Army Futures Command FOIA Program

Dear FOIA Officer:

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request any records which:

1) Appoint a FOIA Initial Denial Authority (IDA) for records maintained by Army Futures Command and its subordinate units,
2) Appoint a named individual as the FOIA Officer for Army Futures Command headquarters, and
3) Indicate the mailing address, email address, telephone number, and fax number of the FOIA Requester Service Center which supports Army Futures Command.

This request is not being made for commercial purposes, and I am willing to pay fees of up to $25.00. I would prefer the request be filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not. Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter.

Sincerely,

T.J. Kenney

Dear FOIA Officer,
Thank you for the opportunity to explain why I believe your section (OAA-CALS) within the Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army (OAASA) is the correct FOIA Requester Service Center for the four requests I made yesterday.

Per AR 25-55, "The following officials are designated IDAs for the areas of responsibility outlined below: ... The Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army is authorized to act for the Secretary of the Army on requests for all records maintained by the Office of the Secretary of the Army and its serviced activities, except those specified in (2) through (6) below, as well as requests requiring the personal attention of the Secretary of the Army." (¶ 5-200.d.(1)) None of my requests meet the subject matter requirements of subsections (2) through (6), as explained below.

Since FOIA Initial Denial Authorities are appointed by the DOD Component Head (AR 25-55 ¶ 1-404.), the responsive records to this request about Futures Command IDA appointment and related records would be properly maintained in the Office of the Secretary of the Army (OSA) and its serviced activities under OAASA's IDA.

As for my request on Futures Command stationing actions, AR 5-10 states, "The DCS, G–3/5/7 will— ... Approve stationing packages in accordance with table 3–1." (¶ 1-6.h.(3)). Since the G–3/5/7 office is an "Army Staff element" (DAGO 2005-03), responsive records to that request would again be properly maintained in OSA and its serviced activities under OAASA's IDA.

As for my two requests for Army publications (one DA General Order and several DA Principal Official Guidance issuances, respectively), "Copies of publications requested under the Freedom of Information Act (5 USC 552, as amended),... will be processed according to AR 25–55." (AR 25-30 ¶ 4-8.j.) Since the Army Publishing Directorate is a subordinate activity of OAASA (AR 25-30 ¶ 1-13.b.(4)j.), copies of these publications would be processed through your Requester Service Center. While The Inspector General (TIG) was signator on some of these issuances, that does not make the issuances "IG records" under AR 20-1 ¶ 3-1.c., as they are clearly not "IG work-product created during the course of an IG assistance inquiry, inspection, investigative inquiry, or investigation." Rather, they are guidance documents distributed within DA.

Thank you for your attention in this matter. If you still believe any of these requests are misdirected, please re-route them in accordance with 32 C.F.R. §286.7(c) (2018).

Sincerely,
T.J. Kenney

Thanks for the assistance. As a reminder, please provide written acknowledgements with individualized tracking numbers and estimated dates of completion in accordance with 32 C.F.R. §286.9 (2018).