Citation Nr: 21026453
Decision Date: 05/03/21	Archive Date: 05/03/21

DOCKET NO. 16-04 535
DATE:  May 3, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to an extension of the delimiting date for education benefits under Chapter 30, Title 38, United States Code (Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB)) beyond February 14, 2012, is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from March 21, 1995, to February 13, 2002.

This matter arises from an August 2015 determination of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ). This matter was previously before the Board in January 2019 and December 2019, at which times the case was remanded for additional development. In May 2020, the Board denied the claim. The appellant appealed the Board's decision to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC or the Court) and in a December 2020 Order, the Court granted the parties' Joint Motion for Remand (JMR) vacating the Board's May 2020 decision and remanding the matter back to the Board. The matter is once again before the Board. 

The basis of the Board's denial of the appeal in May 2020 is that the appellant did not file a timely extension of the delimiting date for education benefits under Chapter 30. However, in the JMR, the parties noted that the theory of adjudication regarding whether the appellant's reserve service entitled him to a later ending date was separate from the issue of extension and had been placed at issue by the Board in the December 2019 remand. The parties went on to find that VA did not substantially comply with the Board's December 2019 remand directives to ensure that the Veteran's complete service personnel records were on file and to clarify whether any of his reserve service constitutes qualifying service in the Selected Reserve for Chapter 30 purposes. Accordingly, this case must be remanded for substantial compliance with these remand directives. See Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998). 

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1. Obtain the Veteran's complete service personnel records, to include all documentation pertaining to his service in the Army Reserve and Coast Guard Reserve.

2. Ask the Department of Defense to verify whether the Veteran had any period(s) of service in the Army Reserve and/or Coast Guard Reserve that would qualify as service in the Selected Reserve for purposes of entitlement to educational assistance benefits under Chapter 30 of Title 38 of the United States Code (Montgomery GI Bill).

3. After completing the above, and any other development as may be indicated by any response received as a consequence of the actions taken in the preceding paragraphs, the Veteran's claim should be readjudicated based on the entirety of the evidence, to include whether the Veteran's reserve service entitled him to a later ending date, separate from the issue of extension under the provisions of 38 C.F.R. §§ 21.7050(a)(1)(iii, 21.7042). If the benefit sought remains denied, the Veteran and his representative should be issued a supplemental statement of the case. An appropriate period of time should be allowed for response

 

 

Kristin Haddock

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	Shawkey, Anne M.

The Board's decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.