Policy for Transferring GI Bill Benefit

• October 20, 2009 -- 911GIBill What Ifs
• September 27, 2009 -- College, Better Late Than Never
• August 21, 2009 -- VA 911GIBill Transfer Request Backlog
• July 22, 2009 -- City College of Chicago City Wide
• July 8, 2009 -- More 911GIBill Good News

11 Comments »

• Excellent post, veterans deserve to get rewarded for their hard work and this will help the jarring armed forces -> civilian transition.

  We all know how hard it is to adjust to the civilian life, get money for funding the necessary education to break into new careers, and to find the motivation to sit in class with a bunch of 20 year old young adults.

  Very glad to see the 9/11 GI Bill.

  Comment by Dorian (1 comments.) — June 29, 2009 @ 4:57 pm

• Does the following apply to me?

  (2) 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, agrees to serve for the maximum amount of time allowed by such policy or statute, or . . .

  Based on continuation policy I HAVE to have a retirement date of 1 July, 2010. (I am a LCDR who was twice FOS, but continued in sanctuary until eligible for retirement). This is not BEFORE July 1, 2010, but I am absolutely not permitted (per PERS-801) to extend beyond July 1.

  VA isn’t tasked with determining TEB eligibility, so thank you for your input.

  Comment by Joe Murphy — July 7, 2009 @ 12:18 pm

• LCDR Murphy,
  Sir, my understanding is that the August 1, 2009 date is firm (I have a fellow Master Chief friend who fell into a similar situation with HYT) – your retirement date must be on or after that. I will be contacting the VA office in St. Louis tomorrow about a couple of other questions and I will ask yours also. I suggest you do the same in case I mis-ask/understand their response as it relates.

  Comment by NCCM(ret) — July 7, 2009 @ 8:54 pm

• Master,

  Thank you for the response and for taking my question to the VA. Just so that you have all the information, my retirement date will be after 1 AUG 09. Since my Pay Date is 900626, it has to be the first of the month following the date twenty years from my Pay Date, which ends up being 1 JUL 10. If you enter at section (3)(c) from above, I would be required to extend 1 year, which is absolutely not allowed for me and my continuation status after having failed to select for CDR. Since it is the Navy’s policy to not allow me to commit to 1, much less 4, years, do I not qualify for TEB as part of section (2), above?

  Please let me know if you need any additional clarification and I’ll get my work number or email to you. Thanks again for your assistance.

  Comment by Joe Murphy — July 7, 2009 @ 10:40 pm

• Sir, I think number (2) will cover you. I just completed a 13 hour drive back from Florida when I read your first comment and read it as you retiring in 2009, my mistake. I will ask the question tomorrow though to be sure.

  VR Tom

  Comment by NCCM(ret) — July 7, 2009 @ 10:55 pm

• LCDR,

  I contacted the VA Ed office in St. Louis and the woman told me you would be eligible to transfer your benefit to an eligible dependent.

  Comment by NCCM(ret) — July 8, 2009 @ 10:15 am

• Great news! Thanks for checking. I did call the Navy’s office on this and they said that they’re getting a lot of questions about specific cases like mine and that there is a NAVADMIN in coordination right now that will address all of these TEB questions. I hope that it comes back with the same answer that you got from the VA.

  Also, I just checked the DoD Transfer Eligibility website where I applied to transfer the benefits to my son, and it has come back as approved. They’re supposed to check with BUPERS before making a judgement, and I checked all the blocks in good faith, so that is also good news.

  Thanks again.

  Comment by Joe Murphy — July 9, 2009 @ 9:40 pm

• Sir, my pleasure! I hope everything works as advertised The new GI Bill is amazing!

  Comment by NCCM(ret) — July 10, 2009 @ 10:07 pm

• Sir, here is the NAVADMIN concerning transferability of the Post-9/11 GI Bill.

