ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS BOARD DATE: 9 January 2020 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20190009084 APPLICANT REQUESTS: Transfer of Post 9-11 G.I. Bill education benefits to his dependent child. APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) * Screen Shot from MilConnect website FACTS: 1. The applicant did not file within the three year time frame provided in Title 10, United States Code (USC), section 1552(b); however, the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) conducted a substantive review of this case and determined it is in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant's failure to timely file. 2. The applicant states: a. that when he retired in 2010, the Post 9-11 G/I. Bill Transfer of Education Benefits (TEB) was just established. He was one of the first Soldiers to elect this entitlement. At that time, he was advised to list the names of his children so that they would then be entitled to receive these benefits. At that time, only two of his three children were in college; therefore, he elected to transfer 12 months of entitlements to each of them, for a total of 24 months; however, he did not allocate the remaining 12 months to his other child because he was only in grammar school at the time. He was later informed that if his youngest child was listed at the time of his initial election, he could have allotted the remaining 12 months to him for later use once he began college. Later, while attempting to transfer education benefits to him, he appeared to be ineligible. While seeking assistance, he was advised that his son was not entitled to the TEB because he was not previously allotted a minimum of 1 month prior to his separation. b. he contests that this information was not shared with him during his retirement transition. His son has recently enrolled in college and did not require these benefits prior to this semester. It is his hope that his son not be denied a college education due to lack of proper information being provided to Soldiers upon separation during the early inception of the TEB program. 3. The applicant provides a screen shot from the MilConnect website reflective of his TEB entitlement allocation for 2 of his 3 dependent children. Twelve months has been allotted to 2 of his children. His spouse and youngest child are reflected as being ineligible. 4. A review of the applicant’s available service records indicates the following on: * 26 May 1983 – he enlisted in the Army Reserve under the Delayed entry Program * 13 September 1983 – he was ordered to active duty * 29 September 1998 (Order# 163-0927) – he was released from active duty and transferred back into the Army Reserve * 17 October 2001 – he was ordered to active duty and served until 16 October 2002 * 6 November 2006 – he was ordered to active duty * 30 April 2010 (Order# 317-0906) – he was released from active duty and placed on the retired list effective 1 May 2010 5. Army Regulation (AR) 15-185 (ABCMR) paragraph 2-9 states the ABCMR begins its consideration of each case with the presumption of administrative regularity. The applicant has the burden of proving an error or injustice by a preponderance of the evidence. 6. See additional applicable guidance below under REFERENCES. BOARD DISCUSSION: After reviewing the application and all supporting documents, the Board found that relief is warranted. The applicant’s TEB elections should be corrected to show that he transfer 12 months of entitlements to each of three children, the third child being J. E. K. born 1999-11-30. 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 showing that he elected to transfer TEB 12 month of entitlements to each of three children, the third child being J. E. K., born 1999-11-30. 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: 1. Title 10, USC, section 1552(b), provides that applications for correction of military records must be filed within three years after discovery of the alleged error or injustice. This provision of law also allows the ABCMR to excuse an applicant's failure to timely file within the three-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so. 2. Public Law 110-252 section 3319 (Authority to Transfer Unused Education Benefits to Family Members) states that an individual transferring an entitlement to educational assistance under this section shall designate the dependent or dependents to whom such entitlement is being transferred, designate the number of months of such entitlement to be transferred to each such dependent and specify the period for which the transfer shall be effective for each dependent. An individual approved to transfer his or her entitlement to educational assistance under this section may transfer such entitlement only while serving as a member of the armed forces when the transfer is executed. All applications will be submitted through the Transferability of Educational Benefits (TEB) website. * for those individuals eligible for retirement on August 1, 2009, no additional service is required * for those individuals who have an approved retirement date after August 1, 2009 and before July 1, 2010, no additional service is required * for those individuals eligible for retirement after August 1, 2009, and before August 1, 2010, 1 year of additional service after approval of transfer is required * for those individuals eligible for retirement on or after August 1, 2010, and before August 1, 2011, two years of additional service after approval of transfer are required * for those individuals eligible for retirement on or after August 1, 2011, and before August 1, 2012, three years of additional service after approval of transfer are required 3. An individual approved to transfer an entitlement to educational assistance under this section may transfer the individual’s entitlement as follows: * to the individual’s spouse * to one or more of the individual’s dependent children * to a combination of the spouse and dependent children 4. The total number of months of entitlement transferred by an individual may not exceed 36 months. An individual transferring an entitlement to educational assistance shall: * designate the dependent or dependents to whom such entitlement is being transferred * designate the number of months of such entitlement to be transferred to each such dependent * specify the period for which the transfer shall be effective for each dependent 5. DODI 1341.13 (Post 9-11 G.I. Bill) states that an individual transferring entitlement may modify or revoke at any time the transfer of any unused portion of the entitlement so transferred. An individual may add new family members, modify the number of months of the transferred entitlement for existing family members, or revoke transfer of entitlement while serving in the Uniformed Services, however they may not add family members after retirement or separation from the Military Services, but may modify the number of months of the transferred entitlement or revoke transfer of entitlement after retirement or separation for those family members who have received transferred benefits prior to separation or retirement. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20190009084 3 1