RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 

 AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

 

IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2011-00318 

 COUNSEL: NONE 

 HEARING DESIRED: YES 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

THE APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: 

 

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

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

THE APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: 

 

He was not aware or properly briefed that his benefits had to be 
transferred while on active duty. During the time he was on 
permissive temporary duty (TDY), convalescent leave, and 
terminal leave; and was not aware that the legislation had 
passed. As a result, he was not adequately briefed on the 
requirements nor provided an opportunity to elect Transfer of 
Education Benefits (TEB) for his children. 

 

In support of his appeal, the applicant provides a personal 
statement and a copy of his inquiry made through his Member of 
Congress. 

 

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

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

STATEMENT OF FACTS: 

 

The applicant entered active duty on 28 Jan 83. He was relieved 
from active duty, on 30 Sep 09, with a reason for separation of 
voluntary retirement: sufficient service for retirement. He 
retired on 1 Oct 09 after serving over 26 years, 8 months, and 
3 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 makes no recommendation, but notes that if the 
Board finds there was an injustice to the extent that the member 
did not receive adequate pre-separation counseling, as required 
by law and DoD regulation, and was not personally notified about 
the need to transfer while serving in the Armed Forces, DoD has 
provided the Air Force with the technical/operational capability 
to execute the transfer without a need for the Board to return 
the member to active service. 

 

A1PA states the Air Force, in implementing its guidance, 
developed a communication plan that used the Air Force Personnel 
Center Commander and the Education and Training Section at each 
installation to serve as spokespersons to communicate the Post-
9/11 GI Bill transfer-to-dependent program using internal media, 


internal communication tools, and external trade publications. 
There were various news articles about the Post-9/11 GI Bill to 
be eligible to transfer benefits. Some articles mentioned that 
service members on active duty or in the SelRes could transfer 
benefits. Notably, since 1 August 2009, the Air Force approved 
over 39,000 transferability applications. 

 

A1PA states the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA), the DoD 
and the Military Services widely publicized the Post-9/11 GI 
Bill and the transferability feature. DoD developed a special 
website, hosted by Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC), to 
facilitate the transfer of educational benefits. The website 
system was operational on 27 June 2009 for the purpose of 
accepting transfer of benefits applications. The Directive Type 
Memo (DTM) and Air Force Instruction state the transfer must be 
made while the member is serving in the Armed Forces. Both 
documents were published on government-hosted websites prior to 
1 August 2009, the effective date of the Post-9/11 GI Bill. 

 

A1PA notes the applicant states that he did not receive 
briefings about Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits before he began 
permissive TDY, convalescent leave, and terminal leave in mid-
June 2009. He stated that he was no longer performing official 
duties when the guidance was formally published and available 
later that summer, and he retired effective 30 Sep 09. 

 

The Board could find that there was an injustice if members on 
active duty on 1 August 2009 were not sufficiently 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 August 2009 and there 
would be no need to place the member on active duty since the 
Transfer of Educational Benefits (TEB) system allows for 
correction of the record by Air Force personnel. 

 

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

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF THE AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 

 

The applicant noted the current status of his eligible 
dependents and awaits the Board’s decision. 

 

The applicant’s complete response 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. 

 

4. The applicant's case is adequately documented and it has not 
been shown that a personal appearance with or without counsel 
will materially add to our understanding of the issue(s) 
involved. Therefore, the request for a hearing is not favorably 
considered. 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

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: 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket 
Number BC-2011-00318 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 24 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 19 July 2011. 

 

 

 

 

 Panel Chair