  R 110033Z JUL 09
  FM CNO WASHINGTON DC//N1//
  TO NAVADMIN
  INFO CNO WASHINGTON DC//N1//
  BT
  UNCLAS//N01040//
  NAVADMIN 203/09
  MSGID/GENADMIN/CNO WASHINGTON DC/N1/JUL//
  SUBJ/POST 9-11 GI BILL, REAP, AND MGIB-SR TRANSFERABILITY POLICY AND INTERIM PROVISIONS FOR RETIREMENT ELIGIBLE MEMBERS//
  REF/A/DOC/P.L.110.252/30JUN08//
  REF/B/DOC/DOD DTM 09-003/22JUN09//
  NARR/REF A IS PUBLIC LAW 110-252, THE SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT
  OF 2008. TITLE V OF REF A IS THE POST 9-11 VETERANS EDUCATIONAL
  ASSISTANCE ACT OF 2008. REF B IS DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE (DOD) POLICY ON POST 9-11 GI BILL//
  RMKS/1. THIS NAVADMIN EXPLAINS TRANSFERABILITY POLICIES AND THE
  APPLICATION PROCESS. THIS PROCESS IS COMPLICATED AND SERVICEMEMBERS MUST CONSULT WITH THEIR CAREER COUNSELORS TO FULLY UNDERSTAND IT. THIS NAVADMIN IS BROKEN INTO FOUR PARTS: ELIGIBILITY, PROCESS, SERVICE OBLIGATION POLICY, AND REFERENCE INFORMATION.

  PART I – ELIGIBILITY
  1. PER REF A, TRANSFERABILITY UNDER THE POST 9-11 GI BILL IS A
  RECRUITING AND RETENTION TOOL. WHILE AN INDIVIDUAL MAY BE ELIGIBLE FOR EDUCATIONAL BENEFITS PROVIDED BY THE POST 9-11 GI BILL, GENERALLY THE OPTION TO TRANSFER A MEMBER’S UNUSED BENEFITS TO A FAMILY MEMBER (SPOUSE/CHILDREN ENROLLED IN THE DEFENSE ELIGIBILITY ENROLLMENT SYSTEM(DEERS)) REQUIRES AN ADDITIONAL SERVICE COMMITMENT IN THE ARMED FORCES (ACTIVE DUTY AND/OR SELECTED RESERVE (SELRES)).
  2. THE TRANSFERABILITY OPTION MUST BE ELECTED WHILE THE MEMBER IS
  SERVING IN THE ARMED FORCES. ACTIVE MEMBERS WHO SEPARATE, RETIRE,
  TRANSFER TO THE FLEET RESERVE OR WHO ARE DISCHARGED PRIOR TO 1 AUGUST 2009, ARE NOT ELIGIBLE TO ELECT TRANSFERABILITY. SELRES
  MEMBERS WHO TRANSFER TO THE RETIRED RESERVE (WITH OR WITHOUT PAY),
  TRANSFER TO THE INDIVIDUAL READY RESERVE OR WHO ARE DISCHARGED PRIOR TO 1 AUGUST 2009, ARE NOT ELIGIBLE TO ELECT TRANSFERABILITY.
  3. PER REF B, MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES WHO ELECT TO TRANSFER
  BENEFITS:
  A. MUST HAVE SERVED SIX YEARS IN THE ARMED FORCES (ACTIVE AND/OR SELRES) AND AGREE TO SERVE FOUR ADDITIONAL YEARS IN THE ARMED FORCES FROM THE DATE OF ELECTION; OR,
