RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2010-04231 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 converted his Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB) to the Post-9/11 GI Bill. The months of entitlement were meant for his children and not his wife because she already has her degree. He was told to use his wife as a placeholder for the benefits and that once converted to Post-9/11, he could arrange the benefits between his children at a later date. He received very little guidance at the infancy of the program and converted his benefits as instructed. He does not place blame on anyone in particular; however, at the time of his conversion (1 Aug 09), there was very little guidance available on the program. He understood it at the time to be a simple process of converting his MGIB before he retired and arrange the months of entitlement at a later date. The emphasis of his Transition Assistance Program (TAP) briefing was to “convert” benefits prior to retirement because he would not be able to do so after he retired. The guidance given was once converted to Post-9/11; the benefits would be available to all dependents in the Defense Eligibility Enrollment Reporting System (DEERS). The conversion of his benefits at the time was done out of error due to lack of knowledge and proper guidance. It was a simple error on his part and he does not want his children to suffer because of an honest mistake on his part. In support of his request, the applicant provides a personal statement, copies of his DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, various emails, and power point slides. The applicant's complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A. _________________________________________________________________ STATEMENT OF FACTS: The applicant retired in the grade of master sergeant effective 1 Oct 09 after serving 20 years, 8 months, and 4 days on active duty. Post-9/11 GI Bill: Any member of the Armed Forces (active duty or Selected Reserve (SelRes), officer or enlisted) on or after 1 Aug 09, who is eligible for the Post 9/11 GI Bill, and: • 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 SelRes 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 1 Aug 09 through 1 Aug 13. 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 1 Aug 09, no additional service is required. • For those individuals who have an approved retirement date after 1 Aug 09, and before 1 Jul 10, no additional service is required. • For those individuals eligible for retirement after 1 Aug 09, and before 1 Aug 10, 1 year of additional service after approval of transfer is required. • For those individuals eligible for retirement on or after 1 Aug 10, and before 1 Aug 11, 2 years of additional service after approval of transfer are required. • For those individuals eligible for retirement on or after 1 Aug 11, and before 1 Aug 12, 3 years of additional service after approval of transfer are required. _________________________________________________________________ AIR FORCE EVALUATION: AFPC/DPSI recommends denial. DPSI states based on the applicant’s documentation, he did in fact receive adequate pre- separation counseling. The applicant does not state which person or office allegedly counseled him to use his wife as a placeholder for the transferred benefits. However, as part of his application, he submitted Post-9/11 GI Bill briefing slides used during his Jul 09 separation briefing, and these slides contain no direction to convert MGIB benefits to Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits, or to transfer benefits to a spouse as a placeholder. In addition, Slide 10 of the presentation, titled “Post-9/11 GI Bill Transfer to Dependents,” clearly states that airmen can adjust or revoke transfer actions at anytime, but must be on active duty to add new dependents. These slides contradict the applicant’s claim of erroneous counseling and serve to highlight the remark he made on his DD Form 149, Application for Correction of Military Record, where he stated, “this was a simple error on my part, and I don’t want my children to suffer due to an honest mistake on my part.” The complete DPSI evaluation is at Exhibit B. _________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: He is a disabled veteran and cannot afford the astronomical costs of his daughter’s education. He does not know the name of the person who gave the educational briefing, but it was held at Beale AFB. It is true the briefing slides did not contain any instruction on converting to the Post-9/11 GI Bill, therefore, there was very little, “vague” information given on this very important aspect of the process during the briefing. He was not instructed (verbally or written) that he was required to transfer at least one credit to each dependent that intended on using the benefit. He was instructed that in order for current dependents in the DEERS database to be eligible, he had to give a few credits to at least one eligible dependent to demonstrate participation in the conversion to the Post-9/11 GI Bill. The instructor used the example of “use your spouse as a “placeholder” and transfer a few credits to him/her” during his explanation. He was instructed that he had to be on active duty to add “new” dependents that were not already in the DEERS database prior to retirement. Had he received adequate counseling; he would have been able to make an informed decision. The applicant’s complete response 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. 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 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 for his dependents. Therefore, we elect to resolve any doubt in this matter in behalf of the applicant 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 30 September 2009 he elected to transfer his Post 9/11 GI Bill Educational Benefits to a dependent, effective 1 October 2009. _________________________________________________________________ The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2010-04231 in Executive Session on 27 Jun 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 8 Nov 10, w/atchs. Exhibit B. Letter, AFPC/DPSI, dated 14 Feb 11. Exhibit C. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 6 May 11. Exhibit D. Letter, Applicant, dated 20 May 11.