RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2011-00756 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: He submitted a transfer of eligibility for a portion of his benefit to his dependent child in Aug 09, while still on active duty. He recently decided to transfer all of the remaining benefits to his son and, on 15 Feb 11, he discovered the initial transfer of benefits failed. The reason stated was "rejected disapproved-SM has submitted an invalid entry." He has followed all the rules and guidelines for applying for and transferring benefits and the current rejected/disapproved status is an obvious error and must be corrected. In support of his appeal, the applicant provides a personal statement; a copy of his DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, issued in conjunction with his 31 Aug 09, and other supporting documents. The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A. ________________________________________________________________ STATEMENT OF FACTS: The applicant was relieved from active duty, on 31 Aug 09, with a reason for separation of Voluntary Retirement: Sufficient Service for Retirement. 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 Department of Defense (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 approval, stating, in part, that the Board could find that there was an error due to the administrative restriction that caused the applicant to be unable to successfully transfer benefits in the days immediately prior to his retirement. If the Board determines this to be the case, AFPC can execute the transfer on the applicant's behalf without returning the member to active service. The Air Force, in implementing its guidance, developed a communication plan that used the Air Force Personnel Center Commander and the Education and Training Section at each installation to serve as spokespersons to communicate the Post- 9/11 GI Bill transfer-to-dependent program using internal media, internal communication tools, and external trade publications. There were various news articles about the Post-9/11 GI Bill to be eligible to transfer benefits. The Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA), the DoD and the Military Services widely publicized the Post-9/11 GI Bill and the transferability feature. DoD developed a special website, hosted by Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC), to facilitate the transfer of educational benefits. The website system was operational on 27 June 2009 for the purpose of accepting transfer of benefits applications. The Directive Type Memo (DTM) and Air Force Instruction state the transfer must be made while the member is serving in the Armed Forces. Both documents were published on government-hosted websites prior to 1 Aug 09, the effective date of the Post-9/11 GI Bill. The applicant states that he received two briefings about Post- 9/11 GI Bill benefits from the education office and/or Airmen and Family Readiness Center prior to his official retirement. He paid very close attention to the VA representatives when discussing the Post-9/11 GI Bill, but he was never counseled that he could not use the automated system to transfer benefits during the final days immediately preceding his official retirement date. Although he took steps to transfer benefits and provided documentation of his transfer attempt, the transfer did not consummate because of an administrative restriction that closes a member's active duty personnel record a few days prior to their official retirement date. Records are normally closed out approximately 5 days prior to an official retirement date in order to ensure final pay and other administrative actions are completed and retired pay starts on time. The complete HQ USAF/A1PA evaluation is at Exhibit C. ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF THE AIR FORCE EVALUATION: A copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to the applicant on 29 Apr 11 for review and comment within 30 days. As of this date, no response has been received by this office (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 warranting corrective action regarding the applicant’s Transfer of Educational Benefits. The Air Force office of primary responsibility has adequately addressed the issues presented by the applicant and we are in agreement with its opinion and recommendation. Therefore, we recommend the applicant’s record be corrected to the extent 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 AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2011-00756 in Executive Session on 22 December 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 22 Feb 11, w/atch. Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records. Exhibit C. Letter, HQ USAF/A1PA, dated 21 Apr 11. Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 29 Apr 11. Panel Chair