  B. MUST HAVE SERVED AT LEAST TEN YEARS IN THE ARMED FORCES AND IF EITHER NAVY, DOD POLICY OR FEDERAL STATUTE RESTRICTS THE MEMBER FROM COMMITTING TO FOUR ADDITIONAL YEARS, MEMBERS MUST AGREE TO SERVE THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF TIME ALLOWED BY THAT POLICY OR STATUTE; OR,
  C. IS OR BECOMES RETIREMENT ELIGIBLE (COMPLETION OF 20 YEARS OF ACTIVE FEDERAL SERVICE OR 20 QUALIFYING YEARS AS COMPUTED UNDER TITLE 10, U.S.C., SECTION 12732) DURING THE PERIOD OF 1 AUGUST 2009 THROUGH 1 AUGUST 2012, AND AGREES TO SERVE THE ADDITIONAL PERIOD, IF ANY, SPECIFIED BELOW:
  (1) FOR THOSE ELIGIBLE FOR RETIREMENT ON 1 AUGUST 2009, NO
  ADDITIONAL SERVICE IS REQUIRED.
  (2) FOR THOSE WHO HAVE AN APPROVED RETIREMENT DATE AFTER
  1 AUGUST 2009 AND BEFORE 1 JULY 2010, NO ADDITIONAL SERVICE IS REQUIRED.
  (3) FOR THOSE ELIGIBLE FOR RETIREMENT AFTER 1 AUGUST 2009 AND BEFORE 1 AUGUST 2010, ONE YEAR OF ADDITIONAL SERVICE IS REQUIRED.
  (4) FOR THOSE ELIGIBLE FOR RETIREMENT ON OR AFTER 1 AUGUST 2010 AND BEFORE 1 AUGUST 2011, TWO YEARS OF ADDITIONAL SERVICE IS REQUIRED.
  (5) FOR THOSE ELIGIBLE FOR RETIREMENT ON OR AFTER 1 AUGUST 2011 AND BEFORE 1 AUGUST 2012, THREE YEARS OF ADDITIONAL SERVICE IS REQUIRED.
  4. MEMBERS ELIGIBLE FOR RETIREMENT ON OR AFTER 1 AUGUST 2012 WILL
  REQUIRE AN ADDITIONAL FOUR-YEAR SERVICE AGREEMENT. TRANSFERRING AN ENTITLEMENT COULD BE A SIGNIFICANT CONSIDERATION IN A MEMBER’S CAREER PLAN.
  5. FAILURE TO COMPLETE THE SERVICE AGREEMENT AFTER TRANSFERRING
  ENTITLEMENT MAY RESULT IN AN OVERPAYMENT OF EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE AND IS SUBJECT TO COLLECTION BY THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERAN’S AFFAIRS (DVA).
  6. WHILE THE MEMBER IS IN THE ARMED FORCES, NEW DEPENDENTS MAY BE
  ADDED, ENTITLEMENTS CHANGED OR UNUSED ENTITLEMENTS REVOKED. THESE
  CHANGES WILL BE MADE BY THE MEMBER THROUGH THE TRANSFERABILITY OF
  EDUCATIONAL BENEFITS (TEB) WEBSITE (HTTPS://WWW.DMDC.OSD.MIL/TEB).
  AFTER RETIREMENT OR SEPARATION FROM THE ARMED FORCES, THE VETERAN MAY MODIFY OR REVOKE TRANSFERRED ENTITLEMENT FOR EXISTING DESIGNATED DEPENDENTS BY SUBMITTING A REQUEST IN WRITING TO THE DVA.

