RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 

AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

 

IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2011-05029 

 

 COUNSEL: NONE 

 

 HEARING DESIRED: NO 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: 

 

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

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: 

 

He met the eligibility criteria to transfer his benefits to his 
dependents in August 2009; however, he was completing a permanent 
change of station (PCS) move at the time and was unable to 
officially request the transfer. He arrived at his new duty 
station with no mention of the requirements of this program when 
he in-processed. With his focus on assuming his new command and 
unpacking his house, he forgot to recheck the status of the 
program. He is now planning to retire in September 2012, but 
cannot execute the transfer of his benefits because he no longer 
has the requisite three years of retainability. The Air Force 
should have used the PCS out/in processing check list to aid in 
ensuring service members understood the requirements to transfer 
education benefits to their dependents. Notification to register 
was not widely disseminated to service members. 

 

The applicant's complete submission is at Exhibit A. 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

STATEMENT OF FACTS: 

 

The applicant is currently serving on active duty in the rank of 
lieutenant colonel (Lt Col). 

 

Post-9/11 GI Bill: Any member of the Armed Forces (active duty 
or Selected Reserve, officer or enlisted) who, on or after 
August 1, 2009, is eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill, and 
satisfies the following service requirements, is eligible to 
transfer their unused educational benefits to a qualifying 
dependent: 

 

• 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 31, 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. 




 

The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this application are 
contained in the letter prepared by the appropriate office of the 
Air Force, which are attached at Exhibits C. 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 

 

AFPC/DPSI recommends denial, indicating there is no evidence of 
an error or injustice. Under Title 38 United States Code (USC), 
Chapter 33, service members are allowed to transfer unused 
educational benefits to their dependent spouses and children. 
Any member of the Armed Forces, active duty or Selected Reserves, 
officer, or enlisted, on or after August 1, 2009, who is eligible 
for the Post 9/11 GI bill, has at least six years of services in 
the Armed Forces on the date of election, and agrees to serve a 
specified additional period of in the Armed Forces from the date 
of election, may transfer unused Post 9/11 benefits to their 
dependents. The Air Force, in implementing its guidance, 


developed a communication plan that used the Air Force Personnel 
Center Commander and the Education and Training Sections at each 
installation to serve as spokespersons to communicate the 
Post9/11 GI Bill transfer-to-dependent program using internal 
media, internal communication tools, and external trade 
publications. There were various news articles about the 
Post9/11 GI Bill; most noted the requirement to be on duty on the 
August 1, 2009 effective date of the Post9/11 GI Bill to be 
eligible to transfer benefits. Some articles mentioned that 
service members on active duty or in the selected reserve could 
transfer benefits. Notably, since August 1, 2009, the Air Force 
approved over 50,000 transferability applications. The 
Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA), the DoD, and the Military 
Services widely publicized the Post9/11 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 June 27, 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 August 1, 2009, 
the effective date of the Post9/11 GI Bill. The applicant does 
not meet the criteria to transfer education benefits to his 
dependents because he does not have an approved request for 
transfer. The applicant’s failure to take action is not a 
justification for the Air Force to approve his request to 
transfer education benefits. If the applicant had acted in a 
timely manner and inquired about the program when he arrived at 
his gaining station he would not had to submit an application for 
correction of military records and transfer of his benefits would 
have been approved. 

 

The complete AFPC/DPSI evaluation is at Exhibit C. 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 

 

The applicant states his intent is not to necessarily refute the 
advisory opinion details as much as it is to convince the Board 
that he has met the requirements to transfer his education 
benefits to his dependents. When he arrived at his gaining 
station, he was not required to visit the base education office 
as part of his in-processing, where he assumes he would have 
learned that the program had been initiated. It was unfortunate 
timing that the TEB program guidance came out as he was 
completing his PCS. He accomplished what was necessary to in-
process for his assignment; however, his duties as a new 
Commander became his priority and he simply forgot to check back 
on the program. Since he was not required to visit the base 
Education office, he missed the reminder opportunity he needed. 
He has not submitted the transfer request because he would have 
to accept a three-year ADSC from the time his transfer was 


approved. While he agrees he should have remembered to check 
back on the status of the Post 9/11 GI Bill TEB program when he 
arrived at his new station, it certainly would have helped if he 
was required to visit the education office to acknowledge his 
options for the program as is the case with other entitlement 
programs (e.g. Career Status Bonus/Redux retirement plan versus 
the High-3 retirement plan). In his opinion, the TEB program is 
significant enough to warrant the same mandatory acknowledgement. 

 

The applicant’s complete response, with attachments, 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. Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to 
demonstrate the existence of an error or injustice. We took 
notice of the applicant's complete submission, including his 
response to the Air Force evaluation, 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 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. 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT: 

 

The applicant be notified the evidence presented did not 
demonstrate the existence of an 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-2011-05029 in Executive Session on 15 May 2012, under 
the provisions of AFI 36-2603: 

 

 , Panel Chair 

 , Member 

 , Member 

 


The following documentary evidence pertaining to AFBCMR Docket 
Number BC-2011-05029 was considered: 

 

 Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 15 Dec 11. 

 Exhibit B. Letter, AFPC/DPSI, dated 12 Jan 12. 

 Exhibit C. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 24 Jan 12. 

 Exhibit D. Letter, Applicant, dated 2 Feb 12, w/atchs. 

 

 

 

 

 

 Panel Chair