Army research on Confederate base names

To Whom It May Concern:

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

A copy of the research report conducted in 2017 by the Army Center for Military History on the naming of U.S. Army installations. People familiar with this research may include Col. Greg Baker, commander of CMH, chief historian Jon T. Hoffman, and/or CMH executive director Charles Bowery Jr. Furthermore, my understanding is that at least some of the research was conducted and/or overseen by Wayne Lee and Nathan Rosenstein, professors at The University of North Carolina and Ohio State University, respectively.

Additionally, I understand this research was apparently conducted, at least in part, under contracts for graduate research assistants, with the following contract notice IDs: W56HZV-17-P-L529, W56HZV-17-P-L530, W56HZV-17-P-L531, and W56HZV-17-P-L532.

I request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be processed by a representative of the news media from Task & Purpose and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage. I also request expedited processing. The records I am requesting are urgently needed by a member of the press to inform the public about actual or perceived government activity — namely, official military studies and related documents concerning the naming of Army installations amid a highly-publicized debate over the 10 bases named for Confederate officers. In addition to this debate including a large number of American citizens, the Army Secretary, Defense Secretary, and even the President of the United States have publicly commented on this matter in recent weeks. The news value of these records will be lost without expedited processing.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter.

I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Paul Szoldra, Task & Purpose

To Whom It May Concern:

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

A copy of the research report conducted in 2017 by the Army Center for Military History on the naming of U.S. Army installations. People familiar with this research may include Col. Greg Baker, commander of CMH, chief historian Jon T. Hoffman, and/or CMH executive director Charles Bowery Jr. Furthermore, my understanding is that at least some of the research was conducted and/or overseen by Wayne Lee and Nathan Rosenstein, professors at The University of North Carolina and Ohio State University, respectively.

Additionally, I understand this research was apparently conducted, at least in part, under contracts for graduate research assistants, with the following contract notice IDs: W56HZV-17-P-L529, W56HZV-17-P-L530, W56HZV-17-P-L531, and W56HZV-17-P-L532.

I request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be processed by a representative of the news media from Task & Purpose and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage. I also request expedited processing. The records I am requesting are urgently needed by a member of the press to inform the public about actual or perceived government activity — namely, official military studies and related documents concerning the naming of Army installations amid a highly-publicized debate over the 10 bases named for Confederate officers. In addition to this debate including a large number of American citizens, the Army Secretary, Defense Secretary, and even the President of the United States have publicly commented on this matter in recent weeks. The news value of these records will be lost without expedited processing.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter.

I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Paul Szoldra, Task & Purpose

Hi,

Received.

Thanks so much for your help with this request! I really appreciate it.

Sincerely,
Paul Szoldra, Task & Purpose