  PART II – PROCESS TO TRANSFER POST 9-11 GI BILL, RESERVE EDUCATION
  ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (REAP) CHAPTER 1607, AND MONTGOMERY GI BILL-SELECTED RESERVE (MGIB-SR) CHAPTER 1606 ENTITLEMENTS.
  1. ENSURE SPOUSE/CHILD(REN) IS/ARE ENROLLED IN DEERS PRIOR TO MAKING ELECTION TO TRANSFER ENTITLEMENT.
  2. ENSURE ADDITIONAL SERVICE OBLIGATION (OFFICER AND ENLISTED) IS
  PROPERLY DOCUMENTED IN ELECTRONIC SERVICE RECORD (ESR) PRIOR TO
  INITIATING TRANSFERABILITY REQUEST. REFER TO PARAGRAPH 9 FOR SPECIFIC SITUATIONS TO ACHIEVE REQUIRED SERVICE OBLIGATIONS. REQUESTS WILL BE DISAPPROVED FOR MEMBERS WHOSE ESR DOES NOT REFLECT THE REQUIRED ADDITIONAL SERVICE. MEMBERS WHOSE APPLICATIONS ARE DISAPPROVED WILL BE REQUIRED TO REAPPLY FOR TRANSFERABILITY WITH A NEW SERVICE OBLIGATION DATE. IT IS CRITICAL THAT MEMBERS VISIT THEIR COMMAND CAREER COUNSELOR AND COMPLETE SERVICE OBLIGATION DOCUMENTATION AS SOON AS PRACTICAL AND
  BEFORE APPLYING ON-LINE FOR TRANSFERABILITY.
  A. SERVICE MEMBERS WHO DO NOT REQUIRE AN ADDITIONAL SERVICE
  OBLIGATION TO TRANSFER BENEFITS SHOULD GO TO HTTPS://WWW.DMDC.OSD.MIL/TEB TO COMPLETE THE ON-LINE APPLICATION.
  THIS INCLUDES RETIREMENT ELIGIBLE SERVICE MEMBERS (PART I PARAS 3C(1) AND 3C(2) ABOVE) AND SERVICE MEMBERS WITH EXISTING AGREEMENTS THAT WILL COVER THE REQUIRED SERVICE OBLIGATION.
  B. ENLISTED SERVICE MEMBERS WHO REQUIRE ADDITIONAL SERVICE
  OBLIGATION SHOULD CONSULT WITH THEIR CAREER COUNSELOR TO ENSURE THEIR EAOS/EOS IS SUFFICIENT TO MEET THE REQUIRED ADDITIONAL SERVICE OBLIGATION AND/OR DISCUSS OBLIGATED SERVICE OPTIONS.
  3. COMPLETE ELECTRONIC TRANSFER ELECTION USING TEB.
  A. MEMBER MAY BE ELIGIBLE FOR MULTIPLE EDUCATIONAL BENEFIT
  PROGRAMS. BY CHOOSING TRANSFERABILITY UNDER THE POST 9-11 GI BILL, OR REAP, OR MGIB-SR, THE MEMBER IS MAKING AN IRREVOCABLE DECISION TO CONVERT OVER TO THAT EDUCATION BENEFIT PROGRAM.
  B. MEMBER’S DEPENDENTS WILL BE LISTED ON THE APPLICATION, PRE-
  POPULATED FROM DEERS.
  C. AN INDIVIDUAL TRANSFERRING POST 9-11 ENTITLEMENT MUST DESIGNATE THE ELIGIBLE DEPENDENTS(S), THE NUMBER OF MONTHS OF ENTITLEMENT TO BE TRANSFERRED AND SPECIFY THE PERIOD OF USE. THE NUMBER OF MONTHS TRANSFERRED MAY NOT EXCEED THE LESSER OF THE MONTHS OF UNUSED ENTITLEMENT AVAILABLE UNDER THE POST 9-11 GI BILL, 36 MONTHS OR THE NUMBER OF MONTHS SPECIFIED BY DOD.
  D. THE MEMBER CAN ONLY MODIFY THEIR REQUEST ONCE IT HAS BEEN
  APPROVED BY BUPERS-26/COMNAVRESFORCOM (N1C21).
  4. MEMBERS MAY CHECK TEB PERIODICALLY FOR STATUS OF THEIR APPLICATION.
  A. IF REQUEST IS DISAPPROVED, MEMBER MUST TAKE CORRECTIVE ACTION AND REAPPLY. APPROVED APPLICATIONS WILL BE SENT ELECTRONICALLY TO DVA VIA THE DEFENSE MANPOWER DATA CENTER.
  B. REQUESTS THAT HAVE BEEN APPROVED WILL REFLECT A PROJECTED
  OBLIGATION END DATE (POED), NORMALLY FOUR YEARS. REQUESTS FOR THOSE INDIVIDUALS APPROACHING HIGH YEAR TENURE (HYT) WILL REFLECT A FOUR-YEAR POED; HOWEVER, IF UNABLE TO COMPLETE THIS OBLIGATION DUE TO HYT DISCHARGE, MEMBERS WILL BE CONSIDERED TO HAVE COMPLETED THEIR TRANSFERABILITY OBLIGATION.
  5. A COPY OF THE APPROVED TEB APPLICATION AND VA FORM 22-1990E MUST BE COMPLETED BY THE DEPENDENT AND FORWARDED TO THE VA FOR PROCESSING. FORM IS LOCATED ON http://WWW.GIBILL.VA.GOV. THE VA WILL PROVIDE THE DEPENDENT WITH A CERTIFICATE OF ELIGIBILITY WHICH WILL BE TAKEN TO THE ACADEMIC INSTITUTION FOR ENROLLMENT. THE ACADEMIC INSTITUTION WILL COMPLETE ENROLLMENT VERIFICATION AND FORWARD TO THE VA FOR PAYMENT.

