RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 

 AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

 

IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2011-00756 

 

 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: 

 

He submitted a transfer of eligibility for a portion of his 
benefit to his dependent child in Aug 09, while still on active 
duty. He recently decided to transfer all of the remaining 
benefits to his son and, on 15 Feb 11, he discovered the initial 
transfer of benefits failed. The reason stated was "rejected 
disapproved-SM has submitted an invalid entry." He has followed 
all the rules and guidelines for applying for and transferring 
benefits and the current rejected/disapproved status is an 
obvious error and must be corrected. 

 

In support of his appeal, the applicant provides a personal 
statement; a copy of his DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or 
Discharge from Active Duty, issued in conjunction with his 
31 Aug 09, and other supporting documents. 

 

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

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

STATEMENT OF FACTS: 

 

The applicant was relieved from active duty, on 31 Aug 09, with 
a reason for separation of Voluntary Retirement: Sufficient 
Service for Retirement. 

 

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 Department 
of Defense (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 approval, stating, in part, that the 
Board could find that there was an error due to the 
administrative restriction that caused the applicant to be 
unable to successfully transfer benefits in the days immediately 
prior to his retirement. If the Board determines this to be the 
case, AFPC can execute the transfer on the applicant's behalf 
without returning the member to active service. 

 

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. 

 

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 Aug 09, 
the effective date of the Post-9/11 GI Bill. 

 

The applicant states that he received two briefings about Post-
9/11 GI Bill benefits from the education office and/or Airmen 
and Family Readiness Center prior to his official retirement. 
He paid very close attention to the VA representatives when 
discussing the Post-9/11 GI Bill, but he was never counseled 
that he could not use the automated system to transfer benefits 
during the final days immediately preceding his official 
retirement date. Although he took steps to transfer benefits 
and provided documentation of his transfer attempt, the transfer 
did not consummate because of an administrative restriction that 
closes a member's active duty personnel record a few days prior 
to their official retirement date. Records are normally closed 
out approximately 5 days prior to an official retirement date in 
order to ensure final pay and other administrative actions are 
completed and retired pay starts on time. 

 

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 29 Apr 11 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 warranting 


corrective action regarding the applicant’s Transfer of 
Educational Benefits. The Air Force office of primary 
responsibility has adequately addressed the issues presented by 
the applicant and we are in agreement with its opinion and 
recommendation. Therefore, we recommend the applicant’s record 
be corrected to the extent 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 2009, he elected to transfer his Post 9/11 GI Bill 
Educational Benefits: 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket 
Number BC-2011-00756 in Executive Session on 22 December 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 22 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 29 Apr 11. 

 

 

 

 

 Panel Chair