ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS BOARD DATE: 16 July 2019 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20180000399 APPLICANT REQUESTS: to have Post 9/11 GI Bill Transfer of Education Benefits (TEB) be transferred to his dependent. APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) * Self-Authored Letter to the Army Review Board Agency (ARBA) * DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) * Orders P101-001 * VA Form 22-1990E (Application for Transfer of Education Benefits) * Veteran Affairs (VA) Letter denying TEB claim * Submit a Request to Transfer Benefits instructions * Form 21-686c (Declaration of Status of Dependents) * Email Correspondence x 11 FACTS: 1. The applicant states he is submitting an application for correction of his military records to reflect the eligibility of his daughter for the transfer of his Post 9/11 GI Bill under the TEB program and to correct the number of remaining months of eligibility. His daughter was denied on 26 July 2017 by the VA, he was advised to contact his service to determine the reason she was denied. He contacted the Florida Army National Guard (FLARNG) education office who verified the ineligibility and despite fully understanding the situation, they were unable to change her eligibility. The applicant states he was never informed of the requirement to transfer at least one month of TEB to his daughter while on active duty. He provided the following timeline: * August 2009 – he enrolled all his dependents in TEB and his son was transferred 15 months of his benefits * August 2012 – he was retired under the impression his daughter was enrolled in TEB and would be able to receive the remaining months of his TEB 2. The applicant provided: * Self-Authored Letter to the Army Review Board Agency (ARBA) – provides a list of supporting documents used to support his request * DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) - shows he was mobilized from 14 July 2006 to 31 August 2013 * Orders P101-001 – show he was placed on the retired list 1 September 2013 * VA Form 22-1990E (Application for Transfer of Education Benefits) – daughter applied to use TEB on 9 June 2017 * Veterans Affairs (VA) Letter denying TEB claim – denied TEB on 26 July 2017 for o his period of eligibility to use benefits ended on 1 August 2009 o he did not designate on the approval from the Department of Defense for Transfer of Entitlement * instructions for submitting a request to transfer benefits – shows the process to utilize TEB for dependents; it does not show the requirement to transfer at least one month to a dependent in order to be used in the future * Form 21-686c (Declaration of Status of Dependents) – shows he is married and his wife is listed on the form * Email Correspondence x 11 – showing his request for TEB was approved on 21 July 2009; as of 11 August 2017 he has 21 months of TEB left to transfer to dependents; he was instructed to validate his daughter was in DEERs, he was not informed about the requirement to transfer at least one month of TEB to his dependent while on active duty for future use * on 22 September 2017, the National Guard Professional Education Center representative states prior to the applicant’s retirement, the TEB process was not widely disseminated 3. A review of the applicant’s records show: * 11 May 1984 – he commissioned in the Regular Army (RA) * 1 December 1989 – he transitioned to United States Army Reserves (USAR) * 1 October 1991 – he was appointed as a Captain (CPT) in the FLARNG * 28 November 1997 – he was activated under Title 32 * 21 July 2009 –he received an email stating his request to TEB to his dependent was approved * 31 August 2012 – he was honorably retired from FLARNG * 9 June 2017 – he applied to use TEB for his daughter * 26 July 2017 – VA sent a letter denying the applicant’s request to TEB 4. On 30 April 2019, the National Guard Bureau provided ARBA with an advisory opinion showing the applicant requested to transfer 21 months of Post 9/11 Bill to his dependent. NGB recommended approval and that the applicant be granted full relief and allowed to transfer his remaining education benefits to his dependents. A copy of the complete advisory opinion has been provided to the Board for their review and consideration. 5. The applicant was provided with a copy of this advisory opinion to give him an opportunity to respond and/or submit a rebuttal. He provided a response to the NGB advisory opinion stating he received the advisory and fully supports NGB recommendation for approval of his TEB request. 6. See REFERENCES below for applicable regulations and policy to this case. BOARD DISCUSSION: 1. After reviewing the application and all supporting documents, the Board found that relief was warranted. The preponderance of evidence shows the applicant intended to transfer education benefits to all of his dependent children; the applicant followed the procedures provided to him, but because the program began on 1 August 2009, the instructions were not fully established and the instructions to the applicant did not include the need to transfer at least one month of his education benefits to each dependent child. Therefore, it would be just and equitable to correct his records to show he filed his properly completed application to transfer his educational benefits to all of his dependent children on 1 August 2009, at the time of the program’s inception, and that the application was approved by the Army. BOARD VOTE: Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 : X :X :X GRANT FULL RELIEF : : : GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF : : : GRANT FORMAL HEARING : : : DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for relief. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by: 1. showing the applicant filed his application to transfer his educational benefits to all of his dependent children with at least one month of benefits for each child on 1 August 2009 and that the application was approved by the Army, 2. showing he submitted an Application for Transfer of Education Benefits, to transfer his remaining 15 months of education benefits to his daughter, Abigail Evelyn Peek, on 9 June 2017 and that the application was approved by the Veterans Administration, and 3. the Veteran’s Administration reimbursing him any school tuition and fees he has lost as a result of being denied transfer of education benefits from the VA. 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. ADMINISTRATIVE NOTE(S): Not Applicable REFERENCES: 1. Public Law 110-252, as amended by Public Law 111-377, identified the qualifications to receive the Post-9/11 GI Bill, one of which was that the service member must have performed active service on or after 11 September 2001 in order to be eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill. Public Law 110-252 established legal requirements on the transferability of unused benefits to those members of the Armed Forces who were serving on active duty or as a member of the Selected Reserve on or after 1 August 2009. 2. On 22 June 2009, the DOD established the criteria for eligibility and transfer of unused education benefits to eligible family members. The policy limits the entitlement to transfer education benefits to any member of the Armed Forces on or after 1 August 2009, who, at the time of the approval of his or her request to transfer entitlement to educational assistance under this section, is eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill, and: a. has at least 6 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; or b. has at least 10 years of service in the Armed Forces (active duty and/or service in the 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; or c. is or becomes retirement eligible during the period from 1 August 2009 through 1 August 2013. A service member is considered to be retirement eligible if he or she has completed 20 years of active service or 20 qualifying years of Reserve service. 3. DOD policy further states the Secretaries of the Military Departments will provide active duty participants individual pre-separation or release from active duty counseling on the benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill, and document accordingly and maintain records for individuals who receive supplemental educational assistance under Public Law 110-252, section 3316. 4. On 22 June 2009, the Department of Defense (DOD) established responsibilities, the criteria for eligibility, benefits, detailed guidance on the administration of the program and the transfer of unused education benefits to eligible family members. The policy states an eligible individual is any member of the Armed Forces who, at the time of the approval of the individual's request to transfer entitlement to educational assistance under this section, and on or after 1 August 2009, is eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill and, in pertinent part, is or becomes retirement eligible during the period 1 August 2009 through 1 August 2013. A service member is considered to be retirement-eligible if he or she has completed 20 years of active service or 20 qualifying years of Reserve service. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20180000399 4 1