RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2011-00191 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO ________________________________________________________________ THE APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: He be entitled to transfer his Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits to his dependents. ________________________________________________________________ THE APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: When he filled out the application for Post 9/11 GI Bill Transfer of Educational Benefits (TEB) he applied a six-month value for his eligible spouse; however, he did not apply a month value on behalf of his children. He is now being told that since he did not apply a month value to his request, his children are no longer eligible for benefits. He was not informed of this error at the time and believes he should be allowed TEB to his dependent children. In support of his appeal, the applicant provides a copy of his Electronic TEB Application and his approval notice. The applicant’s complete submission, with attachment, is at Exhibit A. ________________________________________________________________ STATEMENT OF FACTS: The applicant entered active duty on 8 Mar 85. He was relieved from active duty, on 31 Aug 10, with a reason for separation of voluntary retirement: sufficient service for retirement. He retired on 1 Sep 10 after serving over 25 years, 5 months, and 23 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 a specified additional period 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: HQ USAF/A1PA recommends denial, stating, in part, the applicant was not denied the opportunity to transfer benefits while serving on active duty, and he provided no evidence to support governmental injustice or error. While the applicant retains the right to modify or revoke the months of Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits between himself and his wife, 38 U.S.C. Chapter 33 does not allow new transfers to dependents to whom no benefits were transferred before separation/retirement. A1PA states that the TEB records reflects that the applicant transferred 6 months of benefits to his spouse, but did not transfer any months to his children before he retired. Although the applicant contends the system did not warn him of his "error" when he did not transfer benefits to his children, there is no error since servicemembers may choose to transfer all, some or none of their benefits to eligible dependents in any combination of months, including zero months. The complete HQ USAF/A1PA evaluation is at Exhibit C. ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF THE AIR FORCE EVALUATION: The applicant provides an explanation for the circumstances surrounding the error made on his application, the reasons why he made his elections for his dependent children the way he did, and that he was not advised that by not selecting a month value his dependent children would not be eligible for TEB. He feels that since this was a virtual process, without assistance from Air Force personnel, this has caused an injustice to his children TEB due to a confusing application process. The applicant’s complete response, with attachment, 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. 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 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 31 August 2010, he elected to transfer his Post 9/11 GI Bill Educational Benefits. ________________________________________________________________ The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2011-00191 in Executive Session on 25 August 2011, 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 14 Jan 11, w/atch. Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records. Exhibit C. Letter, HQ USAF/A1PA, dated 28 Feb 11. Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 4 Mar 11. Exhibit E. Letter, Applicant, dated 1 Apr 11. Panel Chair