RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 

AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

 

IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2010-04231 

 COUNSEL: NONE 

 HEARING DESIRED: NO 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: 

 

He be allowed to transfer his Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits to his 
dependents. 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: 

 

He converted his Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB) to the Post-9/11 GI 
Bill. The months of entitlement were meant for his children and 
not his wife because she already has her degree. He was told to 
use his wife as a placeholder for the benefits and that once 
converted to Post-9/11, he could arrange the benefits between his 
children at a later date. 

 

He received very little guidance at the infancy of the program 
and converted his benefits as instructed. 

 

He does not place blame on anyone in particular; however, at the 
time of his conversion (1 Aug 09), there was very little guidance 
available on the program. He understood it at the time to be a 
simple process of converting his MGIB before he retired and 
arrange the months of entitlement at a later date. 

 

The emphasis of his Transition Assistance Program (TAP) briefing 
was to “convert” benefits prior to retirement because he would 
not be able to do so after he retired. The guidance given was 
once converted to Post-9/11; the benefits would be available to 
all dependents in the Defense Eligibility Enrollment Reporting 
System (DEERS). 

 

The conversion of his benefits at the time was done out of error 
due to lack of knowledge and proper guidance. It was a simple 
error on his part and he does not want his children to suffer 
because of an honest mistake on his part. 

 

In support of his request, the applicant provides a personal 
statement, copies of his DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or 
Discharge from Active Duty, various emails, and power point 
slides. 

 

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

 

_________________________________________________________________ 


 

STATEMENT OF FACTS: 

 

The applicant retired in the grade of master sergeant effective 
1 Oct 09 after serving 20 years, 8 months, and 4 days on active 
duty. 

 

Post-9/11 GI Bill: Any member of the Armed Forces (active duty 
or Selected Reserve (SelRes), officer or enlisted) on or after 
1 Aug 09, 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 SelRes 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 
1 Aug 09 through 1 Aug 13. 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 1 Aug 
09, no additional service is required. 


 

• For those individuals who have an approved retirement 
date after 1 Aug 09, and before 1 Jul 10, no additional 
service is required. 


 

• For those individuals eligible for retirement after 
1 Aug 09, and before 1 Aug 10, 1 year of additional 
service after approval of transfer is required. 


 

• For those individuals eligible for retirement on or 
after 1 Aug 10, and before 1 Aug 11, 2 years of 
additional service after approval of transfer are 
required. 


 

• For those individuals eligible for retirement on or 
after 1 Aug 11, and before 1 Aug 12, 3 years of 
additional service after approval of transfer are 
required. 


 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

 

 

AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 


 

AFPC/DPSI recommends denial. DPSI states based on the 
applicant’s documentation, he did in fact receive adequate pre-
separation counseling. 

 

The applicant does not state which person or office allegedly 
counseled him to use his wife as a placeholder for the 
transferred benefits. However, as part of his application, he 
submitted Post-9/11 GI Bill briefing slides used during his Jul 
09 separation briefing, and these slides contain no direction to 
convert MGIB benefits to Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits, or to 
transfer benefits to a spouse as a placeholder. In addition, 
Slide 10 of the presentation, titled “Post-9/11 GI Bill Transfer 
to Dependents,” clearly states that airmen can adjust or revoke 
transfer actions at anytime, but must be on active duty to add 
new dependents. These slides contradict the applicant’s claim of 
erroneous counseling and serve to highlight the remark he made on 
his DD Form 149, Application for Correction of Military Record, 
where he stated, “this was a simple error on my part, and I don’t 
want my children to suffer due to an honest mistake on my part.” 

 

The complete DPSI evaluation is at Exhibit B. 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 

 

He is a disabled veteran and cannot afford the astronomical costs 
of his daughter’s education. He does not know the name of the 
person who gave the educational briefing, but it was held at 
Beale AFB. It is true the briefing slides did not contain any 
instruction on converting to the Post-9/11 GI Bill, therefore, 
there was very little, “vague” information given on this very 
important aspect of the process during the briefing. He was not 
instructed (verbally or written) that he was required to transfer 
at least one credit to each dependent that intended on using the 
benefit. He was instructed that in order for current dependents 
in the DEERS database to be eligible, he had to give a few 
credits to at least one eligible dependent to demonstrate 
participation in the conversion to the Post-9/11 GI Bill. The 
instructor used the example of “use your spouse as a 
“placeholder” and transfer a few credits to him/her” during his 
explanation. He was instructed that he had to be on active duty 
to add “new” dependents that were not already in the DEERS 
database prior to retirement. Had he received adequate 
counseling; he would have been able to make an informed decision. 

 

The applicant’s complete response is at Exhibit D. 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

 

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 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 for his dependents. 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 on 30 September 
2009 he elected to transfer his Post 9/11 GI Bill Educational 
Benefits to a dependent, effective 1 October 2009. 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket 
Number BC-2010-04231 in Executive Session on 27 Jun 11, under the 
provisions of AFI 36-2603: 

 

, Panel Chair 

, Member 

, Member 

 

All members voted to correct the records, as recommended. The 
following documentary evidence was considered: 

 

 Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 8 Nov 10, w/atchs. 

 Exhibit B. Letter, AFPC/DPSI, dated 14 Feb 11. 

 Exhibit C. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 6 May 11. 

 Exhibit D. Letter, Applicant, dated 20 May 11. 

 

 

 

 

 

 Panel Chair