RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:	DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2012-04745
		
		COUNSEL:  NONE

		HEARING DESIRED:  NO

________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

He be allowed to accomplish a Post-9/11 GI Bill transfer of 
educational benefits (TEB) to his dependents.

________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

1.  He believes he is a casualty of an unjust process that 
happened during the initial implementation of the Post-9/11 GI 
Bill TEB.  Due to the limited time between implementation of the 
Post-9/11 GI Bill TEB on 1 August 2009 and his retirement on 
1 September 2009, he was not afforded sufficient information or 
opportunity to apply for and receive a Certificate of 
Eligibility and request transfer of benefits to his dependents.  

2.  He received a Post-9/11 GI Bill Certificate of Eligibility 
from the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) on 20 June 2012.  
When he inquired on how to transfer the educational entitlements 
to his dependents he was told he could not do a Post-9/11 GI 
Bill TEB because he was retired and not in active duty status.  

3.  During his retirement planning and out-processing he did not 
receive any briefings for, nor, was he aware of Post-9/11 GI 
Bill TEB.  He began terminal leave for retirement on 
11 June 2009.  From that day forward, he did not have access to 
a government computer or an email address and was not afforded 
the opportunity to receive a briefing on Post-9/11 GI Bill TEB.  
He believes it is unjust that he was not provided the 
information and opportunity to know the process for requesting 
eligibility and transfer of educational benefits to his 
dependents.  

The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at 
Exhibit A.

________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

According to documents submitted by the applicant, he is a 
former Air Force Reserve commissioned officer.  Effective 1 
September 2009, the applicant was assigned to the Retired 
Reserve section awaiting pay at age 60 (2 April 2023).  

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AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

1.  AFRC/A1K recommends denial.  A1K states based on the 
legislative provisions of USC Title 38, Chapter 33, section 331 
9 (f)(l) which states in part, that “an individual may transfer 
such entitlement only while serving as a member of the armed 
forces when the transfer is executed,” they recommend 
disapproval of the applicant’s request.  

2.  The Air Force Reserve Command, in implementing its guidance, 
developed a communication plan that utilized the Air Reserve 
Personnel Center and the Education and Training offices at each 
installation to serve as spokespersons to effectively 
communicate the Post-9/11 GI Bill TEB program using internal 
media, internal communication tools, and external publications.  

3.  Every effort was made by DoD, the DVA, and the services to 
make sure that every eligible service member understood the 
process for transferring benefits.  The DVA did not have its 
final Rules and Regulations published until 31 Mar 09 
(Department of Veterans Affairs (38 CFR part 21, Post 9/11 GI 
Bill)).  While the rules and regulations were being formulated, 
DoD and the services were busy trying to build an infrastructure 
that could transmit the transfer of benefit data between DoD and 
the DVA.  In the haste to implement the transfer of benefits 
there was a lot of information that was misrepresented.  Many 
were led to believe that the law only required that one be 
serving on active duty 1 August 2009.  For this reason, many 
individuals were planning and adjusting their retirement date so 
that they were on active duty on 1 August 2009.  As the 
effective date of the program got closer, the “rules of 
engagement” became clearer.  

The complete AFRC/A1K evaluation is at Exhibit C.

________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

In his response, the applicant states that he feels the AFRC/A1K 
advisory strengthens his position that information regarding the 
Post-9/11 GI Bill TEB was not available before he began terminal 
leave, despite the fact that he was qualified to receive the 
benefits of the program.  The overall premises of his request is 
that he believes he is among a handful of service members who 
were eligible for the program but whose retirements or 
separations occurred during the implementation of the program.  
As a result, information and guidance regarding Certificates of 
Eligibility and transfer of benefits to dependents was not 
available.  Even if accurate information had been available, in 
his case, there was insufficient time between the implementation 
date and his retirement date to complete the process.  For these 
reasons, he requests approval of his request for Post-9/11 GI 
Bill TEB to his dependents.  

The applicant’s complete submission 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 not timely filed; however, it is in the 
interest of justice to excuse the failure to timely file.  

3.  Sufficient relevant evidence has been presented to 
demonstrate the existence of 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.  In 
addition we find no basis to question the applicant's account in 
this matter and do not find it reasonable that he would have 
knowingly elected not to pursue use of this important 
entitlement.  Therefore, we find the applicant has provided 
sufficient evidence to resolve any doubt in this matter in his 
behalf 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 APPLICANT be corrected to show that on 31 August 2009, 
he elected to transfer his Post-9/11 GI Bill Educational Benefits.  

________________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board considered this application 
in Executive Session on 2 July 2013, under the provisions of AFI 
36-2603:

			, Panel Chair
			, Member
			, Member

The following documentary evidence pertaining to AFBCMR Docket 
Number BC-2012-04745 was considered:  

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 8 October 2012 w/atchs.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, AFRC/A1K, dated 5 December 2012.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 10 December 2012.
    Exhibit E.  Letter, Applicant, dated 2 January 2013.




                                   
                                   Panel Chair