education 

office 

and 

his 

RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 

AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

representative, 

 
DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2012-01350 
COUNSEL:  NONE 

IN THE MATTER OF: 
   
  HEARING DESIRED:  NO 
 
________________________________________________________________ 
 
APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: 
 
He be allowed to transfer his Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits to his 
dependents. 
 
________________________________________________________________ 
 
APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: 
 
After  retiring  from  the  Air  Force  he  became  aware  that  he  was 
required  to  transfer  his  education  benefits  to  his  dependents 
prior to his retirement. 
 
He contacted AFPC, the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA), the 
base 
state 
representatives.    The  aforementioned  persons  or  agencies  told 
him  there  was  nothing  they  could  do  to  assist  him  in 
transferring his education benefits to his dependents. 
 
Before retiring, he attempted to transfer his Post 9/11 GI Bill 
benefits.    He  went  to  the  website  that  allows  transfer  of 
educational benefits (TEB) and saw his family member's names and 
assumed he had done everything correctly. 
 
He  began  terminal  leave  in  Mar  2010  and  retired  1  Jun  2010. 
After  his  retirement,  he  went  to  the  website  to  transfer 
benefits  and  realized  his  family  member’s  names  were  no  longer 
in  the  system.    He  was  not  briefed  that  he  had  to  transfer 
benefits  before  retiring.    The  newness  of  the  process  lead  to 
his error in the transfer of benefits to his dependents. 
 
In  support  of  his  request,  the  applicant  provides  a  copy  of  a 
letter from his state senator. 
 
His complete submission, with attachment, is at Exhibit A. 
 
________________________________________________________________ 
 
STATEMENT OF FACTS: 
 
The applicant retired in the grade of master sergeant (MSgt, E-
7) effective 1 Jun 2010. 
 

 

 

 

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Post 9/11 GI Bill:  Any member of the Armed Forces (active duty 
or  Selected  Reserve,  officer  or  enlisted)  on  or  after  1  Aug 
2009, who is eligible for the Post 9/11 GI Bill, and:  
 

  Has  at  least  six  years  of  service  in  the  Armed  Forces  on 
the  date  of  election  and  agrees  to  serve  four  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  four  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  2009,  through  1  Aug  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 1 Aug 

2009, no additional service is required.  

  For those individuals who have an approved retirement 
date  after  1  Aug  2009,  and  before  1  Jul  2010,  no 
additional service is required.  

  For  those  individuals  eligible  for  retirement  after 
1 Aug  2009,  and  before  1  Aug  2010,  one  year  of 
additional  service  after  approval  of  transfer  is 
required.  

  For  those  individuals  eligible  for  retirement  on  or 
after 1 Aug 2010, and before 1 Aug 2011, two years of 
additional  service  after  approval  of  transfer  are 
required.  

  For  those  individuals  eligible  for  retirement  on  or 
after  1  Aug  2011,  and  before  1  Aug  2012,  three  years 
of  additional  service  after  approval  of  transfer 
required.  

 
________________________________________________________________ 
 
AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 
 
AFPC/DPSIT  recommends  denial.    DPSIT  states  the  applicant  did 
not  provide  adequate  justification/documentation.    He  received 
pre-separation  counseling  2  Mar  2010  and  indicated  on  his  DD 
Form  2648,  Preseparation  Counseling  Checklist  for  Active 
Component  Service  Members,  that  he  did  not  want  counseling  for 
education  benefits  prior  to  his  retirement.    He  states  that  he 
attempted  to  transfer  benefits  to  dependents  by  going  to  the 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2

 

website;  however,  he  neither  made  the  election  by  checking  the 
appropriate  boxes  nor  did  he  sign  the  Statement  of 
Understanding.    If  he  had  read  on  the  DVA  website  when  he 
switched from the Montgomery GI Bill to the Post 9/11 GI Bill, 
the  option  to  transfer  to  dependents  was  available  by  clicking 
on the Official DoD TEB Website link (www.defense.gov). Clicking 
the  link  would  have  led  the  applicant  to  the  Defense  Manpower 
Data  Center  (DMDC)  website  to  transfer  benefits  to  his 
dependents. 
 
The complete DPSIT evaluation, with attachment, is at Exhibit C. 
 
________________________________________________________________ 
 
APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 
 
He  applied  for  retirement  in  the  beginning  of  Jan  2010.    He 
received notification of approval near the end of Feb 2010.  Due 
to  his  accumulation  of  leave,  along  with  Permissive  Temporary 
Duty (PTDY), his "final out" date was set at 5 Mar 2010.  The DD 
Form 2648 he signed on 2 Mar 2010 was to obtain his electronic 
out-processing  checklist.    He  received  his  checklist  on  3  Mar 
2010.    This  gave  him  a  day  and  a  half  to  receive/complete  all 
his  briefings,  prior  to  his  "Final  out."    Personnel  at  the 
Military  Personnel  Flight  (MPF)  did  not  inform  him  of  the 
necessity  of  these  briefings.    He  spoke  to  someone  from  the 
Education  Office  and  he  left  with  the  understanding  that  he 
could  transfer  his  benefits  at  any  time  after  he  retired.    He 
specifically asked if he had to complete the requirement before 
retirement,  and  was  told  that  he  did  not.    He  thought  he  had 
accomplished what he needed to on the website. 
 
His complete response 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 error or injustice.  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  (OPR)  and 
adopt  its  rationale  as  the  basis  for  our  conclusion  the 
applicant  has  not  been  the  victim  of  an  error  or  injustice.  
While  the  applicant’s  comments  in  response  to  the  Air  Force 
evaluation  are  duly  noted,  we  note  the  applicant  declined 
counseling  for  education  and  do  not  find  he  exercised  due 
diligence  in  transferring  his  benefits.    Therefore,  in  the 

 

 

 

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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  that  the  evidence  presented  did  not 
demonstrate  the  existence  of  material  error  or  injustice;  that 
the  application  was  denied  without  a  personal  appearance;  and 
that  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 Docket Number BC-
2012-01350  in  Executive  Session  on  13  Nov  2012,  under  the 
provisions of AFI 36-2603: 
 

Panel Chair 
Member 
Member 

 
The following documentary evidence was considered in AFBCMR BC-
2012-01350: 
 
    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 21 Apr 2012, w/atch. 
    Exhibit B.  Applicant’s Master Personnel Records. 
    Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPSIT, dated 10 May 2012, w/atch. 
    Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 4 Jun 2012. 
    Exhibit E.  Letter, Applicant, dated 25 Jun 2012. 
 
 
 
 
                                    
                                   Panel Chair 
 

 

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