RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 

 AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

 

IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2011-01722 

 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: 

 

His daughter was removed from the Post 9/11 GI Bill Transfer of 
Education Benefits (TEB) for unknown reasons. She was submitted 
as beneficiary when he transferred from the Montgomery GI Bill 
(MGIB) to the Post 9/11 GI Bill. However, as of 26 Apr 11, 
neither the Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) nor the 
Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) education help line could 
give an answer as to why his daughter was not listed. He did 
not discover the error until after he had retired. 

 

The applicant’s complete submission is at Exhibit A. 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

STATEMENT OF FACTS: 

 

The applicant was relieved from active duty, on 31 March 2011, 
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 denial, stating, in part, that the 
applicant had access and opportunity to ensure he correctly 
transferred his benefits to his daughter before his 1 Apr 11, 
retirement date. 

 

They were unable to verify the applicant's transfer of benefits 
because there is no record in DMDC's TEB database that the 
applicant logged on before his 1 April 2011 retirement to 
transfer benefits to his daughter. A review of applicant's 
Preseparation Counseling Checklist reflects referral to the 
Education Center and the Veterans Administration's Post-9/11 GI 
Bill web site. The applicant was cleared for retirement by the 
Columbus AFB Education Center on 17 Feb 11. 

 

For the first time in history, servicemembers enrolled in 
38 U.S.C., Chapter 33 (Post-9/11 Educational Assistance), are 
able to transfer unused educational benefits to their dependent 
spouses or children. Any member of the Armed Forces, active 
duty or Selected Reserve, officer or enlisted, on or after 
1 Aug 09, who is eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill, 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 (if applicable), may 
transfer unused Post-9/11 benefits to their dependents pursuant 
to service regulations (38 U.S.C.3319(b)(1)). The Department of 
Defense (DoD) issued a regulation, Directive Type Memo (DTM) 09-
003 (reissued 10 Sep 10), that authorized the Military 
Departments to offer servicemembers the option to transfer 
benefits. The Secretary of the Air Force determined that the 
Air Force would offer the transfer of benefits feature. The 
transfer must be initiated while the member is serving in the 
Armed Forces, which is defined as limited to those on active 
duty or in the Selected Reserve (38 U.S.C. § 3319(f)(1); DTM 09-
003, Attachment 2(3)(g)(1) (reissued Sep 10,2010); and AFI 36-
2306, Attachment 9, paragraph A9.l8. 

 

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 09 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 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 1 Jul 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. Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to 
demonstrate the existence of error or injustice regarding the 
applicant’s Transfer of Educational Benefits. We took notice of 
the applicant's complete submission in judging the merits of the 
case; however, we agree with the opinion and recommendation of 
the Air Force office of primary responsibility and adopt its 
rationale as the basis for our conclusion that the applicant has 
not been the victim of an error or injustice. Therefore, in the 


absence of evidence to the contrary, we find no basis to 
recommend granting the relief sought in this application. 

 

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 DETERMINES THAT: 

 

The applicant be notified the evidence presented did not 
demonstrate the existence of material error or injustice; the 
application was denied without a personal appearance; and the 
application will only be reconsidered upon the submission of 
newly discovered relevant evidence not considered with this 
application. 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket 
Number BC-2011-01722 in Executive Session on 9 February 2012, 
under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: 

 

The following documentary evidence was considered: 

 

 Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 29 Apr 11. 

 Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records. 

 Exhibit C. Letter, AF/A1PA, dated 20 Jun 11. 

 Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 1 Jul 11. 

 

 

 

 

 Panel Chair