RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 

 AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

 

IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2011-00755 

 

 COUNSEL: NONE 

 

 HEARING DESIRED: NO 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

THE APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: 

 

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

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

THE APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: 

 

He made an error by not transferring his benefits to his son 
prior to retiring. He thought by putting his son’s name on the 
form t was all he had to do, and did not realize that everything 
had to be done before retiring. 

 

In support of his appeal, the applicant provides a copy of his 
DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active 
Duty, issued in conjunction with his 31 May 10 retirement and a 
copy of his Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits letter. 

 

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

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

STATEMENT OF FACTS: 

 

The applicant entered active duty on 15 Dec 89. He was relieved 
from active duty, on 31 May 2010, with a reason for separation 
voluntary retirement sufficient service for retirement. He was 
credited with 20 years, 5 months, and 16 days on active duty 
service. 

 

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. However, the Board could find 
the applicant did not receive adequate counseling about transfer 
rules and retainability requirements. In this case, the Board 
could direct AFPC to correct the member's TEB record to allocate 
benefits to his son. 

 

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 42,000 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 stated he transferred from the MGIB to 
the Post-9/11 GI Bill and received his Certificate of 
Eligibility on 12 August 2009. He retired 1 June 2010. The 
applicant was under the impression that putting his son's 
information on the form was enough to transfer the benefits to 
his son. After he retired he realized he had not taken the 
appropriate action to transfer his benefits. He does not claim 
that he was incorrectly counseled, nor does he claim he was not 
aware that he needed to make the transfer while he was on active 
duty. He admits there is no error or injustice on the 
government's part, but asks for mercy so that he can send his 
son to college in the fall of 2011. The applicant had adequate 
time, opportunity, and access to a plethora of available 
information about the transfer process between the time he 
received his Post-9/II GI Bill Certificate of Eligibility and 
his retirement date. The fact that the former member did not 
take any action to ensure the request to transfer benefits was 
properly submitted is not an error or injustice on the part of 
the Air Force. 

 

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

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF THE AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 

 

A copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to the 
applicant on 28 April 2011 for review and comment within 30 
days. As of this date, no response has been received by this 
office (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. Although the 
applicant accepts responsibility for the error of not 
transferring benefits to his eligible dependent prior to his 
retirement, he also notes that he made the error based on lack 
of a clear understanding of the process to make the transfer. 
While we note the additional steps the Air Force took to insure 
eligible personnel were informed of this new benefit, it appears 
the applicant may not have been fully aware of the steps 
necessary to transfer his benefits to his dependent. As such, 
we find reasonable doubt that we elect to resolve in his favor. 
In addition, we do not find it reasonable that he would have 
knowingly elected not to pursue use of this important 
entitlement. Therefore, in the interest of equity and justice, 
we 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 
31 May 2010, he elected to transfer his Post 9/11 GI Bill 
Educational Benefits: 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket 
Number BC-2011-00755 in Executive Session on 10 November 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 25 Feb 11, w/atch. 

 Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records. 

 Exhibit C. Letter, HQ USAF/A1PA, dated 21 Apr 11. 

 Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 28 Apr 11. 

 

 

 

 

 Panel Chair