BOARD DATE: 2 December 2015 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150013562 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 correction of his military records to show he transferred his Post 9/11 GI Bill education benefits (TEB) to his dependents. 2. The applicant states he is pending medical retirement for unfitness and cannot complete the required 10 years of service. He currently has 8 years of service. The Army G1 (Personnel Office) is unwilling to grant him an enlistment extension for the purpose of TEB or grant him an exception to policy (ETP). 3. The applicant provides no additional documentation. CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. At the time of his application, the applicant was serving in the Regular Army as a sergeant, pay grade E-5. 2. DD Forms 4/1 and 4/3 (Enlistment/Reenlistment Document), dated 16 May 2007, show he enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve for 8 years. On 16 July 2007, he enlisted for 6 years and 23 weeks in the Regular Army. 3. A DA Form 3340 (Request for Reenlistment or Extension in the Regular Army), dated 23 July 2012, shows the applicant requested to extend his enlistment in order to meet the service remaining requirements for an assignment in Washington DC. His request was approved. 4. A DA Form 1695 (Oath of Extension of Enlistment), dated 25 July 2012, shows that the applicant extended his enlistment in the Regular Army for a period of 23 months. This extension established his expiration term of service (ETS) on 23 November 2015. This form shows that on his ETS he will have completed a total of 9 years and 10 months of military service. 5. On 21 November 2015, the applicant was medically retired with permanent disability (enhanced). He was issued a DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) showing he completed 8 years, 4 months, and 6 days of active federal service. 6. In the processing of this case, an advisory opinion was obtained from the Section chief, Finance and Incentives Team, U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC) on 14 October 2014. The advisory opinion recommended disapproval of the applicant’s request based on the following: a. On 16 July 2013, the applicant had 6 years in service and was eligible for TEB. He would have been required to extend or reenlist to obtain 4 more years of service which would not have required an ETP from the Department of the Army, G-1 (Personnel Officer), Directorate of Military Personnel Management, Enlisted Professional Development Branch. b. Had the applicant requested TEB between 16 July 2013 and 8 September 2014 and had extended or reenlisted to obtain the additional 4 years, his TEB request would have been approved. c. On 9 September 2014, the applicant was enrolled in the Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES). At the time of his enrollment in IDES, he had less than 10 years of service. An ETP to transfer education benefits was required prior to his being found unfit for duty. He did not obtain such ETP. d. On 4 February 2015, the applicant was found unfit for duty; therefore, he was not eligible to extend or reenlist and could not meet the 10 year requirement for TEB. He also was not eligible for an ETP. e. On 9 February 2015, the applicant requested TEB which was rejected due to insufficient service. f. On 20 August 2015, the applicant again requested TEB which was again rejected due to insufficient service. 7. On 21 October 2015, a copy of the advisory opinion was sent to the applicant for his information and opportunity to respond. No response was received. 8. Department of Defense Instruction 1341.13, subject: Post-9/11 GI Bill establishes policy for authorizing TEB in accordance with Title 38, U.S. Code, section 3319. It states: a. The Secretary concerned, to promote recruitment and retention in the Uniformed Services, may permit an individual eligible for Post-9/11 GI Bill educational assistance to elect to transfer to one or more of his or her family members all or a portion of his or her entitlement to such assistance. b. Any Service member on or after 1 August 2009, who is entitled to the Post-9/11 GI Bill at the time of the approval of his or her request for TEB under this section, may transfer that entitlement provided he or she meets one of these conditions: (1) Has at least 6 years of service in the Military Services (active duty or Selected Reserve), on the date of approval and agrees to serve 4 additional years from the date of election. (2) Has at least 10 years of service in the Military Services (active duty or Selected Reserve), is precluded by either standard policy or statute from committing to 4 additional years, and agrees to serve for the maximum amount of time allowed by such policy or statute. (3) Is or becomes retirement eligible during the period from 1 August 2009 through 31 July 2012. (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). (4) On or after 1 August 2013, all members must comply with the requirements listed above pertaining to individuals with 6 or more or 10 or more years of service. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. The applicant contends that his military records should be corrected to show he is authorized to TEB to his dependents as an ETP. He argues he was pending medical retirement and that the Army G1 was unwilling to authorize him an extension or an ETP. 2. To be eligible for TEB, a Service member must have at least 6 years of qualifying service and agree to serve for 4 additional years. Service members with at least 10 years of service who are precluded by policy or statute from committing to 4 additional years and agree to serve for the maximum amount of time allowed are also eligible. 3. The purpose of this Board is to correct errors in Army records, or to mitigate injustices resulting from errors in those records. The Board is not empowered to make personnel management decisions, such as approving requests for extensions of enlistments pertaining to active duty Soldiers. After the applicant completed 6 years of service, he was eligible to submit a TEB request and extend to comply with the statute. For unknown reasons, he choose not to apply for TEB at that time. Once he entered the IDES, he again had an opportunity to apply as an ETP prior to a finding of unfitness. The record shows he did not make a timely application for an ETP for TEB after entering the IDES. Ultimately he was medically retired on 21 November 2015 with less than 10 years of service. His two requests for an ETP for TEB were appropriately disapproved. 4. Unfortunately, the applicant did not meet the required 10-year minimum service requirement for TEB. There are no provisions of policy or statute that authorize TEB once retired nor can the Board grant an ETP based on statute. As such, there is no error or injustice to correct that would allow him to TEB. BOARD VOTE: ________ ________ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ___x_____ __x______ __x___ DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable error or injustice. Therefore, the Board determined that the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis for correction of the records of the individual concerned. __________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) AR20150013562 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150013562 4 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1