DOD Freedom Of Information Military Records How to Access

Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 9:10 pm

http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/ Exclamation

The Defense Freedom of Information Policy Office (DFOIPO) has a new website which is currently under construction. This web site will be the future listing of all policy issues concerning the Department of Defense FOIA program. ***

Department of Defense Freedom Of Information Act Executive Order 13392 Improvement Plan
# Modification #1 to DoD FOIA Improvement Plan for EO 13392, November 2, 2006

If you wish to make a Freedom of Information Act request for records maintained by the Office of the Secretary of Defense/Joint Staff, please go to the Electronic FOIA Request section and follow the procedures for making an electronic request.

FOIA requesters who have any questions concerning the processing of their requests within the Office of the Secretary of Defense or Joint Staff should contact this center at 703-696-4689. If you are not satisfied with the response from the center, you may contact the FOIA Liaison Officer, Mr. Jim Hogan, at 703-696-4703 or foia.liaison@whs.mil.
10 February 2006 Memo on DoD Implementation of EO 13392

Establishment of FOIA Chief Public Liaison and FOIA Requester Service Centers for Office of the Secretary of Defense/Joint Staff, Combatant Commands, and Defense Field Activities

FOIA Web Policy

DoD Designates Agency Chief FOIA Officer in accordance with the provisions of EO 13392
# Executive Order 13392
# Agency Chief FOIA Officer Memorandum Implementing EO 13392
# DoD EO 13392 Briefing

DoD Personnel Service Records are maintained at the NARA's National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri.

Access to the Joint Advertising and Market Research Recruiting Database. Any student can make a Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Acts Request for information contained within the database on him or herself. Parents can make the request only on behalf of minor children. To ensure accuracy and to protect the privacy of others, please provide a full name, social security number, date of birth, and home address. Requesters should also be sure to specifically state that they are seeking records from the Joint Advertising and Market Research Recruiting Database.
In order to view .pdf icon files, you will need the latest version of Adobe® Acrobat® Reader. You can download it here at the Adobe® web site.

* .pdf icon Department of Defense (DoD) Freedom of Information Act Handbook (1.6 MB). This document provides basic information about the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Program within the Department of Defense (DoD).

* .pdf icon Department of Defense (DoD) Freedom of Information Act Program Regulation, DoD 5400.7-R, September 1998. This document provides guidance regarding administration of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Program within the DoD. Go here for the ASCII (Text Only) version. NOTE: Effective 7/1/2002, fees for FOIA requests are changing. Please refer to the Department of Defense FOIA Guidance page.

* .pdf icon Department of Defense FOIA Guidance (html index of PDF files), Memorandums and guidance concerning implementing the FOIA within the DoD.

Annual Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Program Reports:
.pdf icon Fiscal Year 2005 Report
.pdf icon Fiscal Year 2004 Report
.pdf icon Fiscal Year 2003 Report
.pdf icon Fiscal Year 2002 Report
.pdf icon Fiscal Year 2001 Report
.pdf icon Fiscal Year 2000 Report
.pdf icon Fiscal Year 1999 Report
Fiscal Year 1998 Report
Calendar Year 1997 Report
Calendar Year 1996 Report

* Master OFOI Reading Room. All documents are maintained in Adobe and may contain redactions. In some cases, documents have been reviewed at the appellate level or released as a result of litigation. In other cases, unredacted copies of the reading room documents are no longer available in OFOI. As such, a separate FOIA request will be required for any redacted portions.

* Documents on the TALON System

* Documents concerning the service of President George W. Bush in the Texas Air National Guard. Information within these documents has been redacted to protect the privacy of individuals, 5 USC § 552(b)(6).

