IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  17 October 2013

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20130001905 


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 correction of his records to show his educational benefits were transferred to his eligible family members in a timely manner in accordance with the Transfer of Education Benefits (TEB) provision of the 
Post-9/11 GI Bill.

2.  The applicant states he completed an online request in 2009 to transfer his Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to his two children.  The system no longer shows that designation.  He states he met all qualifications in 2009/2010 to allow him to transfer his Post-9/11 GI Bill educational benefits to his children.  However, when his son went to use those benefits in Fall 2012, he was told he was not eligible.

3.  The applicant provides:

* Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) letter denying eligibility for benefits
* Senate representative's letter to the VA
* MilConnect screen printout
* Orders 190-0012
* DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty)

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  On 30 June 2010, the applicant retired from the Regular Army in the rank of colonel after completing more than 24 years of creditable active service.

2.  He provides an undated MilConnect screen printout showing the message "Our records indicate that you may not be eligible to transfer education benefits" and "No Records Found."

3.  He provides a VA letter addressed to his son, dated 26 November 2012.  It states specified evidence had been reviewed and listed the eligibility criteria for the transfer program.  The letter stated the Army only allows transfer to spouses.  It further stated the VA must deny the applicant's son's claim because the Army hadn't selected his spouse for the transfer program.

4.  He provides an unsigned and undated letter from Senator C____ addressed to the VA stating the applicant recently received correspondence from the VA that his 19-year old son was not eligible for benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill even though it appears the applicant had met all eligibility requirements prior to retiring effective 30 June 2010.

	a.  The letter states that once the applicant learned of his Post-9/11 GI Bill eligibility in 2009, he immediately applied online and transferred all his educational entitlements to his two children.  He actually checked online two additional times over a course of several months to ensure all his information was properly entered on the Post-9/11 GI Bill website before he retired in June 2010.

	b.  The letter states the applicant recently contacted the U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC) based on the denial letter from the VA.  HRC indicated they had a computer issue during the 2009 time frame when many applied and most likely his application was lost.  HRC also indicated an email was sent to Soldiers telling them to reapply.  The applicant never received this email during that time frame.  HRC indicated that he would have to prove he applied by producing a "screenshot" of his online application which was impossible to produce 3 years later.

5.  On 22 June 2009, the Department of Defense (DOD) established the criteria for eligibility and transfer of unused educational benefits to eligible family members.  The policy states an eligible individual was 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, was eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill and was retirement eligible during the period 1 August 2009 through 1 August 2013.  A service member was considered to be retirement eligible if he or she had completed 20 years of active duty or 20 qualifying years of Reserve service.

6.  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.

7.  Public Law 110-252, section 3319, provides that service members with an approved retirement date after 1 August 2009 and before 1 July 2010 had no additional service requirement.

8.  On 10 July 2009, the Army released the Post-9/11 GI Bill Implementation Policy that identified and established responsibilities, eligibility criteria, benefits, and detailed guidance for the administration of the program.

	a.  A Soldier must initially request to transfer benefits on the DOD's TEB online database (Defense Manpower Data Center).  Once approved in the TEB online database by the Soldier's service, the approval information is automatically relayed for VA access.  The respective family member must then submit an application for VA educational benefits (VA Form 22-1990e (Application for Family Member to Use Transferred Benefits)) to request to use the benefits.

	b.  Changes to the number of months allocated to family members can be made at any time, to include once the Soldier leaves military service, provided the service member allocates at least 1 month of benefits prior to separation.

9.  A review of the current HRC website for Post-9/11 GI Bill Frequently Asked Questions states:

	a.  Requests for transfer of benefits are generally reviewed and action taken within 1 to 2 days depending upon the total number of requests that have been submitted to date.
 
	b.  An applicant needs to log back into the TEB web portal to check the status of a request.  If approved, he or she can then print off the DOD's TEB approval form for his or her records.  He or she may also want to provide a copy of the approval form to his or her dependent's school for proof of his or her transferability of benefits.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's contentions were carefully considered.  However, there is insufficient evidence to support his request.

2.  The program was implemented on 1 August 2009.  The available evidence shows he was eligible to transfer his educational benefits to either his spouse or children under the TEB provision of the Post-9/11 GI Bill prior to his retirement on 30 June 2010.

3.  The TEB online database does not show he completed the requirements for TEB.  He has provided no evidence, aside from his own statements, showing he completed or attempted to complete those requirements.  Further, there is no documentary evidence supporting his statement that application data was lost from DOD's TEB database.

4.  In view of the foregoing, there is an insufficient basis for granting 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 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)                                         AR20130001905



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20130001905



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