Twitter
Facebook
HEIDELBERG, Germany — It takes more than just logging onto a Web site for U.S. Army Europe Soldiers to transfer their Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefits to a family member.
Signing up is the first step. The second is letting a career counselor know about it, say USAREUR retention officials.
Soldiers can start the transfer process by logging into the Department of Defense Transferability of Education Benefits Web page and filling out the transfer form. Soldiers will need to log in with a DOD Common Access Card or Defense Finance and Accounting Service “myPay” PIN number.
Family members listed under the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System are eligible to receive education benefits under the program.
The next step is even easier, said Sgt. Maj. David Best, USAREUR senior career counselor.
“The first thing the Soldier has to do after transferring his or her benefits in the TEB Web site is to contact their career counselor,” he said. “We are the certifying officials for all enlisted Soldiers in Europe.”
The career counselor verifies that the Soldier meets the eligibility standards required by the GI Bill program.
The basic requirement is that the Soldier must have at least six years of military service and not be subject to any adverse personnel actions, said Sgt. 1st Class James Hatfield, USAREUR retention operations NCO.
Most requests are easy for counselors to certify, because most of the Soldiers requesting to transfer benefits have enough time remaining to their enlistments and are in good standing, Sergeant Major Best said.
However, some Soldiers may need to reenlist or extend to be eligible to transfer benefits.
If Soldiers do not get in touch with a career counselor to make arrangements to reenlist or extend, their requests will be rejected and they must reapply after re-enlisting or extending, he said.
The Army goal is to take about three business days to complete a transfer, Sergeant Major Best said.
“Our goal in USAREUR is one business day,” he said.
Since Aug. 1 – the day the transfer program became active – more than 400 USAREUR Soldiers have logged onto the TEB site and signed their family members up for education benefits, he said.
“This is one of the No. 1 requested benefits that has come out of the Army Family Action Plan,” Sergeant Major Best said. “It is a benefit that Soldiers and family members have requested over the years, and they are taking advantage of it.
“It has been wildly popular,” he said. “Soldiers and family members are very interested in it.”
Sergeant Major Best stressed that career counselors are not education counselors, and do not dispense education advice, but said career counselors will help Soldiers who need assistance with the application process.
Once a career counselor certifies a request, the Soldier’s family member should apply to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Soldiers with questions about their Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits, eligibility to transfer those benefits and other questions can contact their servicing career counselor, local education services office, or visit the VA Web site at www.gibill.va.gov.
The DOD Transferability of Education Benefits Web page is available at www.dmdc.osd.mil/TEB/.
General polices for TEB are available at www.defenselink.mil/home/features/2009/0409_gibill/.
