RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2009-02935
            INDEX CODE:  128.14; 136.01
            COUNSEL:  NONE

                 HEARING DESIRED:  NO

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His retirement date be changed from 1 Aug 09 to 1 Sep 09.

Examiner’s Note:  It appears the applicant  is  actually  requesting  to  be
allowed to participate in the Post 9/11 GI Transfer Bill program.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He received an email stating he could request his retirement date  be  moved
from 1 Aug 09 to 1 Sep 09 to take advantage of the new GI Bill and  transfer
benefits.  He was out of town at the time the email was  sent;  however,  he
eventually scanned and returned the signed document.  He was later told  his
email was never received and his response was not in the system.   He  would
like his request to be honored.

In support of his request, the applicant submits a memorandum and a copy  of
the Post 9/11 GI Bill email offer.

The applicant's complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A.

_________________________________________________________________

 STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant enlisted into the Regular Air Force  on  24  Oct  84  and  was
progressively promoted to the grade of master sergeant, having assumed  that
grade effective and with a date of rank of 1 Sep 04. He retired on 1 Aug  09
after serving 24 years, 9 months and 7 days on active duty.

Post-9/11 GI Bill:  Any member of the Armed Forces (active duty or  Selected
Reserve, officer or enlisted) on or after August 1, 2009,  who  is  eligible
for the Post-9/11 GI Bill, and:


    • 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.


    • 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

    • Is or becomes retirement eligible during the  period  from  August  1,
      2009, through August 1, 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.


         • 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,  2 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,  3 years  of  additional
           service after approval of transfer required.

The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this application, extracted  from
the applicant’s military records, are contained in the letters  prepared  by
the appropriate office of the Air Force at Exhibits C and D.

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

HQ AFPC/DPSOR recommends denial.  DPSOR states on 16 Jul 09,  the  applicant
was notified that he was eligible to apply for a one-month extension to  his
retirement effective date (from 1 Aug 09 to 1 Sep 09) so that  he  could  be
eligible to enroll in the Post 9/11 GI Bill Transferability Benefit  Option.
 He was instructed to submit his request not later than 22 Jul 09;  however,
requests submitted before close-of-business on 31 Jul 09 were accepted.

DPSOR notes the applicant did not provide a copy of the email he  sent  with
the attached extension request or an email receipt  or  rejection.   Members
were instructed to contact the Total Force  Service  Center  if  new  orders
were not received by 31 Jul 09.  The applicant  has  not  provided  evidence
that he spoke to anyone in the Retirements Branch prior to  the  31  Jul  09
deadline.   DPSOR  notes  the  annotation  in  the   applicant’s   Personnel
Processing Application (PPA) is dated 7 Aug 09 which was after his 1 Aug  09
retirement effective date.

DPSOR states the  Department  of  Defense  Financial  Management  Regulation
(DoDFMR), Volume 7B, para 010802 states  “Revocation  of  Retirement  and/or
Transfers” – a member who is placed on the retired list is legally  retired,
and such status cannot thereafter be changed retrospectively  because  of  a
mistake or poor judgment on the part of  the  retiring  authorities.   Fully
executed orders  for  retirement,  if  not  cancelled  before  the  date  of
retirement, are final and may not be reopened, revoked, or  amended  in  the
absence of fraud, manifest error, mathematical  miscalculation,  mistake  of
law, or substantial new evidence.

The complete DPSOR evaluation is at Exhibit C.

DPSIT has no recommendation.  DPSIT states the transfer  of  benefit  option
under the Post-9/11 GI Bill is an  option  offered  by  the  Services  as  a
recruiting and retention tool.  DoD established the rules  that  allowed  an
individual retiring between 2 Aug 09 – 30 Jun 10,  the  option  to  transfer
benefits to their dependents.  The applicant’s last duty day was 31  Jul  09
with a 1 Aug 09 retirement date.  Due to the  ambiguity  of  the  1  Aug  09
date, the  Secretary  of  the  Air  Force  authorized  certain  category  of
individuals with a 1 Aug 09 retirement date  to  voluntarily  request  their
retirement date be changed to 1 Sep 09.  The  applicant  retains  the  Post-
9/11 GI Bill benefit for his own use.

