IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  5 April 2011

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20100024900


THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE:

1.  Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any).

2.  Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any).


THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests the effective date of transfer of her Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefits be corrected to show the action was completed on 15 October 2009 or, in the alternative, 24 November 2009.

2.  The applicant states:

   a.  The Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008, effective on 1 August 2009, was confusing as it pertains to transferability rules.  She applied for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) educational benefits on 11 August 2009 via VONAPP (Veterans On Line Applications).  The VA approved her application on 15 October 2009, so given she had to serve 2 more years of active service from the date of transfer she assumed she would be eligible to retire in October 2011.

   b.  She was "uncomfortable with the lack of definitive information" about her registration for the Post-9/11 GI Bill program.  She made inquiries, but she did not find any information alluding to the fact the date of transfer of benefits, which is the trigger for the start date of her additional service obligation of 2 years required her to delineate the actual number of months of educational benefits she intended to transfer to each of her dependents.  On 24 November 2009, she logged-on to the Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) website and verified her sons were listed as eligible dependents with acknowledgment of transferability of education benefits.

   c.  In July 2010, her supervisor, who also had registered for the Post-9/11 GI Bill, advised her that they had not accomplished all of the steps required to complete the application.  Specifically, he said they had to designate the number of months of education benefits each dependent would receive.  On 22 July 2010, she again logged-on to the DMDC website and within 90 seconds had completed the "transfer request" portion of the process.  Now her 2-year obligation started on 22 July 2010 and expires on 21 July 2012.

   d.  In effect, she is being forced to serve an additional 9 months of active service because the transferability instructions for the Post-9/11 GI Bill were unclear.

3.  The applicant provides:

* a 3-page statement
* a timeline
* attachments A-K consisting of:

* VONAPP
* 19 August 2009 VA letter acknowledging receipt of application
* 15 October 2009 VA certificate of eligibility letter
* 5 January 2009 U.S. Army Legal Services Agency (USALSA) email with information paper on Post-9/11 GI Bill
* Army Public Affairs article "Soldiers' Newest GI Bill exceeds tuition assistance, also benefits dependents"
* DoD Directive Type Memorandum (DTM) 09-003
* VA article "Transfer of Post-9/11GI Bill Benefits to Dependents (TEB)"
* VA website "Post-9/11 GI Bill – It's Your Future"
* 2-page DMDC document dated 24 November 2009
* DoD DMDC letter, dated 2 September 2010, approving transfer of education benefits to applicant's 3 sons, with each receiving 12 months
* timeline

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is a Regular Army (RA) Lieutenant Colonel, Judge Advocate General's Corps.  She entered an active duty status in January 1991; as of 
1 August 2009, she had 18, but less than 19 years of service.  She is enrolled in the Post-9/11 GI Bill.




2.  The Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 (Public Law 
110-252 – Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008) was enacted on 30 June 2008 and went into effect on 1 August 2009; it provides for the transfer of education benefits to dependents.  Based on the law, the applicant is required to serve 2 years of service from the date her request was submitted.  The applicant filed her enrollment on 11 August 2009, and received acknowledgment from the VA on 19 August 2009 and approval on 15 October 2009.

3.  The applicant was determined to have the full 36 months of unused education benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill.  She listed her three sons as beneficiaries for the transfer of those 36 months of benefits; however, she did not designate the number of months that each son was to receive until 22 July 2010.  There-fore, her submission was not complete until 22 July 2010.

4.  DTM 09-003 (Post-9/11 GI Bill), dated 22 June 2009, provides the following in Attachment 2, page 17, paragraph 3f (Designation of Transferee):

An individual transferring an entitlement to educational assistance under this section shall, through notification to the Secretary of the Military Department concerned, as specified in paragraph 3.i. of this attachment:

(1) Designate the dependent or dependents to whom such entitlement is being transferred. 

(2) Designate the number of months of such entitlement to be transferred to each dependent. 

(3) Specify the period for which the transfer shall be effective for each dependent.

5.  The 5 January 2009 USALSA information paper provided by the applicant states, "If the participant is a member of the Armed Forces on 1 August 2009, the Department of Defense (DoD) may offer the opportunity to transfer benefits to spouses, dependent children, or a combination thereof [emphasis added].







6. On 10 July 2009, the Army G1 published the "Post 9/11 GI Bill Transferability Policy Quick Reference Guide."  This guide states, in pertinent part:

Submitting a Request to Transfer Benefits

(1)  Using CAC card or DFAS pin, log on to the DoD Transferability of Education Benefits (TEB) web page located at https//www.dmdc.osd.mil/TEB/

(2)  and 3.  Omitted

(3)  To transfer benefits to an eligible dependent, click the edit button on their name line.  (If the dependent name is grayed out or the edit button does not work, it means that dependent is not eligible for DEERS benefits and thus is not eligible to receive transferred benefits):

   a.  List the number of months of benefits to transfer to that dependent.

   b.  Select the start date you want the dependent to be able to use transferred benefits.  You can use either the calendar on the page or type in the start date. Format for date is YYYY-MM-DD.

   c.  Select the end date after which your dependent can no longer use transferred benefits.  Select this date carefully.  After this date the VA will not pay benefits to a dependent even if the dependent has months of benefits remaining.  When selecting this date consider that a spouse can use benefits up to 15 years after you leave active duty and that children can use the benefits up to their twenty-sixth birthday.

   d.  After you are filled in [sic] the number of months to transfer to the dependent and selected the start and end dates, hit the save button.

   e.  After the request is submitted, the TEB site will return to the original page with all your eligible dependents.  To transfer benefits to another dependent, repeat the above steps.  Remember the total months you can transfer to your dependents can be no more than 
36 months or the number of months of Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits to which you are entitled, whichever is less.


DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant requests the effective date of transfer of her Post-9/11 
GI Bill education benefits be corrected to show the action was completed on 
15 October or 24 November 2009.  She makes this request so that she may retire on 31 October or 30 November 2011.

2.  The applicant initiated the Post-9/11 GI Bill transfer process in August 2009.  She believed she had completed the process on 15 October 2009 or, at the latest, on 24 November 2009.  However, she did not properly complete her transfer of benefits to her three eligible dependent sons because she failed to list the number of months of benefits to be transferred to each child until 22 July 2010.

3.  By law, the applicant, who had 18 years of service in 2009, is required to serve 2 years of service from 22 July 2010 in order to be eligible for retirement.  Based on completion of the transferability date of 22 July 2010, the applicant is required to serve through July 2012, making her eligible to retire on 31 July 2012.

4.  The applicant's argument that transferability rules were confusing is not persuasive.  The Army G1 put out clear guidance on 10 July 2009 concerning how to submit a request for transfer of benefits.  The information was available when the applicant first went on-line to submit her application.  Even if she had not seen the G1 guidance, other documents, like DTN 09-003, contained the same information.

5.  The available evidence is insufficient to support the applicant's request.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___X____  ____X___  ___X____  DENY APPLICATION



BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable error or injustice.  Therefore, the Board determined that the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis for correction of the records of the individual concerned.




      _______ _   _X______   ___
               CHAIRPERSON
      
I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case.

ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20100024900



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20100024900



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