DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORDS 701 S. COURTHOUSE ROAD, SUITE 1001 ARLINGTON, VA 22204-2490 Docket No. 880-19 Ref: Signature Date From: Chairman, Board for Correction of Naval Records To: Secretary of the Navy Ref: (a) Title 10 U.S.C. § 1552 (b) BUPERSNOTE 1780 (series) (c)Title 38 U.S.C. § 3319 Encl: (1) DD Form 149 w/attachments (2) DD Form 214 dtd 25 Feb 17 (3) DEERS (4) NAVPERS 1070/601 dtd 1 Feb 05 (5) NAVPERS 1070/601 dtd 24 Oct 11 (6) BEAST Service Member History (7) NAVPERS 1070/621 operative 24 Oct 14 (8) NAVPERS 1070/601 dtd 1 Apr 16 (9) NPC ltr 1850 PERS-954/2455 of 26 Nov 18 1. Pursuant to the provisions of reference (a) Subject, hereinafter referred to as Petitioner, filed enclosure (1) with this Board requesting, in effect, that the applicable naval record be corrected to show that Petitioner transferred Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefits to eligible dependents, as outlined in paragraph 3, subparagraph o. 2. The Board, reviewed Petitioner’s allegations of error and injustice on 17 January 2020 and, pursuant to its regulations, determined that the corrective action indicated below should be taken on the available evidence of record. Documentary material considered by the Board consisted of the enclosures (1) through (9), relevant portions of Petitioner’s naval record, and applicable statutes, regulations and policies. 3. The Board, having reviewed all the facts of record pertaining to Petitioner’s allegations of error and injustice, finds as follows: a. Before applying to this Board, Petitioner exhausted all administrative remedies available under existing law and regulations within the Department of the Navy. b. On 4 April 2000, Petitioner entered active duty. See enclosure (2). c. On 30 January 2003, Petitioner was married. See enclosure (3). d. On 1 February 2005, Petitioner reenlisted for 6 years with an end of active duty (EAOS) of 31 January 2011. See enclosure (4). e. On , Petitioner’s first child was born. See enclosure (3). f. On 30 June 2008, Public Law 110-252 via Title 38, section 3319 (Authority to transfer unused education benefits to family members) provided that effective 1 August 2009: Subject to the provisions of this section, the Secretary of Defense may authorize the Secretary concerned, to promote recruitment and retention of members of the Armed Forces, to permit an individual described in subsection (b) who is entitled to educational assistance under this chapter to elect to transfer to one or more of the dependents specified in subsection (c) a portion of such individual's entitlement to such assistance, subject to the limitation under subsection (d). (b) Eligible Individuals. An individual referred to in subsection (a) 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, has completed at least: (1) six years of service in the armed forces and enters into an agreement to serve at least four more years as a member of the Armed Forces; or (2) the years of service as determined in regulations pursuant to section (k) (c) Eligible Dependents. An individual approved to transfer an entitlement to educational assistance under this section may transfer the individual's entitlement as follows: (1) To the individual's spouse. (2) To one or more of the individual's children. (3) To a combination of the individuals referred to in para. (1) and (2). g. On 10 February 2011, Petitioner’s second child was born. See enclosure (3). h. On 24 October 2011, Petitioner reenlisted for 3 years with an EAOS of 23 October 2014. See enclosure (5). i. On 3 February 2012, Petitioner a submitted a TEB request, and was rejected due to insufficient contract obligation. See enclosure (6). j. On 24 October 2014, Petitioner executed an agreement to extend enlistment for 19 months became operative with a soft end of active duty (EAOS) of 23 May 2016. See enclosure (7). k. On 14 September 2015, BUPERSNOTE 1780 (Post 9/11 GI Bill) stated that: 2 Any member in the Armed Forces on or after 1 August 2009, who is eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill and who at the time of approval of the individual's request to transfer his or her unused Post-9/11 GI Bill entitlement: (1) Has served at least 6 years (active duty and or SELRES), and agrees to serve at least 4 additional continuous years in the Armed Forces from the date the individual elects to transfer; or (2) Has served at least 10 years (active duty and or SELRES) on the date of election and either standard policy (Navy or DoD or statute does not allow the member to commit to 4 additional continuous years, but who agrees to serve the maximum amount of time allowed by such policy or statute. Service members already designated for a medical discharge and who have completed at least 10 years of service in the Armed Forces may elect transferability with no additional service obligation, however, the election must be made prior to separation and the Sailor must be awarded an honorable discharge. l. On 1 April 2016, Petitioner reenlisted for 6 years with an EAOS of 31 March 2022. See enclosure (8). m. On 25 February 2017, Petitioner transferred to the Temporary Disability Retired List (TDRL). See enclosure (2). n. On 1 December 2018, Petitioner was placed on the Permanent Disability Retired List (PDRL). See enclosure (9). o. On 29 December 2018, Petitioner filed an application with the BCNR. Petitioner requested that his Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefits be transferred to his wife, daughter, and son. He stated that due to a seizure while driving on duty, he was found to have epilepsy and during this hectic time, he was found unfit for further duty. Additionally, he stated that he was not offered the opportunity to transfer his Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to his dependents. BOARD CONCLUSION Upon review and consideration of all the evidence of record, the Board did not find the existence of an injustice warranting corrective action. The Board concluded that the Navy Transfer of Post-9/11 GI Bill policy clearly outlined the requirements and procedures to transfer education benefits. BOARD RECOMMENDATION That Petitioner’s request for correction to record be denied, and that no corrective action be taken. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR CONCLUSION Taking into account the findings of the Board, the Executive Director found that corrective action is nevertheless warranted in Petitioner’s case, in consideration of reference (c). Reference (c), authorizes the Secretary to permit service members the ability to transfer unused education benefits to their eligible dependents to promote recruitment and retention upon agreeing to serve an additional 4-years of service as a member of the uniformed services. The Executive Director concurred that reference (b), defined the requirements for members to transfer their education benefits. However, the Executive Director disagreed with the Board’s recommendation that no further corrective action be taken. In this regard, the Executive Director noted that Petitioner met the basic eligibility criteria to transfer his Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefits, and attempted to complete the process of transferring the benefits to eligible dependents but failed to complete the administrative requirements. Petitioner continued to serve 5-years after his initial request until his transfer to TDRL; meeting the spirit and intent of the 4-year additional service obligation outlined in references (b) and (c). Furthermore, once Petitioner was found unfit for duty, he could have submitted a request and would have been approved with no required obligated service. In view of the above, the Executive Director recommends the following corrective action. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR RECOMMENDATION That Petitioner’s naval record be corrected, where appropriate, to show that: Petitioner elected to transfer unused education benefits to /1-month, /18-months, and /17-months through the MilConnect TEB portal on 1 April 2016. Commander, Navy Personnel Command (PERS-314) reviewed Petitioner’s TEB application, and it was approved on 1 April 2016 with a four-year service obligation. Note: PERS-314 is directed to ensure the 4-year service obligation is adjusted to align with Petitioner’s transfer to TDRL on 25 February 2017. 4. It is certified that a quorum was present at the Board’s review and deliberations, and that the foregoing is a true and complete record of the Board’s proceedings in the above-entitled matter. 5. The foregoing action of the Board is submitted for your review and action. 5