RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 

 AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

 

IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2011-00191 

 

 COUNSEL: NONE 

 HEARING DESIRED: NO 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

THE APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: 

 

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

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

THE APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: 

 

When he filled out the application for Post 9/11 GI Bill 
Transfer of Educational Benefits (TEB) he applied a six-month 
value for his eligible spouse; however, he did not apply a month 
value on behalf of his children. He is now being told that 
since he did not apply a month value to his request, his 
children are no longer eligible for benefits. He was not 
informed of this error at the time and believes he should be 
allowed TEB to his dependent children. 

 

In support of his appeal, the applicant provides a copy of his 
Electronic TEB Application and his approval notice. 

 

The applicant’s complete submission, with attachment, is at 
Exhibit A. 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

STATEMENT OF FACTS: 

 

The applicant entered active duty on 8 Mar 85. He was relieved 
from active duty, on 31 Aug 10, with a reason for separation of 
voluntary retirement: sufficient service for retirement. He 
retired on 1 Sep 10 after serving over 25 years, 5 months, and 
23 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 a specified additional 
period 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: 

 

HQ USAF/A1PA recommends denial, stating, in part, the applicant 
was not denied the opportunity to transfer benefits while 
serving on active duty, and he provided no evidence to support 
governmental injustice or error. While the applicant retains 
the right to modify or revoke the months of Post-9/11 GI Bill 
benefits between himself and his wife, 38 U.S.C. Chapter 33 does 
not allow new transfers to dependents to whom no benefits were 
transferred before separation/retirement. 

 

A1PA states that the TEB records reflects that the applicant 
transferred 6 months of benefits to his spouse, but did not 
transfer any months to his children before he retired. Although 
the applicant contends the system did not warn him of his 


"error" when he did not transfer benefits to his children, there 
is no error since servicemembers may choose to transfer all, 
some or none of their benefits to eligible dependents in any 
combination of months, including zero months. 

 

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

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF THE AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 

 

The applicant provides an explanation for the circumstances 
surrounding the error made on his application, the reasons why 
he made his elections for his dependent children the way he did, 
and that he was not advised that by not selecting a month value 
his dependent children would not be eligible for TEB. 

 

He feels that since this was a virtual process, without 
assistance from Air Force personnel, this has caused an 
injustice to his children TEB due to a confusing application 
process. 

 

The applicant’s complete response, with attachment, is at 
Exhibit E. 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

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 on 


31 August 2010, he elected to transfer his Post 9/11 GI Bill 
Educational Benefits. 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket 
Number BC-2011-00191 in Executive Session on 25 August 2011, 
under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: 

 

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

 

 Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 14 Jan 11, w/atch. 

 Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records. 

 Exhibit C. Letter, HQ USAF/A1PA, dated 28 Feb 11. 

 Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 4 Mar 11. 

 Exhibit E. Letter, Applicant, dated 1 Apr 11. 

 

 

 

 

 Panel Chair