DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2012-01574 
COUNSEL:  NONE 
HEARING DESIRED:  NO 

 
                      RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 
         AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 
 
IN THE MATTER OF: 
   
   
 
________________________________________________________________ 
 
THE APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: 
 
He  be  allowed  to  transfer  his  Post  9/11  GI  Bill  educational 
benefits. 
 
________________________________________________________________ 
 
THE APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: 
 
After two years in the program, he did not realize that he was 
not  eligible  for  the  transfer  of  education  benefits  (TEB) 
portion  of  the  program.    The  only  reason  he  converted  his 
Montgomery GI Bill over to the Post 9/11 GI Bill was for the TEB 
benefits. 
 
In  support  of  his  appeal,  the  applicant  provides  copies  of 
information  from  the  Department  of  Veterans  Affairs  (DVA) 
website and letters concerning his education benefits. 
 
The  applicant’s  complete  submission,  with  attachment,  is  at 
Exhibit A. 
 
________________________________________________________________ 
 
STATEMENT OF FACTS: 
 
The applicant was relieved from active duty, on 31 Jan 08, 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 
committing  to 
  of 

  statute 

from 

Defense 

(DoD)) 

or 

 Is  or  becomes  retirement  eligible  during  the  period  from    

  four additional years, and agrees   to serve for the   maximum 
amount of time allowed by such policy or statute, or 
 • 
  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 

eligible 
1 Aug 09,  and  before  1  Aug  10,  1  year  of  additional  service 
after approval of transfer is required. 

individuals 

for 

retirement 

after    

 • 
 • 

 • 

 • 

 • 

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: 
 
AFPC/DPSIT recommends denial, stating, in part, the program was 
not in effect during this time period.  Service member provides 
no  evidence  of  error  or  injustice  on  the  part  of  the  United 
States Air Force. 
 
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  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  AFPC/DPSIT  evaluation,  with  attachments,  is  at 
Exhibit C. 
 
________________________________________________________________ 
 
APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF THE AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 
 
The  applicant  states  that  since  he  was  able  to  transfer  his 
Montgomery  GI  Bill  and  enrolled  in  the  Post  9-11  program  he 
should  be  eligible.    The  Air  Force  provided  unfair  and 
misleading  information  concerning  Post  9-11  transferability  by 
stating that enrolled members were eligible to transfer benefits 
and did not clearly state that prior retirees were not eligible.  
The  applicant  also  provides  highlighted  copies  from  the 
“official  website”  that  mislead  him  into  believing  that  the 
transferability rules applied to him.   
 
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  to  include  the  copies  of  the  official  website  he 
provides; 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.    We  note  the 
applicant  argues  that  the  Air  Force  provided  unfair  and 
misleading  information  and  did  not  clearly  state  that  retirees 
were  not  eligible.    However,  we  do  not  find  his  arguments 
sufficiently persuasive to override the rationale provided by the 
Air Force OPR.  In this respect, we note that DPSIT has stated 
the Transfer of Education Benefits (TEB) program was implemented 
on 1 Aug 09 and required a member be on active duty at the time 
of transfer.  The extracts from the official website he provides 
also  clearly  state  requests  to  transfer  benefits  must  be  made 
while in the Armed Forces.  Since the applicant was already in a 
retired status, he is not eligible for the program.  Therefore, 
absent  evidence  that  he  was  denied  rights  to  which  he  was 

 
 

 

entitled,  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  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-2012-01574  in  Executive  Session  on  13  November  2012, 
under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: 
 
The  following  documentary  evidence  pertaining  to  AFBCMR  Docket 
Number BC-2012-01574 was considered: 
 
     Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 6 Apr 12, w/atchs. 
     Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records. 
     Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPSIT, dated 10 May 12. 
     Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 4 Jun 12. 
     Exhibit E.  Letter, Applicant, dated 27 Jun 12. 
 
 
 
 
                                   Panel Chair