The complete DPSIT evaluation is at Exhibit D.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The  applicant  states  he  provided  all  email  correspondence  with   his
application.  He telephoned the  number  provided  for  assistance  and  was
instructed by an answering machine to leave his  information  and  his  call
would be returned.  He never received a call back.  He tried  calling  again
on several occasions but was unable to reach  anyone.   He  spoke  to  other
individuals in an attempt to reach someone in  the  appropriate  office  but
was informed the individual handling the program  was  on  leave  and  would
contact him upon return.  The office failed to provide the customer  support
that should have been provided.  Also, to contact the amount of  people  who
would be eligible for and expect  them  to  return  the  required  paperwork
within six days shows a feeble attempt to make amends to a program that  was
not very well thought out.  It appears the six day  window  was  set  up  to
exclude many qualified veterans.  Additionally,  the  application  does  not
state applications would be received until 31 Jul 09.

The applicant’s complete submission is at Exhibit F.

_________________________________________________________________

ADDITIONAL AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

HQ USAF/A1PA does not provide a recommendation.  A1PA  states  that  members
may have had the impression that being on active duty  or  in  the  Selected
Reserve (SELRES) on the effective date of the law, 1 Aug 09, was  sufficient
to “vest” them with the right to transfer  benefits  at  some  time  in  the
future.   Had  those  members  sought  clarification  from  an   educational
counselor, read the DoD or Air Force guidance that was very  clear  on  that
point, or taken  other  measures  to  make  timely  decisions  before  their
separation or retirement, they could have initiated  a  timely  transfer  of
benefits.  However, the Board could find that there was an injustice if  the
members were on active duty on 1  Aug  09,  were  not  personally  counseled
about the need to execute a transfer while serving in the Armed Forces,  and
did not have ready access to DoD and Air Force  guidance  because  of  their
terminal leave status.  The transfer date could be effective as early  as  1
Aug 09 and there would be no need to place the member on active  duty  since
the TEB system allows for correction of the record by Air Force personnel.

The HQ USAF/A1PA complete evaluation is at Exhibit G.

_________________________________________________________________


THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT:

1.  The applicant has exhausted all remedies provided  by  existing  law  or
regulations.

2.  The application was timely filed.

3.  Sufficient relevant evidence  has  been  presented  to  demonstrate  the
existence of error or injustice.  While we note  the  steps  the  Air  Force
office of primary responsibility indicates were  taken  to  inform  eligible
personnel of this new benefit, it appears  that  through  no  fault  of  the
applicant he was not timely made aware of  his  eligibility  and  the  steps
necessary to transfer his benefits to his dependents.  In addition, we  find
no basis to question the applicant’s account in this matter and do not  find
it reasonable that he would have knowingly elected  not  to  pursue  use  of
this important entitlement.  Therefore, we elect to  resolve  any  doubt  in
this matter in  behalf  of  the  applicant  and  recommend  the  records  be
corrected as indicated below.

_______________________________________________________________

THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT:

The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air Force relating
to APPLICANT be corrected to show that:

      a.  On 31 October 2009 he elected to transfer his Post 9/11 GI  Bill
Educational Benefits to a dependent, effective 1 November 2009.

      b.  Transfer of Post 9/11 GI Bill Educational Benefits is contingent
upon the completion  of  the  necessary  paperwork  as  indicated  in  the
attached letter from AFPC/DPSIT within 30 days.

_______________________________________________________________

The following members  of  the  Board  considered  AFBCMR  BC-2010-01072  in
Executive Session on 5 October 10, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

      Panel Chair
      Member
      , Member

All  members  voted  to  correct  the  record.   The  following  documentary
evidence was considered:

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 22 Aug 10, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, HQ AFPC/DPSOR, dated 19 Oct 09.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, HQ AFPC/DPSIT, dated 6 Nov 09.
    Exhibit E.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 4 Dec 09.
    Exhibit F.  Letter, Applicant, undated.
    Exhibit G.  Letter, HQ USAF/A1PA, dated 30 Jul 10.
    Exhibit H.  Letter, AFBCMR, dated 12 Aug 10.




                                   Panel Chair

AFBCMR BC-2009-02935


MEMORANDUM FOR THE CHIEF OF STAFF

      Having received and considered the recommendation of the Air Force
Board for Correction of Military Records and under the authority of Section
1552, Title 10, United States Code (70A Stat 116), it is directed that:

      The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air Force
relating APPLICANT be corrected to show that:

            a.  On 31 July 2009, he elected to transfer his Post  9/11  GI
Bill Educational Benefits to a dependent, effective 1 August 2009.

            b.  Transfer of Post 9/11  GI  Bill  Educational  Benefits  is
contingent upon the completion of the necessary paperwork as indicated  in
the attached AFPC/DPSIT Memorandum within 30 days.






     JOE G. LINEBERGER

     Director

     Air Force Review Boards Agency

Attachment:
HQ AFPC/DPSIT Memorandum













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