RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2012-03688
COUNSEL: NONE
HEARING DESIRED: NOT INDICATED
_________________________________________________________________
APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:
He be allowed to transfer his Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits to his
dependents.
_________________________________________________________________
APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:
Due to miscommunication about signing up for the Post 9/11 GI
Bill transfer of education benefits (TEB), he was not afforded
the opportunity to sign up his youngest son for the benefit.
He was in Korea when he signed up for the program and the
information was not very clear. He was told that in order to
start the process, he had to sign up and add at least one month
to a child for, which he did, and that he could add other
dependents at a later date.
He would not have intentionally left one of his sons off this
great benefit.
The applicant's complete submission is at Exhibit A.
_________________________________________________________________
STATEMENT OF FACTS:
The applicant retired in the grade of master sergeant effective
1 Apr 11, after serving 25 years, 4 months, and 9 days of active
duty service.
Additional relevant facts pertaining to this application,
extracted from the applicants military records, are contained in
the letter prepared by the appropriate office of the Air Force at
Exhibit B.
________________________________________________________________
AIR FORCE EVALUATION:
HQ AFPC/DPSIT recommends denial. DPSIT states that the applicant
did not provide adequate justification/documentation. He
received two pre-separation counseling sessions, one on 16 Jun
10 and the other on 18 Oct 10 for educational benefits prior to
his retirement on 1 Apr 11. The applicant states that, he would
not have intentionally left one of his sons off this great
benefit that he worked hard for. However, the Submit Transfer
Request form, shows that he did just that. Also, per the notes
from Right Now Technology (RNT) records, dated 8 Apr 10, the
applicant asked the question if everything was good with the
transfer of benefits to his children. At this time the applicant
had the opportunity to verify that each of his dependents had the
number of months assigned that he wanted to give to them. He
also had the opportunity to ask questions about the Transfer of
Benefits when he out-processed the Education Center on 28 Nov 10.
The Air Force issued AFI 36-2306, Voluntary Education Program, on
23 Jul 09, which was subsequently replaced with AFI 36-2306,
Attachment 9. Paragraph A9.4.3.15.4, requires pre-separation
counseling, documented on DD Form 2648, Pre-Separation Counseling
Checklist. However, 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 GI Bill.
If the Board finds there was an injustice to the extent that the
member did not receive adequate pre-separation counseling, as
required by law and DoD regulation, and was not personally
notified about the need to transfer while serving in the Armed
Forces, the Board may approve the member's request.
The complete DPSIT evaluation, with attachments, is at Exhibit B.
_________________________________________________________________
APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:
He signed up in 2009, and did what he was told to do, to sign up
one child and that would get him in the system, and then he would
be able to add others at a later date. The recommendation letter
stated that he made a phone call asking if everything was up to
standards, on his part, so that his oldest son could attend
school. That is a fact; however, what was missing from the
recommendation was the reason that he called. He was stationed
at an Air National Guard base and because their educational
benefits differ from active duty, he was directed to call for
information since his base could not provide the information.
The recommendation letter mentions that he attended two
Transition Assistance Program (TAP) briefings, which he did, but
that was because the first one was so poor that he had to travel
four hours to Florida, at his own expense, to attend another one.
His complete response is at Exhibit D.
_________________________________________________________________
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 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 the applicant was not provided sufficient
information/instructions for completing the transfer for his
dependents. In this respect, according to the RNT records, on
8 Apr 10, the applicant inquired as to whether his children were
good with respect to the TEB. Although, the OPR does not feel
he exercised reasonable diligence in verifying that his
dependents had the appropriate numbers of months assigned, we
find the evidence presented sufficient to conclude the applicant
was not properly counseled on how to use this important benefit.
Therefore, to preclude an injustice, we recommend his 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 Mar 11, he
elected to transfer his Post 9/11 GI Bill Educational Benefits.
________________________________________________________________
The following members of the Board considered Docket Number
BC-2012-03688 in Executive Session on 9 May 13, under the
provisions of AFI 36-2603:
, Panel Chair
, Member
, Member
All members voted to correct the record as recommended. The
following documentary evidence was considered:
Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 2 Jul 12.