  PART III – SERVICE OBLIGATION POLICY
  1. ENLISTED SERVICE MEMBERS WITH LESS THAN 12 MONTHS TO THEIR EAOS/EOS WILL REENLIST PER STANDARD PROCEDURES.
  2. NON-SRB/ESRP ELIGIBLE SERVICE MEMBERS WITH GREATER THAN 12 MONTHS AND LESS THAN 24 MONTHS TO THEIR EAOS/EOS ARE GRANTED AN EXCEPTION TO THE REENLISTMENT POLICY. REENLISTMENTS WILL BE ROUTED THROUGH THE STANDARD PROCESS FOR PAY-GRADE AND ZONE. THIS EXCEPTION TO POLICY EXPIRES 1 JANUARY 2010.
  3. SRB/ESRP-ELIGIBLE SERVICE MEMBERS WITH GREATER THAN 12 MONTHS AND LESS THAN 24 MONTHS TO THEIR EAOS/EOS AND WHO HAVE ALREADY REENLISTED ONCE FOR A BONUS IN THEIR CURRENT ZONE, ARE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR A SHORT TERM EXTENSION TO MEET THE TRANSFERABILITY SERVICE REQUIREMENT TO BE APPROVED BY NAVPERSCOM (PERS-811 FOR ACTIVE/PERS-812 FOR SELRES, FULL-TIME SUPPORT (FTS), AND CANVASSER RECRUITER (CANREC)). SERVICE MEMBERS WHO REQUIRE GREATER THAN 23 MONTHS ADDITIONAL SERVICE MUST SIGN A PAGE 13 STATING THE SERVICE MEMBER AGREES TO REENLIST TO COMPLETE THEIR FULL COMMITMENT FOR TRANSFERABILITY. AN ADDITIONAL SHORT TERM EXTENSION WILL NOT BE APPROVED FOR THE PURPOSE OF MEETING THE TRANSFERABILITY SERVICE REQUIREMENT. ALL SHORT TERM EXTENSION REQUESTS MUST BE RECEIVED BEFORE 1 JANUARY 2010.
  4. SERVICE MEMBERS IN ZONES A, B AND C THAT WILL REQUIRE PERFORM TO SERVE (PTS) APPROVAL PRIOR TO APPLYING FOR REENLISTMENT WILL BE ALLOWED TO SUBMIT EARLY APPLICATION REQUESTS BY UTILIZING THE EARLY APPLY (”STAR”) QUESTION ON THE PTS APPLICATION. THIS EXCEPTION TO POLICY EXPIRES 1 JANUARY 2010.
  5. SERVICE MEMBERS WITH GREATER THAN 24 MONTHS AND LESS THAN 48 MONTHS TO THEIR EAOS/EOS CAN APPLY FOR A SHORT TERM EXTENSION TO BE APPROVED BY NAVPERSCOM (PERS-811 FOR ACTIVE/PERS-812 FOR SELRES, FTS, AND CANREC). SAILORS ARE NOT REQUIRED TO HAVE PTS APPROVAL AS LONG AS THE EXTENSION DOES NOT CAUSE THEM TO CROSS INTO A NEW ZONE. ALL SHORT TERM EXTENSION REQUESTS MUST BE RECEIVED BEFORE 1 JANUARY 2010.
  6. ALL SERVICE MEMBERS MUST BE ELIGIBLE TO REENLIST OR EXTEND TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THESE OPPORTUNITIES. SERVICE MEMBERS SHOULD CAREFULLY CONSIDER ANY REENLISTMENT AND/OR EXTENSION OF OBLIGATED SERVICE WHICH COULD CROSS ZONE BOUNDARIES AND THEREBY REMOVE THEIR ELIGIBILITY TO REENLIST FOR A BONUS. SERVICE MEMBERS ARE HIGHLY ENCOURAGED TO CONSULT WITH THEIR CAREER COUNSELORS AND WEIGH ALL OPTIONS BEFORE MAKING DECISIONS.
  7. ALL OFFICERS, OTHER THAN THOSE IN CATEGORIES LISTED IN PART I PARAS 3C, AND SELRES ENLISTED MEMBERS: THE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER WILL COMPLETE A PAGE 13 IN THE NAVY STANDARD INTEGRATED PERSONNEL SYSTEM (NSIPS) ESR AGREEING TO SERVE THE REQUIRED ADDITIONAL YEARS OF SERVICE. PAGE 13 WILL READ: “I UNDERSTAND BY SIGNING THIS PAGE 13, I AGREE TO COMPLETE FOUR MORE YEARS IN THE ARMED FORCES (ACTIVE OR SELECTED RESERVE) FROM THE DATE I REQUEST TRANSFERABILITY OF POST 9-11, REAP OR MGIB-SR EDUCATION BENEFITS TO MY DEPENDENTS/FAMILY MEMBERS. I UNDERSTAND THAT FAILURE TO COMPLETE THIS FOUR YEAR OBLIGATION MAY LEAD TO AN OVERPAYMENT BY THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERAN’S AFFAIRS THAT MAY BE RECOUPED FOR ANY PAYMENTS MADE TO DEPENDENTS/ FAMILY MEMBERS.” THE PAGE 13 WILL BE SIGNED BY MEMBER, WITNESSED AND DATED.

