IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 17 January 2013
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20120006969
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, in effect, correction of his record to show he submitted a timely application to transfer his Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefits to his spouse.
2. He states in March 2012 he learned Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefits cannot be transferred after retirement. Had he been informed that he had to transfer the benefits prior to retirement, he would have done so.
3. He provides:
* DD Form 93 (Record of Emergency Data)
* DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty)
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. The applicant's DD Form 214 for the period ending 26 October 2011 shows he was retired by reason of temporary disability. Effective 27 October 2011, he was placed on the Temporary Disability Retired List (TDRL). His record shows he completed 21 years of service in the Regular Army and Army National Guard qualifying for retirement.
2. On 22 June 2009, Department of Defense (DOD) established the criteria for eligibility and transfer of unused education benefits to eligible family members. The policy states any member of the Armed Forces on or after 1 August 2009 may transfer benefits if, at the time of the approval of the request to transfer entitlement to educational assistance under this section, the member is eligible for the Post 9/11 GI Bill and:
a. has at least 6 years of service in the Armed Forces on the date of election and agrees to serve 4 additional years in the Armed Forces from the date of election; or
b. 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 4 additional years, and agrees to serve for the maximum amount of time allowed by such policy or statute; or
c. is or becomes retirement eligible during the period 1 August 2009 through 1 August 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.)
3. The policy further states the Secretaries of the Military Departments will provide counseling on the benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill to active duty participants and members of the Reserve Components with qualifying active duty service prior to separation or release from active duty and document accordingly.
4. During the implementation phase of the program (the first 90 days), many Soldiers were unaware of the requirements for transferring Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefits. The Army, DOD, and VA initiated a massive public campaign that generated major communications through military, public, and social media venues on the Post-9/11 GI Bill and transfer of benefits.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The available evidence does not support the applicant's request for correction of his record to show he submitted a timely application to transfer his Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefits to his spouse.
2. Information on the Post-9/11 GI Bill was widely available when he was retired nearly 2 years after the implementation phase had ended. Further, as part of his retirement processing, he was required to receive counseling on his Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits.
3. Notwithstanding the foregoing, he claims he did not learn of the requirement to transfer benefits until approximately 5 months after he was placed on the TDRL. There is no evidence indicating he was inequitably deprived of information on the transfer of education benefits prior to being retired. This being the case, his claim of ignorance of the program requirements is an insufficient basis for granting relief.
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) AR20120006969
3
ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
1
ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20120006969
2
ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
1
ARMY | BCMR | CY2012 | 20120007441
A Soldier must have at least 6 years of eligible service in order to transfer educational benefits to a spouse and at least 10 years of eligible service to transfer benefits to eligible children. The applicant had more than 21 years of service upon his retirement, so he was eligible to transfer benefits to either his spouse or children if he had completed the request before leaving military service. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2012 | 20120008109
The applicant requests, in effect, an exception to policy to transfer educational benefits to his spouse under the Transfer of Education Benefits (TEB) provision of the Post-9/11 GI Bill. The applicant states he was never informed nor was he aware that the Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits had to be transferred while still in service. The policy states, in part, that those who retire on or before 1 August 2009 are, by law, not eligible to transfer unused Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits because their...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2011 | 20110000464
IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 29 September 2011 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20110000464 THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE: 1. The policy further states the Secretaries of the Military Departments will provide active duty participants and members of the Reserve Components with qualifying active duty service individual pre-separation or release from active duty counseling on the benefits under the Post 9/11 GI Bill and document accordingly and maintain records for individuals who receive...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2012 | 20120009565
The applicant had 23 years of service upon his separation from the ARNG; furthermore, he was not eligible to transfer benefits to dependent because the law requires Soldiers to be on active duty or in the Selected Reserve on or after 1 August 2009. a. If the applicant had been in the Selected Reserve or on active duty on 1 August 2009, he would not have incurred an additional service obligation, but he was not eligible because he was not on active duty and left the ARNG prior to 1 August...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2011 | 20110021069
The applicant had more than 20 years of service upon retirement, but he was not eligible to transfer to either his spouse or his children because the law requires the Soldier to be in the service on or after 1 August 2009. c. A Soldier may only transfer to eligible dependents. On 22 June 2009, the Department of Defense (DOD) established the criteria for eligibility and transfer of unused education benefits to eligible family members. The policy states, in part, that those who retire on or...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2011 | 20110018829
The applicant requests correction of his record to show he made a timely election to transfer his Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to his eligible family members. During the briefing, the briefers stated family members would be eligible to use transferred Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits, but they did not provide details of how the transfer would be executed. The available evidence and the advisory opinion support correcting the applicant's record to show he submitted a timely request to transfer his...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2013 | 20130006591
The policy states any member of the Armed Forces on or after 1 August 2009 who, at the time of the approval of the individual's request to transfer entitlement to educational assistance under this section, is eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill and: a. has at least 6 years of service in the Armed Forces on the date of election and agrees to serve 4 additional years in the Armed Forces from the date of election; or b. has at least 10 years of service in the Armed Forces (active duty and/or...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2014 | 20140004258
At the time of his counseling, not only were the people ill-informed, the forms themselves were not set up to discuss any TEB benefits of the Post-9/11 GI Bill. The policy further states the Secretaries of the Military Departments will provide active duty participants and members of the Reserve Components with qualifying active duty service individual pre-separation or release from active duty counseling on the benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill, document accordingly, and maintain records...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2011 | 20110023142
The applicant requests correction of his military records to show he transferred his Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB) benefits to his dependents under the Transfer of Education Benefits (TEB) provisions of the Post-9/11 MGIB. The policy states, in part, that those who retire on or before 1 August 2009 are, by law, not eligible to transfer unused Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits because their last day of duty will be 31 July 2009 and they will transfer to the Retired List on 1 August 2009. As a result,...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2012 | 20120018197
The applicant had 25 years of service upon his retirement, but he was not eligible to transfer to either spouse or his children because the law required Soldiers to be in the service on or after 1 August 2009. d. A Soldier may only transfer to eligible dependents. The applicant contends that his records should be corrected to allow him to transfer his educational benefits under the TEB provision of the Post-9/11 GI Bill. As his last day in military service was 30 September 2008 and there...