DHS/A 3.13.23
| Tracking # |
FOIA Control Number 23-00415 FA-23-0032 23-00415 |
| Submitted | March 13, 2023 |
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Communications
From: Robert Skvarla, Jr.
To Whom It May Concern:
You are receiving this correspondence as a request under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. subsection 552. I am requesting the following:
Copies of records for award ID W81XWH2211105, granted to Wayne State University for a "TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY AND PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH RESEARCH PROGRAM", first referenced in a story published by Politico on March 9, 2023, titled "The Pentagon is funding experiments on animals to recreate ‘Havana Syndrome’". Wayne State University was awarded the grant on September 15, 2022 through the Department of Defense's Defense Health Program, and is collaborating with researchers at the University of Michigan on the project. This request includes, but is not limited to:
- Requests for Proposals
- Requests for Information
- Memorandum(s) of Understanding
- Letters of Interest
- Privacy Impact Assessments
- Invoices
- Project Budgets and/or Budget Proposals
- Grant Evaluation Reports
- Presentations by Wayne State University and the Department of Defense connected to this grant
I am asking you waive any fees associated with this request. I am a member of the news media and request classification as such. My bylines, which include Creem Magazine, Covert Action Magazine, and Philly Voice, can be found in both print and electronic publications. Please take note of the Office of Management and Budget guidelines published March 27, 1987 (52 FR 10012) that include electronic publications and other nontraditional publishers as representatives of the news media.
In the event that there are fees, I am willing to pay up to $100. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
This request is not being made for commercial purposes. All documents will be provided to the general public without charge.
I look forward to your response within 20 working days, as the statute requires. If access to the records I am requesting will take longer, please contact me with information about when I might expect copies or the ability to inspect the requested records.
If you deny any or all of this request, please cite each specific exemption you feel justifies the refusal to release the information and notify me of the appeal procedures available to me under the law.
Sincerely,
Robert Skvarla, Jr.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on March 13, 2023. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Department of Defense, US Army Medical Department
Good morning,
Attached is an interim response to your Freedom of Information Act request
for records associated with award number W81XWH2211105.
Thank you,
Nicole Schwab
Freedom of Information Act Specialist
US Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity
From: Department of Defense, US Army Medical Department
Mr. Skvarla,
Greetings Sir. The U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence (MEDCoE) is
providing you information on your FOIA request submitted for Contract ID
W81XWH221105, Traumatic Brain Injury and Psychological Health Research
Program records.
The aforementioned records do not fall under the purview of MEDCoE. We
have referred your Request to the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition
Activity (USAMRAA) at Fort Detrick Maryland for direct response to you.
Please see the attached letter which contains information on the referral
and to what address it was forwarded to. Thank you.
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I am currently teleworking and may be reached by email. If the matter is
urgent and can't be solved via email, please provide me your telephone
number and I will contact you directly.
V/r
Glenn W. Field
Records Manager, FOIA/PA/FMO/PCO
MEDCoE, G6 (ATMC-IM)
3630 Stanley Rd, Bldg 2840 Ste 0036
JBSA Fort Sam Houston TX 78234-6100
☎ (210) 221-6754/8156
DSN: 471-6754/8156
From: Department of Defense, US Army Medical Department
The request has been forwarded from one agency to another agency or department for further review or follow up.
From: Department of Defense, US Army Medical Department
Good afternoon,
Attached is the first response record for your FOIA request assigned FOIA
Control Number 23-00415. The remaining responsive records will be provided
on a rolling basis as they are reviewed.
Thank you,
Nicole Schwab
Freedom of Information Act Specialist
US Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity
From: Department of Defense, US Army Medical Department
Good afternoon,
Attached is the second partial response for your FOIA request assigned FOIA
Control Number 23-00415. The remaining response records will be provided
once the release determination is completed.