  PART IV – REFERENCE INFORMATION
  1. USE OF TRANSFERRED ENTITLEMENT BY FAMILY MEMBERS.
  A. SEE DVA’S WEB SITE FOR DETAILED INFORMATION REGARDING USE AND BENEFITS OF TRANSFERRED POST 9-11 ENTITLEMENT.
  B. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS AND A SERVICEMEMBER TRANSFERABILITY PROCESS CHECKLIST ARE AVAILABLE ON NAVY KNOWLEDGE ONLINE (NKO) AND BUPERS WEBSITE. HTTP://WWW.NPC.NAVY.MIL/CAREERINFO/EDUCATION/GIBILL.
  2. POINTS OF CONTACT:
  - ANN HUNTER, OPNAV N153, AT (703) 614-9629/DSN 224, OR EMAIL
  ANN.HUNTER(AT)NAVY.MIL.
  - THE NPC CUSTOMER SERVICE CENTER 1-866-U-ASK-NPC (1-866-827-5672)/DSN
  882-5672.
  3. RELEASED BY VADM MARK FERGUSON, N1.//
  BT
  #0000
  NNNN

  Comment by NCCM(ret) — July 14, 2009 @ 7:02 am

• This is a terrific benefit but it does lack specific guidance relative to HYT cases. It affects my wife’s case. Based upon her planned retirement date, she’d need to OBLISERVE – for an additional two years – which would take her over a year beyond her HYT date.

  There is a nice flow chart that’s been making the rounds and, working through it, the chart drives her her to the box that says “Action. Service member contact CCC to obligate required additional service.” But what if she tries this and is denied (I assume the denial being the likely outcome in most HYT cases)? She was willing but determined ineligible.

  We’re not sure who to talk to about this. She tried the local VA Office (three hour wait) only to be told they don’t handle this program or field this sort of question.

  Comment by Jim Seerden — August 20, 2009 @ 9:09 am

• Jim,
  It sounds like your wife will fall under the same section (number 2 above) of the policy as LCDR Murphy in the comments of this thread. I contacted the VA (was on hold about an hour and understand some of your pain) and the lady who answered was able and ready to answer the specific question as it related to the LCDR, they should be able to do the same for your wife. The right VA number to contact is 1-888-442-4551 and follow the prompts to a human. Good luck and let us know how it works out!

  Comment by NCCM(ret) — August 20, 2009 @ 9:30 am

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