Ft. Carson MEDDAC Malaria Drug Prophylaxis Purchases and Inventory

To Whom It May Concern:

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:

Any and all available purchase or acquisition records since September 1, 2014, and the most recently available inventory records, from the Ft. Carson Army Medical Activity (MEDDAC) pharmacy to include any satellite pharmacies, listing quantities of atovaquone-proguanil (Malarone), mefloquine, and doxycycline purchased or on hand, to specifically include any purchases or acquisitions made in anticipation of dispensing to personnel of the 615th Engineer Company and the 52nd Engineer Battalion deploying to Africa as part of Operation United Assistance or any other U.S. military missions in response to the 2014 west African Ebola outbreak.

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

In the event that fees cannot be waived, 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,

Remington Nevin

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Oct. 6, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

CDR USAMEDCOM
ATTN: FOIA/PA Office
2748 Worth Road, STE 21
JBSA Fort Sam Houston, TX 78234-6021

Re: Appeal of constructive denial of FOIA request dated October 6, 2014, subject: “Ft. Carson MEDDAC Malaria Drug Prophylaxis Purchases and Inventory”

This is an appeal under the Freedom of Information Act. I am writing to appeal the constructive denial of a request properly made to the Ft. Carson Evans Army Community Hospital on October 6, 2014 and formally unacknowledged as of this date.

The Freedom of Information Act provides an agency no more than thirty days to respond to a request . When an agency fails to respond within that statutory timeline, it has constructively denied the request. (See Oglesby v. U.S. Dep't of Army, 920 F.2d 57, 65 (D.C. Cir. 1990) (“Congress adopted the time limit provision in the FOIA in order to ‘contribute to the fuller and faster release of information, which is the basic objective of the Act.’” (quoting H.R. Rep. No. 93-876, 93d Cong., 2d Sess., reprinted (1974) U.S. Code Cong. & Ad. News 6267 at 6271))).

As may be confirmed at the public website MuckRock (https://www.muckrock.com/foi/united-states-of-america-10/ft-carson-meddac-malaria-drug-prophylaxis-purchases-and-inventory-13729/), a FOIA request for “[a]ny and all available purchase or acquisition records since September 1, 2014, and the most recently available inventory records, from the Ft. Carson Army Medical Activity (MEDDAC) pharmacy to include any satellite pharmacies, listing quantities of atovaquone-proguanil (Malarone), mefloquine, and doxycycline purchased or on hand, to specifically include any purchases or acquisitions made in anticipation of dispensing to personnel of the 615th Engineer Company and the 52nd Engineer Battalion deploying to Africa as part of Operation United Assistance or any other U.S. military missions in response to the 2014 west African Ebola outbreak.”) was submitted the FOIA representative at the Ft. Carson Evans Army Community Hospital at the following address on October 6, 2014:

CDR, USAMEDDAC
ATTN: MCXE-HIPAA
1650 Cochrane Circle, RM 2518
Fort Carson, CO 80913
Email: Edward.Avant@amedd.army.mil

A follow-up message requesting acknowledgement was sent November 20, 2014, but despite this, no acknowledgement or replies have been forthcoming.

As your agency has not met the statutory time requirement in responding to my request, the provisions of section 6 of the OPEN Government Act of 2007, Pub. L. No. 110-175, 121 Stat. 2524, shall apply, including the provision that "[a]n agency shall not assess search fees (or in the case of a requester described under clause (ii)(II) [of 5 USC § 552 (a)(4)(A) as described above], duplication fees) . . . if the agency fails to comply with any time limit… if no unusual or exceptional circumstances… apply to the processing of the request."

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation with this matter. I look forward to receiving a response to my original request no later than January 15, 2015.

Sincerely,

Remington Nevin

CDR USAMEDCOM
ATTN: FOIA/PA Office
2748 Worth Road, STE 21
JBSA Fort Sam Houston, TX 78234-6021

Re: Appeal of constructive denial of FOIA request dated October 6, 2014, subject: “Ft. Carson MEDDAC Malaria Drug Prophylaxis Purchases and Inventory”

As may be confirmed at the public website MuckRock (https://www.muckrock.com/foi/united-states-of-america-10/ft-carson-meddac-malaria-drug-prophylaxis-purchases-and-inventory-13729/), a FOIA request for “[a]ny and all available purchase or acquisition records since September 1, 2014, and the most recently available inventory records, from the Ft. Carson Army Medical Activity (MEDDAC) pharmacy to include any satellite pharmacies, listing quantities of atovaquone-proguanil (Malarone), mefloquine, and doxycycline purchased or on hand, to specifically include any purchases or acquisitions made in anticipation of dispensing to personnel of the 615th Engineer Company and the 52nd Engineer Battalion deploying to Africa as part of Operation United Assistance or any other U.S. military missions in response to the 2014 west African Ebola outbreak.”) was submitted the FOIA representative at the Ft. Carson Evans Army Community Hospital at the following address on October 6, 2014:

CDR, USAMEDDAC
ATTN: MCXE-HIPAA
1650 Cochrane Circle, RM 2518
Fort Carson, CO 80913
Email: Edward.Avant@amedd.army.mil

A follow-up message requesting acknowledgement was sent to the Ft. Carson MEDDAC November 20, 2014, but despite this, no acknowledgement or replies have been forthcoming.

