RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2011-01722 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: YES ________________________________________________________________ THE APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: He be entitled to transfer his Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits to his dependents. ________________________________________________________________ THE APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: His daughter was removed from the Post 9/11 GI Bill Transfer of Education Benefits (TEB) for unknown reasons. She was submitted as beneficiary when he transferred from the Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB) to the Post 9/11 GI Bill. However, as of 26 Apr 11, neither the Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) nor the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) education help line could give an answer as to why his daughter was not listed. He did not discover the error until after he had retired. The applicant’s complete submission is at Exhibit A. ________________________________________________________________ STATEMENT OF FACTS: The applicant was relieved from active duty, on 31 March 2011, 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 denial, stating, in part, that the applicant had access and opportunity to ensure he correctly transferred his benefits to his daughter before his 1 Apr 11, retirement date. They were unable to verify the applicant's transfer of benefits because there is no record in DMDC's TEB database that the applicant logged on before his 1 April 2011 retirement to transfer benefits to his daughter. A review of applicant's Preseparation Counseling Checklist reflects referral to the Education Center and the Veterans Administration's Post-9/11 GI Bill web site. The applicant was cleared for retirement by the Columbus AFB Education Center on 17 Feb 11. For the first time in history, servicemembers enrolled in 38 U.S.C., Chapter 33 (Post-9/11 Educational Assistance), are able to transfer unused educational benefits to their dependent spouses or children. Any member of the Armed Forces, active duty or Selected Reserve, officer or enlisted, on or after 1 Aug 09, who is eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill, 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 (if applicable), may transfer unused Post-9/11 benefits to their dependents pursuant to service regulations (38 U.S.C.3319(b)(1)). The Department of Defense (DoD) issued a regulation, Directive Type Memo (DTM) 09- 003 (reissued 10 Sep 10), that authorized the Military Departments to offer servicemembers the option to transfer benefits. The Secretary of the Air Force determined that the Air Force would offer the transfer of benefits feature. The transfer must be initiated while the member is serving in the Armed Forces, which is defined as limited to those on active duty or in the Selected Reserve (38 U.S.C. § 3319(f)(1); DTM 09- 003, Attachment 2(3)(g)(1) (reissued Sep 10,2010); and AFI 36- 2306, Attachment 9, paragraph A9.l8. 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 09 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 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 1 Jul 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. Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of error or injustice regarding the applicant’s Transfer of Educational Benefits. We took notice of the applicant's complete submission 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 that the applicant has not been the victim of an error or injustice. Therefore, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, we find no basis to recommend granting the relief sought in this application. 4. The applicant's case is adequately documented and it has not been shown that a personal appearance with or without counsel will materially add to our understanding of the issue(s) involved. Therefore, the request for a hearing is not favorably considered. ________________________________________________________________ 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 members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2011-01722 in Executive Session on 9 February 2012, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: The following documentary evidence was considered: Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 29 Apr 11. Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records. Exhibit C. Letter, AF/A1PA, dated 20 Jun 11. Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 1 Jul 11.