Thank you,
Nicole Schwab
Freedom of Information Act Specialist
US Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity
From: Department of Defense, US Army Medical Department
Good morning,
Please see attached response to the partial referral of the request
submitted by Robert Skvarla to MuckRuck for the following:
Copies of records for award ID W81XWH2211105, granted to Wayne State
University for a "TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY AND PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH
RESEARCH PROGRAM", first referenced in a story published by Politico on
March 9, 2023, titled "The Pentagon is funding experiments on animals to
recreate
'Havana Syndrome"'. Wayne State University was awarded the grant on
September 15, 2022 through the Department of Defense's Defense Health
Program, and is collaborating with researchers at the University of Michigan
on the project. This request includes, but is not limited to:
- Requests for Proposals
- Requests for Information
- Memorandum(s) of Understanding
- Letters of Interest
- Privacy Impact Assessments
- Invoices
- Project Budgets and/or Budget Proposals
- Grant Evaluation Reports
- Presentations by Wayne State University and the Department of Defense
connected to this grant
Thank you,
Carl Larcom
FOIA/Privacy Officer
U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command
810 Schreider St.
Suite 206
Fort Detrick, MD 21702
<mailto:usarmy.detrick.medcom-usamrmc.mbx.foia@health.mil>
usarmy.detrick.medcom-usamrmc.mbx.foia@health.mil
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image001
From: Robert Skvarla, Jr.
CDR U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command
Attn: Freedom of Information/Privacy Acts Office
810 Schreider Street
Fort Detrick, MD 21702-5000
August 23, 2023
Greetings:
You are receiving this correspondence as a request under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. subsection 552. I am appealing the following decision for FOIA case number FA-23-0032/FP-23-0018994:
BACKGROUND
On March 13, 2023, a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request was filed via MuckRock with the U.S. Army Medical Department asking for copies of records germane to award ID W81XWH2211105.
On June 6, 2023, Glenn W. Field, Records Manager, U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence, responded by stating this request had been forwarded to the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USMRAA). A subsequent communication from Nicole Schwab, Freedom of Information Act Specialist, USMRAA, also dated June 6, 2023, confirmed receipt of the request and stated it had been assigned a FOIA control number of 23-00415.
On June 7, 2023, Nicole Schwab, Freedom of Information Act Specialist, USMRAA, released a copy of a program announcement for the Traumatic Brain Injury and Psychological Health Research Program, and on June 23, 2023, released a copy of a grant voucher for the program.
Finally, on June 12, 2023, Robyn Mack, Communications Director, U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC), responded to a partial referral to the USAMRDC, now assigned a FOIA case number FA-23-0032/FP-23-0018994, notifying me that it had been rejected because the reviewing agency could find no records.
CONTEXT
In my original FOIA request, I referenced a Politico article dated September 15, 2022, titled "The Pentagon is funding experiments on animals to recreate ‘Havana Syndrome’". You will find a copy of this article attached but for clarity's sake, a link can be found here: https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/09/pentagon-funding-experiments-animals-havana-syndrome-00086393
The Politico article identifies award ID W81XWH2211105 as being connected to Department of Defense-funded research that will use live animal subjects in testing and experimentation. The relevant sections of the article state:
"The Army in September awarded Wayne State University in Michigan a $750,000 grant to study the effects of radio frequency waves on ferrets, which have brains similar to humans, according to information on the grant posted on USASpending.gov.
"During the Wayne University study, researchers planned to expose the 48 ferrets to radio frequency waves for two hours a day for 60 days. This is expected to result in 'an exposure profile that is likely comparable to that which our embassy personnel received.' Twenty-four additional ferrets will receive 'sham exposure,' according to the summary.
It is necessary to use an animal like a ferret that has brain structures resembling the 'gyrencephalic nature' of the human brain; mice and rats do not fulfill this criteria, according to the summary. The brain tissue of gyrencephalic animals, like humans, ferrets, pigs and primates, resembles ridges and valleys, compared to smooth surfaces of the brains of lissencephalic animals, such as mice and rats."
Given that these highlighted sections reference tests using live animals, I believe the USAMRDC did not conduct a complete search of records. Had it done so it should have also found, at a minimum, a proposal created by Wayne State researchers and sent to the USAMRDC’s Animal Care and Use Review Office (ACURO), an ACURO-formatted appendix, an institutional animal care and use committee (IACUC) approved protocol, and, potentially, adverse event reports.
Per the USAMRDC ACURO website, these documents are required for all research funded by the Department of Defense. For instance, a section of the website covering protocol submission instructions (https://mrdc.health.mil/index.cfm/collaborate/research_protections/acuro/protocol_submission) states:
“Institutions using United States Department of Defense (DoD) funds to support the use of animals in research, development, testing, and evaluation (RDT&E) or training must adhere to DoD requirements for administrative review and approval by the Animal Care and Use Review Office (ACURO). Below is guidance on protocol and amendment submission.”
