ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS BOARD DATE: 23 September 2019 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20180015690 APPLICANT REQUESTS: in effect, amendment of his Post-9/11 GI Bill Transfer of Educational Benefits election to remove his son and add his wife as the designated beneficiary. APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record under the Provisions of Title 10, U.S. Code, Section 1552) * Letter, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Buffalo Regional Office, Buffalo, NY, dated 14 September 2018 (claim denial) * Letter, Department of Defense Manpower Data Center, Seaside, CA, dated 21 March 2011 (Post-9/11 GI Bill transferability approval) * Post-9/11 GI Bill Transferability Application Instructions, dated 23 June 2009 * Orders 094-0003, U.S. Army Garrison, Fort Belvoir, VA, dated 4 April 2011 (retirement orders) FACTS: 1. The applicant states: a. His claim was denied because he transferred all his educational benefits to his son. He was told by a VA representative that he had to appeal to this Board to add his wife as a designated beneficiary. b. He had not transferred a portion of his benefits to her and he was not aware or informed that he had to transfer a minimum of 1 month of educational benefits to his wife for her to receive the benefits. c. He followed the Post-9/11 GI Bill Transferability instructions, which did not state that a dependent had to be given a portion of the educational benefits to receive those benefits. d. He retired in July 2018 and wants to use the educational benefits before they expire. e. His son received an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy and no longer needs to use the educational benefits. f. It is unjust if he is not allowed to revoke and change the transfer of educational benefits from his son to his wife, who are both his dependents and enrolled in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System. g. He would have complied with the instructions if he were aware that he needed to transfer a portion of the educational benefits to all of his dependents. 2. The applicant provided a copy of the Post-9/11 GI Bill Transferability application instructions, dated 23 June 2009. a. An individual approved to transfer an entitlement to educational assistance under this section may transfer the individual's entitlement to: * the individual's spouse * one or more of the individual's children * any combination of spouse and child b. A family member must be enrolled in the Defense Eligibility Enrollment Reporting System and be eligible for benefits at the time of transfer to receive transferred educational benefits. c. The instructions do not specify the requirement to allocate a minimum of 1 month of benefits to each designated beneficiary. 3. The applicant provided a copy of the letter from the Department of Defense Manpower Data Center, dated 21 March 2011, approving him to transfer 36 months of his unused Post-9/11 GI Bill educational benefits to his son M____ J____ S____. 4. He retired by reason of physical disability on 18 July 2011 and he was placed on the Retired List in the rank/grade of lieutenant colonel/O-5 effective 19 July 2011. 5. On 14 September 2018, the VA Buffalo Regional Office denied his claim for educational benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill for the following reasons: * he transferred all of his entitlement to his dependent(s) * the decision was based on a review of his application, service records, and/or school records BOARD DISCUSSION: 1. The Board carefully considered the applicant’s request, supporting documents and evidence in the records. The Board considered the applicant’s statement, his record of service, his transfer of benefits to his son, and the reason for his separation. The Board considered the Post-9/11 GI Bill Transferability Instructions and the DMDC letter provided by the applicant (dated prior to his separation) that states “Once separated, Family Members cannot be added to your transfer request.” The Board found no evidence that the applicant tried to designate benefits for his other dependent(s) prior to his separation. Based on a preponderance of evidence, the Board determined that the denial of his requested transfer of education benefits was not in error or unjust. 2. After reviewing the application and all supporting documents, the Board found that relief was not warranted. BOARD VOTE: Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 : : : 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 the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis for correction of the records of the individual concerned. 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. REFERENCES: The Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 improves educational benefits for certain individuals serving on active duty in the Armed Forces on or after 11 September 2001. a. The transferability option under the Post-9/11 GI Bill allows service members to transfer all or some unused benefits to their spouse or dependent children. The request to transfer unused GI Bill educational benefits to eligible dependents must be completed while serving as an active member of the Armed Forces. b. Eligible service members may transfer all 36 months or the portion of unused Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits (unless the Department of Defense or the Department of Homeland Security has limited the number of transferable months). Eligible service members may transfer benefits to the following individuals: * spouse * one or more children * any combination of spouse and child c. While in the Armed Forces, transferors use the Transfer of Education Benefits website to designate, modify, and revoke a transfer of entitlement request. After leaving the Armed Forces, transferors may provide a future effective date for use of transfer of entitlement, modify the number of months transferred, or revoke entitlement transferred by submitting a written request to the VA. d. The Harry W. Colmery Veterans Assistance Act of 2017 allows for designation and transfer of Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to eligible dependents of the veteran/service member upon the death of the veteran/service member or of a dependent who had unused transferred benefits. e. With the exception of the death of the veteran/service member or of a dependent who had unused transferred benefits, there is no provision to designate additional beneficiaries after leaving the Armed Forces. ABCMR Record of Proceedings (continued) AR20180015690 5 1