IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 30 June 2023 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20220008391 APPLICANT REQUESTS: Post 9/11 GI Bill Transfer of Education Benefits (TEB) to his dependent(s). APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENT(S) CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) * Headquarters, U.S. Army Special Forces Command (Airborne) Memorandum, Subject: Regional Support Detachment Regimental Validation, 15 December 2011 * Orders Number 078-0259, 19 March 2018 * Orders Number 122-0288, 2 May 2018 * DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), ending on 30 June 2018 * DD Form 1351-2 (Smartvoucher), 7 August 2018 * Traveler’s claim submission instructions document * Travel package required documents sheet FACTS: 1. The applicant did not file within the 3-year time frame provided in Title 10, U.S. 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. He is trying to add his youngest daughter as a beneficiary for the post 9/11 GI Bill. He made his oldest daughter the beneficiary when she was 11 years old. completed her Associates degree while attending High School and then attended college in and completed her Bachelor’s degree in 2021 and only used 14 of the 36 months of the post 9/11 GI Bill. There are 22 months of benefits left and he would like to leave one month to and he would like to transfer 21 months to if the board gives him leniency. b. He was in a classified training course that was 10 months long during 2011 which was the time that he made the election to give the post 9-11 GI Bill and he did not receive proper counsel that not giving at least one month of the GI Bill would make her ineligible. He honestly had no idea. He was also planning, training, and deploying for operations in Afghanistan and South America during that time. He prioritized mission over his personal care. He is asking that the Board have leniency and help him make the change, otherwise as a total and permanently disabled veteran he will have undue hardship and will have to sell his home in order to ensure that his daughter fulfills her educational needs. Lastly, he completed his Bachelor’s degree while on active duty and will not be using the benefits. He does not want the benefits that he earned over 26 years to go unused. 3. A review of the applicant’s military record shows the following: a. Having had prior enlisted service in the Regular Army and Army National Guard, the applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 29 October 2003. b. On 19 March 2018, Headquarters, U.S. Army Garrison, Fort Bragg, NC, issued Orders Number 078-0259, retiring the applicant effective 30 June 2018, and placing him on the retired list effective 1 July 2018. c. On 2 May 2018, Headquarters, U.S. Army Garrison, Fort Bragg, issued Orders Number 122-0288 amending Orders Number 078-0259 to read: * Vol retirement: 25 years, 0 months, 24 days * Section 1405: 25 years, 1 months, 26 days d. DD Form 214 shows he was honorably retired by reason of sufficient service for retirement on 30 June 2018. 4. The applicant provides: a. Headquarters, U.S. Army Special Forces Command (Airborne) Memorandum, Subject: Regional Support Detachment Regimental Validation, dated 15 December 2011, wherein, the Deputy Commanding Officer states the applicant completed the Regional Support Detachment (RSD) Regimental Validation (RV) (December 2011) and was validated by the RSD RV Board to serve on the RSD. b. DD Form 1351-2 dated 7 August 2018, which shows he submitted a smart voucher for retirement travel expenses and reimbursements. c. Traveler’s claim submission instructions document and travel package required documents sheet. 5. On 8 March 2023, the U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC), Chief, Education Incentives Branch provided an advisory opinion for this case and recommended disapproval. The advisory official stated: a. Recommend disapproval of the applicant’s request to waive the Post 9/11 GI Bill TEB service obligation. The Post 9/11 GI Bill is a Service Member's benefit; however, TEB is a retention incentive requiring an Additional Duty Service Obligation (ADSO) calculated from their TEB request date. It is always the Service Member's responsibility to know their TEB ADSO period and the date they will complete their requirement, called the Obligation End Date (OED). To transfer the Post 9/11 GI Bill to dependents, an individual must be on Active Duty or in the Selected Reserve on or after 1 August 2009; have at least six years in Active Duty or Selected Reserve status; and have no current negative action flag (i.e., height and weight flag, Army Combat Fitness Test/Army Physical Fitness Test failure flag), commit to the ADSO, and transfer benefits to the dependents through the TEB website at http://milconnect.dmdc.mil. All benefits must be transferred before the Service Member separates or retires. Public Law (PL) 110-252 makes no provisions for waiving this requirement. b. We do not recommend administrative relief based on the following: (1) Soldiers earn the Post 9/11 GI Bill for their use because of their Active Duty service; however, the ability to transfer it to their eligible dependent(s) is neither a reward for service or a transition benefit, but a retention incentive (e.g., much like a reenlistment bonus) requiring the commitment to and then fulfillment of the mandatory by-law 4-year ADSO. Furthermore, the Post 9/11 GI Bill TEB program is an integral part of the Army's talent management initiative. Consequently, the Post 9/11 GI Bill transfer incentive was included in the