On the basis of constructive denial of this request, I submitted an appeal under the Freedom of Information Act to your office on December 16, 2014. As of the present date, this appeal has also not been acknowledged.

Please acknowledge receipt of my appeal dated December 16, 2014, and kindly provide me with an estimate of the time necessary for your office to adjudicate this matter. I would appreciate a response no later than April 4, 2015.

Sincerely,

Dr. Remington Nevin

CDR USAMEDCOM
ATTN: FOIA/PA Office
2748 Worth Road, STE 21
JBSA Fort Sam Houston, TX 78234-6021

Re: Appeal of constructive denial of FOIA request dated October 6, 2014, subject: “Ft. Carson MEDDAC Malaria Drug Prophylaxis Purchases and Inventory”

As may be confirmed at the public website MuckRock (https://www.muckrock.com/foi/united-states-of-america-10/ft-carson-meddac-malaria-drug-prophylaxis-purchases-and-inventory-13729/), a FOIA request for “[a]ny and all available purchase or acquisition records since September 1, 2014, and the most recently available inventory records, from the Ft. Carson Army Medical Activity (MEDDAC) pharmacy to include any satellite pharmacies, listing quantities of atovaquone-proguanil (Malarone), mefloquine, and doxycycline purchased or on hand, to specifically include any purchases or acquisitions made in anticipation of dispensing to personnel of the 615th Engineer Company and the 52nd Engineer Battalion deploying to Africa as part of Operation United Assistance or any other U.S. military missions in response to the 2014 west African Ebola outbreak.”) was submitted the FOIA representative at the Ft. Carson Evans Army Community Hospital at the following address on October 6, 2014:

CDR, USAMEDDAC
ATTN: MCXE-HIPAA
1650 Cochrane Circle, RM 2518
Fort Carson, CO 80913
Email: Edward.Avant@amedd.army.mil

A follow-up message requesting acknowledgement was sent to the Ft. Carson MEDDAC November 20, 2014, but despite this, no acknowledgement or replies have been forthcoming.

On the basis of constructive denial of this request, I submitted an appeal under the Freedom of Information Act to your office on December 16, 2014. As of the present date, this appeal has also not been acknowledged.

Please acknowledge receipt of my appeal dated December 16, 2014, and kindly provide me with an estimate of the time necessary for your office to adjudicate this matter. I would appreciate a response no later than May 6, 2015.

Sincerely,

Dr. Remington Nevin

CDR USAMEDCOM
ATTN: FOIA/PA Office
2748 Worth Road, STE 21
JBSA Fort Sam Houston, TX 78234-6021

Re: Appeal of constructive denial of FOIA request dated October 6, 2014, subject: “Ft. Carson MEDDAC Malaria Drug Prophylaxis Purchases and Inventory”

As may be confirmed at the public website MuckRock (https://www.muckrock.com/foi/united-states-of-america-10/ft-carson-meddac-malaria-drug-prophylaxis-purchases-and-inventory-13729/), a FOIA request for “[a]ny and all available purchase or acquisition records since September 1, 2014, and the most recently available inventory records, from the Ft. Carson Army Medical Activity (MEDDAC) pharmacy to include any satellite pharmacies, listing quantities of atovaquone-proguanil (Malarone), mefloquine, and doxycycline purchased or on hand, to specifically include any purchases or acquisitions made in anticipation of dispensing to personnel of the 615th Engineer Company and the 52nd Engineer Battalion deploying to Africa as part of Operation United Assistance or any other U.S. military missions in response to the 2014 west African Ebola outbreak.”) was submitted the FOIA representative at the Ft. Carson Evans Army Community Hospital at the following address on October 6, 2014:

CDR, USAMEDDAC
ATTN: MCXE-HIPAA
1650 Cochrane Circle, RM 2518
Fort Carson, CO 80913
Email: Edward.Avant@amedd.army.mil

A follow-up message requesting acknowledgement was sent to the Ft. Carson MEDDAC November 20, 2014, but despite this, no acknowledgement or replies have been forthcoming.

On the basis of constructive denial of this request, I submitted an appeal under the Freedom of Information Act to your office on December 16, 2014, and again on March 6, 2015, and April 6, 2015. As of the present date, these appeals have also not been acknowledged.

Please acknowledge receipt of my appeal dated December 16, 2014, and kindly provide me with an estimate of the time necessary for your office to adjudicate this matter.

Sincerely,

Dr. Remington Nevin