BOARD DATE: 18 July 2013
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20120021125
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, as an exception to policy, the Transfer of Education Benefits (TEB) under the provisions of the Post-9/11 GI Bill to his only child.
2. The applicant states:
* his transferability request was denied
* an official from the Education Incentives Branch, Fort Knox, KY advised him of the requirement that a Soldier had to be on active duty or an active participating member the Selected Reserve in order to transfer benefits
* he was unaware of the requirement until after his son's high school graduation on 27 May 2012
* based on his rank, it seems he should have known the details of the
Post-9/11 GI Bill
* he was part of a small embedded training team with no real administrative support
* he redeployed out of Fort Riley, KS when the deployment/redeployment mission on the base was shutting down and his small group was out-processed quickly without a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefit briefing
* he went on Standby Reserve status since he was working as a civil contractor in Afghanistan
* he would have transferred his benefits had he known the requirements
3. The applicant provides:
* three DOD Letters of Authorization, dated 6 September 2011, 12 July 2012, and 25 September 2012
* emails between 31 January and 19 July 2012
* Total Army Personnel Database-Reserve (TAPDB-R) printout
* Congressional correspondence
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. Having had prior enlisted service in the Regular Army, the applicant was appointed a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) on 12 August 1984. He held area of concentration 13A (Field Artillery, General).
2. On 2 April 2002, he received his notification of eligibility for retired pay at age 60.
3. He served through multiple assignments and he attained the rank/grade of lieutenant colonel (LTC)/O-5.
4. His last period of active duty service was 11 May 2009 through 11 July 2010.
5. Orders Number C-05-207117, issued by the U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC), Fort Knox, dated 17 May 2012, released the applicant from the Standby Reserve (Active List) and transferred him to the Retired Reserve, effective 1 September 2012.
6. The applicant provides emails and congressional correspondence showing his attempts to transfer educational benefits to his son and a TAPDB-R printout showing his status in July 2012. He also provides three DOD Letters of Authorization that show his status as a civilian contractor for the periods 7 April 2011 to 29 March 2012, 21 July 2012 to 26 September 2012, and 20 September 2012 to 22 July 2013.
7. On 22 June 2009, DOD established the criteria for eligibility and transfer of unused educational benefits to eligible family members. 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 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 from 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.
8. A Soldier must be currently on active duty or a member of the Selected Reserve at the time of transfer of education benefits to his or her family members (on or after 1 August 2009).
9. 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 his education benefits under the TEB, but he did not do so. His last period of active service was 11 May 2009 through 11 July 2010. From 1 August 2009 until July 2010 he had ample time to submit a request. He could have also submitted a request at any time during a subsequent period of service in the Selected Reserve.
2. The DOD, VA, and the Army conducted massive public campaigns that generated major communications on the TEB through military, public, and social media venues. Although he states he was serving in a unit with minimal administrative support and out-processed without a VA benefit briefing, there is no evidence indicating he was deprived of the information broadly disseminated through the public campaigns.
3. In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting the applicant's requested 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) AR20120021125
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20120021125
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