IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:  15 November 2012

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20120008413 


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 an exception to policy to transfer educational benefits under the Transfer of Educational Benefits (TEB) provision of the Post-9/11 GI Bill to her family member (daughter).

2.  The applicant states:

* Prior to her retirement in September 2009, she transferred the education benefits to her daughter
* When she went on line this year to check on how to utilize the benefits, she found out that they were transferred to her husband in error
* She wants to resolve this issue, but afraid to mess things up 

3.  The applicant provides orders transferring her to the Retired Reserve.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant was born on 27 September 1949.

2.  She was appointed as a Reserve commissioned officer and executed an oath of office on 8 December 1982.  She served in a variety of staff or leadership positions and she attained the rank of lieutenant colonel (LTC).

3.  On 7 August 2009, the U.S. Army Human Resources Command issued official orders transferring her to the Retired Reserve effective 30 September 2009.  She completed over 25 years of qualifying service toward a non-regular retirement.
4.  During the processing of this case, an advisory opinion was obtained from the Education Incentives Branch, U.S. Army Human Resources Command, Fort Knox, KY, on 21 May 2012.  The Human Resources Command official recommended approval of the applicant's request because the applicant left the military within 90 days of implementation of the TEB program.  Public Law 
110-252 establishes legal limitations on the transferability of unused Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits.  Further, Public Law 110-252, section 3020, limits eligibility to transfer unused benefits to those members of the Armed Forces who are serving on active duty or as a member of the Selected Reserve.  Although significant measures were taken to disseminate the information to all Soldiers within all Army components during the initial phase of the program, many Soldiers who left service during the first 90 days of the program were not fully aware of the requirement to transfer benefits prior to leaving military service.

	a.  The TEB website reflects an approved request on 12 September 2009.  However, the applicant states in her case that she revoked the number of months she had previously transferred to her husband so now his number of months in TEB shows zero.  Since she did not transfer at least one month to her daughter prior to her retirement, she does not have access in TEB to award months to her daughter now that she is retired.  However, since she retired within 90 days of program implementation, her request is favorably considered. 

	b.  A Soldier must currently be on active duty or a member of the Selected Reserve at the time of transfer of educational benefits to his or her dependent on or after 1 August 2009.  The applicant's last day in military service was 30 September 2009.  She would have been eligible to transfer the benefits if she had done so before she left military service.

	c.  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 25 years of service upon her retirement, so she was eligible to transfer benefits to either her spouse or children if she had completed the request before leaving military service.

	d.  A Soldier may only transfer to eligible dependents.  To be considered an eligible dependent the spouse or child must be enrolled in the Defense Eligibility Enrollment Reporting System (DEERS) and be eligible for DEERS benefits.  Children lose eligible dependent status upon turning age 21 or at marriage.  Eligible dependent status can be extended from age 21 to age 23 only if the child is enrolled as a full-time student and unmarried (verified by DEERS); the child will lose eligibility status upon less than full-time status or graduation.  Wards of State are not eligible for the benefit.  Once the benefits are transferred, children may use the benefits up to age 26.  The TEB online database shows the applicant had two eligible dependents enrolled in DEERS as of 30 September 2009, her last day in military service.  She was eligible to transfer benefits to Michael (spouse) and Dilya (child).  She did not complete the requirements in the TEB online database regarding her daughter because she claims she was not aware of the requirement to transfer prior to leaving service.

	e.  A Soldier must also agree to serve the prescribed additional service obligation based on the time the Soldier had in service on 1 August 2009.  If the applicant had transferred her benefits prior to leaving military service she would not have incurred an additional service obligation because she had more than 20 years of service as of 30 September 2009.

	f.  A Soldier must have no adverse action flag and have an honorable discharge to transfer the benefits.  There is no evidence of an adverse action in the applicant's record.  She was honorably retired.

	g.  A Soldier should not be granted relief based on unawareness of the law, program rules, or procedures unless they left the service during the implementation phase (first 90 days) of the program.  The Army, DOD, and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) initiated a massive public campaign plan that generated major communications through military, public, and social media venues on the Post-9/11 GI Bill and subsequent transfer of educational benefits.  The applicant's last day in the service was 30 September 2009 which was within 90 days after the program's implementation.

	h.  A Soldier must initially request to transfer benefits on the Department of Defense's TEB online database.  The TEB online database was operational on 29 June 2009.  Once approved in the TEB online database by the Soldier's service, the approval information is automatically relayed for VA access.  The respective dependent must then submit an application for VA educational benefits, VA Form 22-1990e, to request to use the benefits.  The applicant claims she was not aware of the requirement, so none of the required steps to transfer benefits were taken.

	i.  Changes to the amount of months allocated to dependents can be made at anytime, to include once you leave military service, provided the service member allocates at least 1 month of benefits prior to separation.  If the service member allocates 0 months and subsequently leaves military service, he or she is not authorized to transfer unused benefits.  The TEB website shows no action was taken by the applicant to transfer any benefits.

	j.  The VA is restricted to pay for educational benefits by compensating no more than 1 retroactive year from the date a claim is received by the VA.  No evidence was provided by the applicant that her dependents made a previous claim to VA.  If the applicant is granted relief, the beginning date for her dependents to use the transferred benefits will be the date relief is granted unless previous specific claims were submitted to VA (verified by VA upon approval).

5.  The applicant was provided with a copy of this advisory opinion.  She concurred.

6.  On 22 June 2009, DOD established the criteria for eligibility and transfer of unused educational benefits to eligible family members.  The policy states an eligible member is 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 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 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.

7.  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 supplemental educational assistance under Public Law 110-252, section 3316.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant was fully eligible to transfer her educational benefits to her daughter under the TEB provision of the Post 9/11 GI Bill prior to retirement, but she did not do so.  The program was implemented in July 2009 and she retired on 30 September 2009.  She did not apply for the transfer of benefits to her daughter while she was in the Selected Reserve. 

2.  DOD, the VA, and the Army conducted massive public campaigns that generated major communications through military, public, and social media venues.  The information was published well in advance with emphasis on the criteria.  A Soldier must meet several criteria to qualify to transfer benefits to an eligible dependent.

3.  Nevertheless, during the initial implementation of this new program, many Soldiers in all grades were confused regarding their eligibility and/or the procedure to apply for such benefits.  This confusion was exacerbated with heavy use of the DOD website and the lack of proper log-in credentials for those who may have signed out on transition leave within 60 to 90 days of the program's implementation.  Similarly, officials at some education centers may have also been confused regarding the implementation instructions and may not have conducted proper counseling.

4.  The applicant's retirement date was 30 September 2009.  It is reasonable to presume that had the applicant been fully aware of the procedure to transfer her benefits while in the Selected Reserve she would have done so.  Therefore, as a matter of equity her records should be corrected to show she did so in a timely manner prior to her effective date of transfer to the Retired Reserve.

BOARD VOTE:

____X___  ____X___  ___X__ _  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The Board determined the evidence presented is sufficient to warrant a recommendation for relief.  As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by showing the applicant filed her application and the Army approved his request to transfer Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to her family member (daughter) prior to her retirement, provided all other program eligibility criteria are met.



      _______ _  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)                                         AR20120008413





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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20120008413



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