RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2015-00557 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: His Post-9/11 GI Bill educational benefits be reallocated from one dependent to another. APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: When his transfer of educational benefits (TEB) was first approved in Aug 09 the program was new and the Education Office briefed him that as long as his dependents showed up in MilConnect, he could change his allocation in retirement. When he first applied for TEB, all of his dependents were listed as eligible. He allocated all 36 months to one daughter. That daughter decided not to attend college. When he attempted to reallocate his benefits to his other daughter in Jan 15, MilConnect showed her as ineligible. The applicant’s complete submission, with attachment, is at Exhibit A. STATEMENT OF FACTS: The applicant initially entered the Regular Air Force on 8 Sep 87. On 1 Oct 10, the applicant retired after serving 23 years and 23 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/DPSID recommends denial indicating there is no evidence of an error or an injustice. The applicant was approved for TEB effective 1 Aug 09, and incurred no additional service obligation. He assigned 36 months of benefits to one dependent daughter, and zero months to his second dependent daughter and his spouse. When a member submits a TEB request and does not allocate months of benefits to a dependent, a message appears 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?” Two options are provided: a) OK or b) Cancel. The applicant clicked the “OK” option to submit his request. A complete copy of the AFPC/DPSID evaluation, with attachments, is at Exhibit C. APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: A copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to the applicant on 11 Jun 15 for review and comment within 30 days (Exhibit D). As of this date, no response has been received by this office. 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 an injustice. After a thorough review of the evidence of record and the applicant’s complete submission, we believe the applicant is the victim of an error or injustice. While we note the comments of AFPC/DPSIT indicating relief should be denied because the applicant only allocated his Post-9/11 GI Bill educational benefits to a single dependent prior to his retirement, given the newness of the enabling legislation at the time of the applicant’s retirement, and the limited information available on the program on the 1 August 2009 date of the applicant’s approval for TEB, we believe through no fault of the applicant he was not timely made aware of the steps necessary to correctly 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 to limit his allocation to a single dependent when there was no additional service requirement associated with making each of his dependents eligible. Therefore, we 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 the APPLICANT be corrected to show that on 29 September 2010, he elected to transfer his Post-9/11 GI Bill Educational Benefits to his dependents. The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2015-00557 in Executive Session on 14 Oct 15, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: Panel Chair Member Member The following documentary evidence pertaining AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2015-00557 was considered: Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 29 Jan 15, w/atch. Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records. Exhibit C.  Memorandum, AFPC/DPSIT, dated 18 Feb 15, w/atchs. Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 11 Jun 15.