Web site opens for Post-9/11 GI bill Published June 26, 2009 By Donna Miles American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- It's official. The Defense Department signed off June 22 on policies and procedures servicemembers will use to transfer their unused Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to their spouses or children, a Pentagon official said June 23. Eligible servicemembers will be able to register their immediate family members to receive those benefits when a new Defense Department Web site goes live June 29, according to Bob Clark, the Pentagon's assistant director for accessions policy. Defense officials are asking those whose families won't use the benefits for the upcoming fall semester to hold off registering until mid-July so applicants who need immediate attention get processed first. The Post-9/11 GI Bill takes effect Aug. 1, offering a two-fold benefit, Mr. Clark said. It gives the military a tool to help encourage recruiting and retention, while allowing career servicemembers the first opportunity, "to share the benefits they've earned with those they love," he said. The transferability provision -- which Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates pushed after first hearing the idea from a military spouse group at Fort Hood, Texas -- has generated a lot of excitement. "We have had an overwhelming response and do expect quite a few of our members to take advantage of this," Mr. Clark said. To prepare for the anticipated response in the run-up to the Aug. 1 effective date, the department will launched a secure Web site next week so servicemembers can register any immediate family members to receive their unused benefits, Mr. Clark said. "What we are doing is queuing up requests and approvals for the many family members that we expect to be going to school this fall" with hopes of using their spouse's or parent's Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits, he said. The new Post-9/11 GI Bill web site, https://www.dmdc.osd .mil/TEB/, will be accessible using a common access card, Defense Department self-service user identification or a Defense Finance and Accounting Service personal identification number. Eligible servicemembers can register the names of any immediate family member they would like to share their benefits with, even designating how many months of benefits each person named can receive, Mr. Clark explained. The servicemember's 36 months of benefits -- the equivalent of four nine-month academic years -- can be transferred to a spouse, one or more children or any combination, he said. The family member must be enrolled in the Defense Eligibility Enrollment Reporting System to receive the benefits. Servicemembers also have the option to use some benefits themselves and transfer what they haven't used to one or more family members. For more details on the new GI bill, see next week's issue of the Tinker Take Off.