Exhibit B. Letter, AFPC/DPSIT, dated 24 Aug 12, w/atchs.
Exhibit C. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 29 Aug 12.
Exhibit D. Letter, Applicant, dated 15 Sep 12.
Panel Chair
AF | BCMR | CY2014 | BC 2014 01487
He then submitted another TEB and received an approved waiver of the TEB obligation end date, which allowed him to retire voluntarily and keep the TEB benefit. On 17 Nov 11, the RNT system shows the applicant made an additional request to change his retirement date to 1 Oct. For those members eligible for retirement after 1 Aug 11, and on or before 1 Aug 12, three years of additional service from the date of request is required. Based on his TAFMSD, his retirement date, and the date he...
AF | BCMR | CY2014 | BC 2014 02234
APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: Due to his best interest of the Air Force waiver he was allowed to voluntarily retire on 31 Mar 12 and able to retain his TEB benefits despite not fulfilling the agreed upon TEB Active Duty Service Commitment (ADSC). In support of his appeal the applicant provides his DMDC TEB Summary from 30 May 14 and VADIR TEB Summary faxed 10 Mar 14 from Department of Veterans Affairs, indicating 31 months of his 9-11 GI-Bill benefit have been transferred to his son; a signed...
AF | BCMR | CY2012 | BC-2012-02355
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2012-02355 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: YES _________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: He be allowed to transfer his Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits to his dependents. If the Board finds there was an injustice to the extent that the member did not receive adequate pre-separation counseling, as required by law and DoD regulation, and was...
AF | BCMR | CY2011 | BC-2011-04210
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2011-04210 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: He be allowed to transfer his Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to his dependents. In support of his request, the applicant provides a Military Times article, titled Some Army, Air Force retirees can still get GI Bill transfers. The applicant's complete...
AF | BCMR | CY2013 | BC-2013-00542
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2013-00542 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: He be allowed to transfer his Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to his dependent. ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: He was advised by the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) to request Transfer of...
AF | BCMR | CY2014 | BC 2014 02362
On 6 Mar 13, the applicant requested an extension of his enlistment to 14 Aug 16 (his HYT date) for the purpose of qualifying to transfer his Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits, which was approved on 3 Apr 13. While he has since been promoted to master sergeant, at the time he tried to transfer his TEB he was serving in the grade of technical sergeant with a HYT date of 14 Aug 16, thus making him ineligible to serve for an additional four years. Furthermore, in accordance with AFI 36-2306 the...
AF | BCMR | CY2012 | BC-2012-02979
If the Board finds there was an injustice to the extent that the member did not receive adequate pre-separation counseling, as required by law and DoD regulation, and was not personally notified about the need to transfer while serving in the Armed Forces, the Board may approve the member's request. The complete DPSIT evaluation, with attachment, is at Exhibit C. ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: He asks the Board...
AF | BCMR | CY2013 | BC 2013 04298
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2013-04928 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: His records be corrected to show he transferred his Post-9/11 GI Bill Education Benefits (TEB) to his dependents on 17 Aug 11. He should be granted the 17 Aug 11 TEB transfer date because he met the requirements by signing the AF Form 4406, Post-9/11 GI Bill Transfer of Educational Benefits Statement of...
AF | BCMR | CY2013 | BC 2013 04860
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2013-04860 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: YES ________________________________________________________________ _ APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: He be allowed to transfer his Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefits to his son retroactive to the start of the program (August 2009) with time served and no Active Duty Service Commitment (ADSC). The notes in the Right Now Technology (RNT) clearly...
AF | BCMR | CY2013 | BC 2013 01703
He would have transferred his MGIB benefits to the Post-9/11 Bill if he would have known that MGIB transferability to dependents went away and/or that his ADSC would have been waived if he transferred to the Post-9/11 GI Bill. He was not provided the proper information pertaining to the GI Bill benefits or transferring his education benefits to the Post-9/11 GI Bill. While the applicant contends he was unaware that he could not transfer the Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB) (Chapter 30) to his...