RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2012-04745 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: He be allowed to accomplish a Post-9/11 GI Bill transfer of educational benefits (TEB) to his dependents. ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: 1. He believes he is a casualty of an unjust process that happened during the initial implementation of the Post-9/11 GI Bill TEB. Due to the limited time between implementation of the Post-9/11 GI Bill TEB on 1 August 2009 and his retirement on 1 September 2009, he was not afforded sufficient information or opportunity to apply for and receive a Certificate of Eligibility and request transfer of benefits to his dependents. 2. He received a Post-9/11 GI Bill Certificate of Eligibility from the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) on 20 June 2012. When he inquired on how to transfer the educational entitlements to his dependents he was told he could not do a Post-9/11 GI Bill TEB because he was retired and not in active duty status. 3. During his retirement planning and out-processing he did not receive any briefings for, nor, was he aware of Post-9/11 GI Bill TEB. He began terminal leave for retirement on 11 June 2009. From that day forward, he did not have access to a government computer or an email address and was not afforded the opportunity to receive a briefing on Post-9/11 GI Bill TEB. He believes it is unjust that he was not provided the information and opportunity to know the process for requesting eligibility and transfer of educational benefits to his dependents. The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A. ________________________________________________________________ STATEMENT OF FACTS: According to documents submitted by the applicant, he is a former Air Force Reserve commissioned officer. Effective 1 September 2009, the applicant was assigned to the Retired Reserve section awaiting pay at age 60 (2 April 2023). ________________________________________________________________ AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 1. AFRC/A1K recommends denial. A1K states based on the legislative provisions of USC Title 38, Chapter 33, section 331 9 (f)(l) which states in part, that “an individual may transfer such entitlement only while serving as a member of the armed forces when the transfer is executed,” they recommend disapproval of the applicant’s request. 2. The Air Force Reserve Command, in implementing its guidance, developed a communication plan that utilized the Air Reserve Personnel Center and the Education and Training offices at each installation to serve as spokespersons to effectively communicate the Post-9/11 GI Bill TEB program using internal media, internal communication tools, and external publications. 3. Every effort was made by DoD, the DVA, and the services to make sure that every eligible service member understood the process for transferring benefits. The DVA did not have its final Rules and Regulations published until 31 Mar 09 (Department of Veterans Affairs (38 CFR part 21, Post 9/11 GI Bill)). While the rules and regulations were being formulated, DoD and the services were busy trying to build an infrastructure that could transmit the transfer of benefit data between DoD and the DVA. In the haste to implement the transfer of benefits there was a lot of information that was misrepresented. Many were led to believe that the law only required that one be serving on active duty 1 August 2009. For this reason, many individuals were planning and adjusting their retirement date so that they were on active duty on 1 August 2009. As the effective date of the program got closer, the “rules of engagement” became clearer. The complete AFRC/A1K evaluation is at Exhibit C. ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: In his response, the applicant states that he feels the AFRC/A1K advisory strengthens his position that information regarding the Post-9/11 GI Bill TEB was not available before he began terminal leave, despite the fact that he was qualified to receive the benefits of the program. The overall premises of his request is that he believes he is among a handful of service members who were eligible for the program but whose retirements or separations occurred during the implementation of the program. As a result, information and guidance regarding Certificates of Eligibility and transfer of benefits to dependents was not available. Even if accurate information had been available, in his case, there was insufficient time between the implementation date and his retirement date to complete the process. For these reasons, he requests approval of his request for Post-9/11 GI Bill TEB to his dependents. The applicant’s complete submission 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 not timely filed; however, it is in the interest of justice to excuse the failure to timely file. 3. Sufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of error or injustice. While we note the steps the Air Force office of primary responsibility indicates were taken to inform eligible personnel of this new benefit, it appears that through no fault of the applicant he was not timely made aware of his eligibility and the steps necessary to transfer his benefits to his dependents. In addition we find no basis to question the applicant's account in this matter and do not find it reasonable that he would have knowingly elected not to pursue use of this important entitlement. Therefore, we find the applicant has provided sufficient evidence to resolve any doubt in this matter in his behalf and recommend the records be corrected as indicated below. ________________________________________________________________ THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT: The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air Force relating to APPLICANT be corrected to show that on 31 August 2009, he elected to transfer his Post-9/11 GI Bill Educational Benefits. ________________________________________________________________ The following members of the Board considered this application in Executive Session on 2 July 2013, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: , Panel Chair , Member , Member The following documentary evidence pertaining to AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2012-04745 was considered: Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 8 October 2012 w/atchs. Exhibit C. Letter, AFRC/A1K, dated 5 December 2012. Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 10 December 2012. Exhibit E. Letter, Applicant, dated 2 January 2013.