RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS


IN THE MATTER OF: 	DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2014-02726

  			COUNSEL:  NONE

			HEARING DESIRED:  NO 


APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His spouse’s ineligibility status for Transfer of Education 
Benefits (TEB) be changed to eligible.


APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

In 2010, he transferred one month of education benefits to his 
wife and 10 months to each of his children.  He is unsure the 
reason, but the one month of eligibility for his wife dropped from 
the system.  The system now shows she is ineligible to receive the 
TEB.

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


STATEMENT OF FACTS:

On 28 Jun 84, the applicant entered the Regular Air Force.

On 5 Jun 10, the applicant was approved for TEB.

On 30 Jun 14, the applicant received an honorable discharge, and 
he was credited with 30 years and 3 days of active service.  

The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this application are 
contained in the memorandum prepared by the Air Force office of 
primary responsibility (OPR), which is attached at Exhibit C.    


AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPSIT recommends denial indicating there is no evidence of an 
error or an injustice.  The system does not arbitrarily drop a 
month of benefits previously allocated to a dependent via 
MilConnect.  Months of benefits may be zeroed out only through the 
“revoke” option.  The member did not allocate a month of benefits 
in MilConnect to his spouse during initial application and by 
regulation she is now ineligible.  

Since the stand-up of the TEB website on 1 Aug 09, when a member 
submits a TEB request and does not allocate months of benefits to 
a dependent, a message pops up which states:  “Warning:  You have 
one or more eligible family members to whom you have not 
transferred months.  If you do not transfer months to these 
individuals before you separate from the Armed Forces, you will 
not be able to do so afterwards.  These family members will no 
longer be eligible for transferred educational assistance.  Would 
you like to continue submitting your transfer request?”  The two 
options provided are:  a) OK (submits the request for approval in 
MilConnect) or b) Cancel (allows the member to make changes prior 
to submission).  The applicant clicked option to submit his 
request and was approved by Total Force Service Center personnel.  
When the member retired effective 30 Jun 14, his spouse became 
ineligible by regulation as he did not allocate at least one month 
of benefits (REF:  AFI 36-2306, The Air Force Education System 
Programs, Attachment 9, A9.18.7.2.3).  

The complete DPSIT evaluation is at Exhibit C.


APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The applicant responded in a letter dated 23 Oct 14 refuting the 
advisory opinion on the timeliness of his application.  He did not 
find out there was an error until 3 Jul 14 when he went on-line in 
eBenefits to check on his dependents eligibility.  He then 
immediately processed an application for correction at that time.  

With respect to the explanation regarding the application process, 
he understands the steps a member has to take to transfer 
education benefits because he did it back in 2010 right after a 
deployment.  However, he does not recall the exact procedures he 
followed at that time and he obviously made a mistake not 
following-up before his actual retirement date.  His intent was 
that all three of his dependents be eligible for transferability.  

Subsequently, he disagrees with the recommendation to deny his 
request.  He states he did not submit “irrefutable” evidence 
supporting his request but believes he would have had to take a 
screen shot of each and every page as he progressed through the 
sign-up process to do so.  Though he admits he may have possibly 
made a mistake not entering a month of eligibility, he believes 
the system could have made an error as well.  

He hopes the Board members will recognize his full and honest 
intent was for all of his dependents to be eligible for 
transferability of education benefits and that he took the 
necessary steps to sign them up well before retirement.   

The complete APPLICANT review is at Exhibit D.


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 
rebuttal of the Air Force advisory, 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 of injustice.  While we acknowledge the 
applicant’s request to change his spouse’s Post-9/11 GI Bill 
transfer of education benefits eligibility status, we do not 
believe he has demonstrated evidence of an injustice, as compared 
to others in his similar situation.  Therefore, in the absence of 
evidence to the contrary, we find no basis to recommend granting 
the requested relief.


THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT:

The applicant be notified the evidence presented did not 
demonstrate the existence of material 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 documentary evidence pertaining to AFBCMR Docket 
Number BC-2014-02726 was considered:

	Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 14 Jul 14, w/atchs.
	Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
	Exhibit C.  Memorandum, AFPC/DPSIT, dated 22 Aug 14.
	Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 10 Oct 14.