IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 10 November 2015 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150002812 THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE: 1. Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any). 2. Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any). THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant requests, in effect, correction of his military records to show he transferred his educational benefits to his wife under the Transfer of Education Benefits (TEB) provision of the Post-9/11 GI Bill. 2. The applicant also requests his DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) with a separation date of 15 January 2015 be corrected to show the correct date of entry on active duty and his net service for the period of the DD Form 214. 3. The applicant states he was denied TEB to his wife because he didn't have 6 years active duty. He enlisted in the Army on 5 August 2004 and deployed to Iraq in 2006. He was separated from active duty in January 2008. He joined an U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) unit in St. Petersburg, FL in 2008/2009. He reenlisted in the Regular Army in August 2009 and was stationed in Schofield Barracks in Hawaii until 9 September 2013. He deployed with the 25th Infantry Division from July 2010 until June 2011. In September 2013 he was assigned to Fort Bliss, TX and he was there until 15 January 2015 when he was medically discharged for back problems. When he applied to TEB to his wife he was denied because according to some records he didn't have more than 6 years on active duty. His Leave and Earnings Statement (LES) shows he has 10 years of service. 4. The applicant provides: * a screen shot from the MilConnect website * his DD Form 214 with a separation date of 20 January 2008 * his DD Form 214 with a separation date of 15 January 2015 * his LES for the period 1-31 October 2014 CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. On 3 June 2004, he enlisted in the Regular Army for 3 years and 16 weeks. On 20 January 2008, he was released from active duty and transferred to the USAR Control Group (Reinforcement). He completed 3 years, 5 months, and 16 days of active service that was characterized as honorable. His Reserve obligation termination date was 2 June 2012. 2. On 20 August 2009, he was discharged from the USAR. His Chronological Statement of Retirement Points does not show he completed any qualifying years while in the USAR. A qualifying year is defined as having earned at least 50 retirement points during a year. 3. On 21 August 2009, he enlisted in the Regular Army for 3 years. He was discharged on 19 November 2010 and immediately reenlisted on 20 November 2010 for 6 years. A DD Form 214 was not issued for this period of service. 4. On 25 November 2014, a Physical Evaluation Board (PEB) found him to be physically unfit for duty for chronic low back pain. The PEB recommended a disability rating of 10 percent and that he be separated with severance pay. The applicant concurred with the findings and recommendation and he waived a formal haring of his case. 5. On 8 January 2015, he submitted a request for approval for TEB to his wife. According to the screen shot from the MilConnect website his request was rejected on 3 February 2013 because he did not have 6 years in the Armed Forces. 6. On 15 January 2015, he was discharged by reason of disability, severance pay, non-combat (Enhanced). His DD Form 214 shows the following information in: * item 12a (Date Entered AD (active duty) This Period - 20 November 2010 * item 12b (Separation Date This Period) - 15 January 2015 * item 12c (Net Active Service This Period) - 4 years, 1 month, and 26 days 7. He provided his LES for the period 1-31 October 2014. The "YRS SVC" (years of service) block contains the entry "10." This reflects his years of service for pay purposes only. This block is not meant to verify the number of years of active service. 8. On 23 October 2015, a member of the ABCMR staff contacted HRC concerning the reason for rejection of the applicant's TEB to his wife. It was pointed out that on the date he submitted his TEB request he had completed 8 years, 10 months, and 3 days of active service. HRC acknowledged the error and changed the reason for rejection to the applicant not having committed to the required additional service time. 9. Department of Defense Financial Management Regulation (DODFMR) 7000.14-R, Volume 7A, Chapter 1, paragraph 010104 states that when computing a period of service each month is considered to have 30 days regardless of the actual number of days in the month. When subtracting the beginning day of service from the ending date of service 1 day is added to account for the inclusive date. 10. Army Regulation 635-8 (Separation Processing and Documents) prescribes policies and procedures regarding separation documents. a. Effective 1 October 1979, DD Forms 214 are no longer issued for enlisted members who are discharged for immediate reenlistments in the Regular Army. All service will be continuous from the date the last DD Form 214 was issued. b. Paragraph 5-6l states the beginning date of the continuous period of active duty for issuance of this DD Form 214, for which a DD form 214 was not previously issued is to be entered in item 12a of the DD Form 214. The date of separation is to be entered in item 12b. The net service for the period shown is computed by subtracting item 12a from item 12b and then deducting any lost time and non-creditable service after the Soldier's expiration of term of service. c. Paragraph 5-6r(4)(a) states for enlisted Soldiers with more than one enlistment period during the time covered by his DD Form 214, enter "IMMEDIATE REENLISTMENTS THIS PERIOD" and specify inclusive dates for each period of reenlistment. 