the Armed Forces (active duty and/or selected reserve) on the date of election, is precluded by either standard policy (service or DoD) or statute from committing to 4 additional years, and agrees to serve for the maximum amount of time allowed by such policy or statute, or • Is or becomes retirement eligible during the period from August 1, 2009, through August 1, 2013. A service member is considered to be retirement eligible if he or she has completed 20 years of active duty or 20 qualifying years of reserve service. • For those individuals eligible for retirement on August 1, 2009, no additional service is required. • For those individuals who have an approved retirement date after August 1, 2009, and before July 31, 2010, no additional service is required. • For those individuals eligible for retirement after August 1, 2009, and before August 1, 2010, 1 year of additional service after approval of transfer is required. • For those individuals eligible for retirement on or after August 1, 2010, and before August 1, 2011, 2 years of additional service after approval of transfer are required. • For those individuals eligible for retirement on or after August 1, 2011, and before August 1, 2012, 3 years of additional service after approval of transfer required. The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this application are contained in the letter prepared by the appropriate office of the Air Force, which are attached at Exhibits C. _________________________________________________________________ AIR FORCE EVALUATION: AFPC/DPSI recommends denial, indicating there is no evidence of an error or injustice. Under Title 38 United States Code (USC), Chapter 33, service members are allowed to transfer unused educational benefits to their dependent spouses and children. Any member of the Armed Forces, active duty or Selected Reserves, officer, or enlisted, on or after August 1, 2009, who is eligible for the Post 9/11 GI bill, has at least six years of services in the Armed Forces on the date of election, and agrees to serve a specified additional period of in the Armed Forces from the date of election, may transfer unused Post 9/11 benefits to their dependents. The Air Force, in implementing its guidance, developed a communication plan that used the Air Force Personnel Center Commander and the Education and Training Sections at each installation to serve as spokespersons to communicate the Post9/11 GI Bill transfer-to-dependent program using internal media, internal communication tools, and external trade publications. There were various news articles about the Post9/11 GI Bill; most noted the requirement to be on duty on the August 1, 2009 effective date of the Post9/11 GI Bill to be eligible to transfer benefits. Some articles mentioned that service members on active duty or in the selected reserve could transfer benefits. Notably, since August 1, 2009, the Air Force approved over 50,000 transferability applications. The Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA), the DoD, and the Military Services widely publicized the Post9/11 GI Bill and the transferability feature. DoD developed a special website, hosted by Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC), to facilitate the transfer of educational benefits. The website system was operational on June 27, 2009 for the purpose of accepting transfer of benefits applications. The Directive Type Memo (DTM) and Air Force Instruction state the transfer must be made while the member is serving in the Armed Forces. Both documents were published on government-hosted websites prior to August 1, 2009, the effective date of the Post9/11 GI Bill. The applicant does not meet the criteria to transfer education benefits to his dependents because he does not have an approved request for transfer. The applicant’s failure to take action is not a justification for the Air Force to approve his request to transfer education benefits. If the applicant had acted in a timely manner and inquired about the program when he arrived at his gaining station he would not had to submit an application for correction of military records and transfer of his benefits would have been approved. The complete AFPC/DPSI evaluation is at Exhibit C. _________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: The applicant states his intent is not to necessarily refute the advisory opinion details as much as it is to convince the Board that he has met the requirements to transfer his education benefits to his dependents. When he arrived at his gaining station, he was not required to visit the base education office as part of his in-processing, where he assumes he would have learned that the program had been initiated. It was unfortunate timing that the TEB program guidance came out as he was completing his PCS. He accomplished what was necessary to in- process for his assignment; however, his duties as a new Commander became his priority and he simply forgot to check back on the program. Since he was not required to visit the base Education office, he missed the reminder opportunity he needed. He has not submitted the transfer request because he would have to accept a three-year ADSC from the time his transfer was approved. While he agrees he should have remembered to check back on the status of the Post 9/11 GI Bill TEB program when he arrived at his new station, it certainly would have helped if he was required to visit the education office to acknowledge his options for the program as is the case with other entitlement programs (e.g. Career Status Bonus/Redux retirement plan versus the High-3 retirement plan). In his opinion, the TEB program is significant enough to warrant the same mandatory acknowledgement. The applicant’s complete response, with attachments, is at Exhibit E. _________________________________________________________________ THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT: 1. The applicant has exhausted all remedies provided by existing law or regulations. 2. The application was timely filed. 3. Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of an error or injustice. We took notice of the applicant's complete submission, including his response to the Air Force evaluation, in judging the merits of the case; however, we agree with the opinion and recommendation of the Air Force office of primary responsibility and adopt its rationale as the basis for our conclusion the applicant has not been the victim of an error or injustice. Therefore, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, we find no basis to recommend granting the relief sought in this application. _________________________________________________________________ THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT: The applicant be notified the evidence presented did not demonstrate the existence of an error or injustice; the application was denied without a personal appearance; and the application will only be reconsidered upon the submission of newly discovered relevant evidence not considered with this application. _________________________________________________________________ The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2011-05029 in Executive Session on 15 May 2012, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: The following documentary evidence pertaining to AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2011-05029 was considered: Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 15 Dec 11. Exhibit B. Letter, AFPC/DPSI, dated 12 Jan 12. Exhibit C. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 24 Jan 12. Exhibit D. Letter, Applicant, dated 2 Feb 12, w/atchs.