APPEAL
Therefore, I am appealing the June 12, 2023 decision by Ms. Mack and, at a minimum, requesting copies of the following records:
- ACURO proposal;
- ACURO appendix;
- IACUC approved protocol;
- Adverse Event Reports.
However, I am also asking the USAMRDC to conduct an additional search for other records germane to award ID W81XWH2211105. It is likely that if the USAMRDC missed these records, it may have also missed others.
I am also renewing my request for a fee waiver. The waiver would help to further public understanding of government-funded research currently underway on the subject of anomalous health incidents, aka Havana Syndrome. This subject has appeared in numerous articles since 2017 such as the one published by Politico on September 15, 2022, making it both a subject of public interest and one that would contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations and activities of government.
Thank you for your prompt response to this appeal. I appreciate the work that the USMRAA and USAMRDC do in processing FOIA requests and disseminating eligible material. As provided in 5 U.S.C. subsection 552(a)(6)(A)(ii), I anticipate that you will produce responsive documents within twenty (20) working days of receipt of this appeal.
Sincerely,
Robert Skvarla, Jr.
From: Department of Defense, US Army Medical Department
Mr. Skvarla,
We have received your appeal to a FOIA request with tracking number
FA-23-0032. We received it on 6 October 2023, and it was post marked 5
September 2023.
Your original request was for the following:
Copies of records for award ID W81XWH2211105, granted to Wayne State
University for a
"TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY AND PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH RESEARCH
PROGRAM", first referenced in a story published by Politico on March 9,
2023, titled "The
Pentagon is funding experiments on animals to recreate 'Havana Syndrome'".
Wayne State
University was awarded the grant on September 15, 2022 through the
Department of Defense's
Defense Health Program, and is collaborating with researchers at the
University of Michigan
on the project. This request includes, but is not limited to:
- Requests for Proposals
- Requests for Information
- Memorandum(s) of Understanding
- Letters of Interest
- Privacy Impact Assessments
- Invoices
- Project Budgets and/or Budget Proposals
- Grant Evaluation Reports
- Presentations by Wayne State University and the Department of Defense
connected to this
Grant
Your request came to us by way of a referral from MEDCoe to USAMRAA to my
office at USAMRDC. Only a portion of the request was sent to our office for
direct response to you as the requester. That portion was specifically in
reference to "Presentations by Wayne State University and the Department of
Defense connected to this Grant." (see Partial Referral Memo From USAMRAA -
attached)
Our response of "No Records" was solely to that portion of the request. This
was outlined in our response letter dated 12 June 2023 and sent to you on 27
June 2023. USAMRAA maintained the remainder of the request since they have
purview of records for awards. We were only responsible to respond to the
portion related to "Presentations by Wayne State University and the
Department of Defense connected to this Grant". (see FA-23-0032 (Skvarla)
Response No Records - attached)
In addition, your original request was for "copies of records for award ID
W81XWH2211105". Your appeal is requesting additional records (i.e. ACURO and
IACUC records) that would not be considered records of a contract award and
would therefore not be considered within the scope of your original request.
Considering the above information, we have made the following
determinations:
1. Your appeal does not refer to any adverse determinations provided by
our response letter referencing the portion of the request that we were
responsible to reply to.
* It does not appear you have appealed our decision making your appeal
unactionable from our office.
2. You will need to submit a new FOIA request for any additional
records from USAMRDC.
There may be a misunderstanding of the terminology used and how it is
interpreted within your description of records. If you would like to give me
a call at the number in my signature block, I'd be more than happy to assist
in getting a request together for exactly what you are seeking. Also, I do
not believe you have received a final response from USAMRAA on the remainder
of your request. They could possibly have more records.
I look forward to hearing from you,
Carl
Thank you,
Carl Larcom
FOIA/Privacy Officer
U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command
810 Schreider St.
Suite 206
Fort Detrick, MD 21702
301-619-6852
<mailto:usarmy.detrick.medcom-usamrmc.mbx.foia@health.mil>
usarmy.detrick.medcom-usamrmc.mbx.foia@health.mil
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image001
From: Department of Defense, US Army Medical Department
Good afternoon,
Attached is the final response to your FOIA request assigned FOIA Control
Number 23-00415.
Thank you,
Nicole Schwab
Freedom of Information Act Specialist
US Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity
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