11. Department of Defense (DOD) Directive-Type Memorandum 09-003, dated 22 June 2009, established the criteria for eligibility and transfer of unused educational benefits to eligible family members. a. An eligible individual is any member of the Armed Forces on or after 1 August 2009 who, at the time of the approval of the individual's request to transfer entitlement to educational assistance under this section, is eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill and: (1) has at least 6 years of service in the Armed Forces (active duty and/or Selected Reserve) on the date of election and agrees to serve 4 additional years in the Armed Forces from the date of election, or (2) has at least 10 years of service in the Armed Forces (active duty and/or Selected Reserve) 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. b. An individual approved to transfer entitlement to educational assistance may transfer such entitlement to the individual's family member(s) only while serving as a member of the Armed Forces. 12. HQDA, G1 Policy 14-04(C1)TEB, dated 11 April 2014, provides guidance for active component TEB of Post 9/11 GI Bill Education Benefits. a. Soldiers who have between 6 and 10 years of eligible service and do not commit to the 4 years of additional service are not eligible to transfer Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits. b. Army G1 Retention may grant exceptions to retention policy due to medical disqualification (pending an MEB/PEB) in order to take action to meet the service remaining requirement (SRR) for TEB. b. Soldiers pending an MEB/PEB may request an exception to policy (ETP) to extend to meet the SRR for TEB. The ETP request must be approved and the Soldier must extend for the additional 4 year service obligation prior to the PEB finding the Soldier is physically unfit on a DA Form 199 (Informal PEB Proceedings). Once a Soldier is approved for separation, he/she is no longer eligible for an ETP to extend to meet the SRR for TEB. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. On the date, 8 January 2015, he submitted his request for TEB to his wife, the applicant had completed 8 years, 10 months, and 3 days of active service. The reason for rejection of his TEB request was not valid. On 23 October 2015, during a telephone conversation with a member of the ABCMR staff, HRC acknowledged the error and changed the reason for rejection to the applicant not having committed to the required additional service time. 2. From the date of his initial enlistment in the Regular Army on 5 August 2004, he was continuously in a military status until his discharge on 15 January 2015. His total service for pay purposes was 10 years, 7 months, and 10 days. For this reason his LES reflects "10" in the years of service block. 3. During the period he was in the USAR he did not earn any qualifying years for retirement. The rules for Soldiers between 6 and 10 years apply in his case for TEB. 4. In order to meet the SRR for TEB to his wife, he was required to submit an ETP request and upon approval extend his enlistment to meet the SRR prior to the date of his final PEB finding of physically unfit for duty. The PEB finding him unfit for duty was approved on 25 November 2014. There is no evidence he submitted and request for ETP to meet the SRR for TEB. The applicant submitted his request for TEB to his wife on 8 January 2015. 5. The beginning date of his last period of continuous active service was 21 August 2009. He was not issued a DD Form 214 when he was discharged on 19 November 2010 to immediately reenlist. The correct entry for item 12a of his DD Form 214 with a separation date of 15 January 2015 is "2009 08 21." 6. Based on the above correction his net service during the period is recomputed by subtracting the corrected entry in item 12a from the date in item 12b as follows: 2015 01 15 (Date of separation) - 2009 08 21 (Date entered AD) 0005 07 24 + _______ _1 (Inclusive Date) 0005 07 25 (Net active service) 7. Based on the recomputation above, the entry in item 12c of his DD Form 214 should be corrected to show "0005 07 25" (5 years, 7 months, and 25 days). 8. More than one enlistment is covered during the period covered by his DD Form 214 with a separation date of 15 January 2015. Item 18 (Remarks) should contain the entry "IMMEDIATE REENLISTMENTS THIS PERIOD - 20090821 - 20101119." BOARD VOTE: ________ ________ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF ____X___ ____X___ ____X___ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: 1. The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for partial relief. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by amending his DD Form 214 with a separation date of 15 January 2015 as follows: a. Item 12a - delete: "2010 11 20" add: "2009 08 21" b. Item 12c - delete "0004 01 26" add: "0005 07 24" c. Item 18 - add the entry "IMMEDIATE REENLISTMENTS THIS PERIOD - 20090821 - 20101119." 2. The Board further determined that the evidence presented was insufficient to warrant a portion of the requested relief. As a result, the Board recommends denial of so much of the application that pertains to the TEB to his wife. ____________X____________ CHAIRPERSON I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case. ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150002812 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150002812 6 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1