RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2012-01502 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: His official records be corrected to show he is eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill Transferability of Educational Benefits (TEB). ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT He applied to transfer his Post-9/11 GI Bill educational benefits on the first available date, 3 Aug 09. When the Defense Management Data Center (DMDC) website did not return any results, he contacted the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) and asked what he could do. The DVA told him the DMDC website was swamped with extremely high volume and would take longer to process the applications. He out processed on 17 Aug 09, and no longer had access to his military computer or the Common Access Card (CAC) that was necessary to log into the DMDC website. The DVA assured him his request would go through given extra time. Without a notice of a denied request, he did not find out his request did not go through until his son applied for his eligibility certificate. The applicant's complete submission is at Exhibit A. ________________________________________________________________ STATEMENT OF FACTS: On 31 Oct 09, the applicant was relieved from active duty and retired for length of service, effective 1 Nov 12. He was credited with 28 years, 7 months, and 10 days of total service. For the first time in history, service members enrolled in the Post-9/11 GI Bill Program 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 Bill, has at least six 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 can transfer their unused Post-9/11 benefits to their dependents (Title 38 USC, Chapter 33, § 3319(b)(1)). For those service members eligible to retire between 1 Aug 09 and 31 Jul 10, no additional service is required. Title 38 USC, Chapter 33, § 3319(f)(1) adds that the transfer of such entitlement can only be done while serving as a member of the armed forces when the transfer is executed. The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this application are contained in the letter prepared by the Air Force office of primary responsibility, which is attached at Exhibit C. ________________________________________________________________ AIR FORCE EVALUATION: AFRC/A1K recommends denial, indicating there is no evidence of an error or injustice. All Department of Defense (DoD) requests and transactions must be completed through the Transferability of Educational Benefits (TEB) application website at DMDC. Research reveals that the applicant never applied for the transfer of benefits in the TEB system. The DMDC system shows no evidence that he applied. Every effort was made by DoD, the Veteran Affairs (VA), and the services to make sure that every eligible service member understood the process for transferring benefits. The VA itself did not have its final Rules and Regulations published until 31 Mar 09 (Department of Veterans Affairs (38 CFR part 21, Post 9/1 1 GI Bill)). While the rules and regulations were being formulated, DoD and the services were busy trying to build an infrastructure that could transmit the transfer of benefit data between DoD and the VA. In the haste to implement the transfer of benefits there was a lot of information that was misrepresented. Many were lead to believe that the law only required that one be serving on active duty 1 August 2009. For this reason, many individuals were planning and adjusting their retirement date so that they were on active duty on 1 August 2009. As the effective date of the program got closer, the "rules of engagement" became clearer. Based on the legislative provisions of USC Title 38, Chapter 33, section 3319 (f)(1), which states, in part, that "an individual ... may transfer such entitlement only while serving as a member of the armed forces when the transfer is executed", the applicant’s request should be denied. The complete AFRC/A1K evaluation is at Exhibit C. ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: A copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to the applicant on 24 May 12 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 an error or injustice. The applicant contends that the Defense Management Data Center (DMDC) was unable to process his application while he was on active duty due to extremely high volume. After a thorough review of the evidence of record and in light of the evolving nature of the guidance available acknowledged by the Air Force office of primary responsibility, we find it reasonable to believe the applicant, through no fault of his own, was unable to execute the transfer of his benefits during the initial implementation of this comprehensive and far-reaching program in the very limited time that remained until his planned retirement. In addition, we do not find it reasonable that he would have knowingly elected not to pursue use of this important entitlement. 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 31 October 2009, he elected to transfer his Post 9/11 GI Bill Educational Benefits. ________________________________________________________________ The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2012-01502 in Executive Session on 8 Jan 13, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: Panel Chair Member Member All members voted to correct the records, as recommended. The following documentary evidence pertaining to AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2012-01502 was considered: Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 23 Mar 12. Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records. Exhibit C. Letter, AFPC/DPSIT, dated 17 May 12. Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 24 May 12. Panel Chair