statute for the express purpose of recruitment and retention. (2) On 18 August 2011, the applicant requested the transfer of 36 months to , but not to other dependents: (Spouse), . His TEB request was approved on 19 August 2011 by his career counselor with a TEB service obligation until 17 August 2014 (3-year TEB service obligation). The applicant did not transfer to any other dependent before his retirement from the U.S. Army on 30 June 2018. (3) Under the current provisions of PL 110-252, Service Members cannot transfer unused Post 9/11 GI Bill education benefits to eligible dependents after they are no longer serving. The only exception is if a Service Member left the service within the first 90 days after the Post 9/11 GI Bill education benefit program was implemented on 1 August 2009. Changes to the number of months allocated to dependents can be made at any time, to include once a Soldier leaves military service, provided the Soldier allocates at least one month of Post 9/11 GI Bill education benefits to the respective dependent prior to separation or retirement. If the Soldier fails to transfer at least one month to a dependent, the Soldier may not transfer to that dependent after leaving military service. Therefore, because the applicant had not transferred at least one month of his Post 9/11 GI Bill education benefits to the other dependents before his retirement from the U.S. Army, the law does not permit him to perform this action while in a discharged or retired status, per Title 10 U.S. Code (USC), section 3319(f)(1). (4) The Army, Department of Defense, and Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) initiated a comprehensive public campaign plan that generated major communications through military, public, and social media venues on the Post 9/11 GI Bill and subsequent transfer of education benefits. This information was available to the applicant prior to his retirement on 30 June 2018. 6. On 9 March 2023, the applicant was provided a copy of the HRC advisory opinion for comments or rebuttal. He did not respond. BOARD DISCUSSION: After reviewing the application, all supporting documents and the evidence found within the military record, the Board found that relief was warranted. The Board carefully considered the applicant's contentions, the military record, all supporting documentation and regulatory guidance. One possible outcome was to deny the applicant’s request based the extensive communication provided regarding the Post 9/11 GI Bill and subsequent transfer of educational benefits. However, the Board determined they did not agree with the advisory official finding the applicant could not have predicted upon transferring benefits to his dependent at the age of 11 that she would complete an Associate’s degree while in high school and benefits would remain unused. After reviewing the totality of the circumstances, the Board found that the applicant’s statement about not wanting the benefits he earned over 26 years to go unused was sufficient to warrant the requested relief. 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 the evidence presented is 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 the applicant filed his application and the Army approved his request to transfer the remaining portion of his Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to his youngest daughter , prior to his retirement, provided all other program eligibility criteria are met. 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 3 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 3-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so. 2. The Post-9/11 GI Bill went into effect on 1 August 2009. Public Law 110-252, section 3319, provides the eligibility requirements necessary to transfer unused educational benefits to family members. A service member may execute transfer of benefits only while serving as a member of the Armed Forces. The Veterans Affairs (VA) is responsible for final determination of eligibility for educational benefits under this program. 3. On 22 June 2009, the Department of Defense (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 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 duty or 20 qualifying years of Reserve service. 4. Army Regulation 621-202 (Army Educational Incentives and Entitlements) paragraph 4-15 states Soldiers may elect to transfer their Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefits to their spouse, one or more of their children, or a combination of spouse and children through the TEB website in the milConnect portal at https://www.dmdc.osd.mil/mil- connect or http://milconnect.dmdc.mil. Only dependents listed as eligible in the TEB website may receive the Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefit. TEB is neither an entitlement nor a transition benefit, but was specifically identified by statute as a tool for recruitment and retention of the career force. The ability to transfer the Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefit was created as a recruitment and retention incentive for additional service within the Uniformed Services. Soldiers may increase, decrease, or revoke months to an eligible dependent at any time as long as at least one month is transferred to the dependent before the Soldier leaves the Armed Forces. Once a Soldier leaves service, the Soldier may not transfer benefits to dependents who had not received at least one month while the Soldier was on active duty or in the SELRES. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20220008391 1 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1