RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2011-04595
COUNSEL: NONE
HEARING DESIRED: NO
_________________________________________________________________
APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:
His Transfer of Education Benefits (TEB) under the Post-911 GI
Bill be made retroactive to a date prior to his retirement date
of 1 Oct 09.
_________________________________________________________________
APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:
He completed his retirement briefings in May and Jun 09 and
started his terminal leave on 26 Jun 09. He was not notified of
the option to transfer his Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits before he
retired.
The applicants complete submission is at Exhibit A.
_________________________________________________________________
STATEMENT OF FACTS:
On 1 Oct 09, the applicant retired from the Regular Air Force in
the grade of major (O-4).
Post-9/11 GI Bill: Any member of the Armed Forces (active duty
or Selected Reserve, officer or enlisted) on or after August 1,
2009, 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 4 additional years in
the Armed Forces from the date of election.
Has at least 10 years of service in the Armed Forces (active
duty and/or selected reserve) 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
August 1, 2009, through August 1, 2013. 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
August 1, 2009, no additional service is required.
For those individuals who have an approved retirement
date after August 1, 2009, and before July 1, 2010, no
additional service is required.
For those individuals eligible for retirement after
August 1, 2009, and before August 1, 2010, 1 year of
additional service after approval of transfer is
required.
For those individuals eligible for retirement on or
after August 1, 2010, and before August 1, 2011, 2 years
of additional service after approval of transfer are
required.
For those individuals eligible for retirement on or
after August 1, 2011, and before August 1, 2012, 3 years
of additional service after approval of transfer
required.
_________________________________________________________________
AIR FORCE EVALUATION:
AFPC/DPSIT recommends denial noting that while the Air Force did
not engage in a Service-wide effort to seek out members who were
already on terminal leave or who had already completed their pre-
separation counseling, in order to provide them with additional
counseling on the Post-9/11 BI Bill, the applicant has not
provided adequate justification/documentation showing he was
wrongly denied proper counseling. Further, the applicant did
receive pre-separation counseling for educational benefits prior
to his terminal leave in Jun 09.
DPSITs complete evaluation is at Exhibit C.
_________________________________________________________________
APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:
A copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to the applicant
on 22 Dec 11 for review and comment within 30 days. As of this
date, no response has been received by this office.
_________________________________________________________________
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 an 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. As such, we find the evidence
provided sufficient to resolve any doubt in this matter in the
applicants favor and do not find it reasonable to conclude 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 the APPLICANT be corrected to show that he elected to
transfer his Post-9/11 GI Bill Educational Benefits on
30 September 2009.
_________________________________________________________________
The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number
BC-2011-04595 in Executive Session on 11 Sep 12, under the
provisions of AFI 36-2603:
, Panel Chair
, Member
, Member
The following documentary evidence was considered:
Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated, 14 Nov 11.
Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
Exhibit C. Letter, AFPC/DPSIT, dated 15 Dec 11.
Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 22 Dec 11.
Panel Chair
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