* Videos of American Flight 77 striking the Pentagon on September 11, 2001
Video 1 (WMV)
Video 2 (WMV)

* Detainee Related Documents
o Office for the Administrative Review of the Detention of Enemy Combatants (OARDEC) document
o Other Detainee Related Documents
+ Documents released in litigation on June 15, 2006 ( Formica report, Jacoby report, etc.)
+ Documents released in litigation on June 27, 2006 (USMC inquiries, command investigations, AR 15-6 investigations, disciplinary actions, Reports of Board of Inquiry)
+ Documents released in litigation on June 29, 2006 (Church Report, Formica Report Annexes, Schmidt-Furlow Report deferred pages, and other documents)

o Combatant Status Review Tribunal (CSRT) and Administrative Review Board (ARB) documents concerning detainees held by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Information has been redacted from these documents which identify U.S. personnel under 5 U.S.C. 552 (b)(1),(b)(3) and (b)(6). Document release dates: March 3, 2006, April 3, 2006 and April 19, 2006.

o List of Detainees who went through the complete Combatant Status Review Tribunal (CSRT) process. Document release date: April 19, 2006

o List of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, from January 2002 through May 12, 2006. Document release date: May 15, 2006

* .pdf icon Office of the Secretary of Defense/Joint Staff Electronic Reading Room. The Freedom of Information Act, FOIA [5 USC 552(a)(2)(D)], requires that certain documents of interest to the general public be published electronically. The Office of Freedom of Information and Security Review is making these documents available to the general public in electronic form.

* Doing business with the DoD
Select this link if you are interested in information about seeking or receiving business contracts with the DoD.

* Service Records
Service records on former DoD civilians and military members are NOT maintained by the DoD. They are maintained by NARA's National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri.

* Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) - Verification of Military Service

* DoD Security Background Investigation
If you have had a security clearance granted by the DoD and are requesting any information from the investigation, then you should send a request to the Defense Security Service.

* Electronic FOIA Request
This is for making an electronic Freedom of Information Act request to the Office of Freedom of Information & Security Review. Please fill out all mandatory fields to include indicating a maximum dollar amount you are willing to pay for potentially assessable fees. For more information on making your FOIA request, please see the Department of Defense (DoD) Freedom of Information Act Handbook PDF file.

* Links to Some Other DoD Component FOIA Electronic Reading Rooms:

Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA)
Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA)
Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS)
Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA)
Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)
Defense Logistics Agency (DLA)
Defense Security Service (DSS)
Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA)
Office of the Inspector General (DoD IG) National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA)
National Reconnaissance Office (NRO)
National Security Agency (NSA)
Army
Navy
Air Force
Marine Corps
Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA)

* For Electronic Reading Room copies of final opinions, adjudications, statements of policy, and administrative staff manuals, go to Washington Headquarters Services (WHS). Click on "FOIA A2 FILES" under "DoD Issuances".

http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/ Exclamation

LAWMAN CONFIDENTIAL

Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2008 2:57 pm

Great info! I would like to add some additional info. based on my experience. Although my husband was Army, he was attached to an AF Base. When making my FOIA Request for the Report of Investigation re: his death, I initially filled out an Army FOIA Request. However, since he was attached to an AF Base, I had to make the request through AF FOIA. (you can find the correct form by going to the Army, AF, ect. site or the base site and search for FOIA.) To make things more confusing, even Though the AF base conducted the investigation, I could not make a FOIA request at that base. The report was actually sent to a FOIA Office in MD.
A few things to remember:
*If there is an investigation into a service members death, family members INCLUDING the spouse, have to fill out a FOIA request, they are not automatically given the report.
*FOIA Requests run on a "first come first serve basis
If you do not receive a letter from the FOIA Office which gives you a case number, follow up, more than likely, it has been lost. Should that happen you can google for the FOIA request log, example: AF FOIA Request log, DoD FOIA Request log. Once you open the excel spreadsheet, you can use the "find" option to search your name.
*ETA for report once request has been received? I have been waiting for mine since October 2005, I still don't have it. Not to say ALL requests take that long.
*You have to update your FOIA Request every 90 days.