IG investigation of 3/3 command team

This message is to confirm your request submission to the FOIAonline application: View Request. Request information is as follows: (https://foiaonline.gov/foiaonline/action/public/submissionDetails?trackingNumber=DON-USMC-2022-006704&type=request)

* Tracking Number: DON-USMC-2022-006704
* Requester Name:
Paul Szoldra
* Date Submitted: 04/06/2022
* Request Status: Submitted
* Description:
To Whom It May Concern:

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

A copy of the report of investigation of the command team of 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines that was prompted by anonymous Inspector General complaints. For the analyst's context and understanding, more information can be found here: https://taskandpurpose.com/news/3rd-battalion-3rd-marine-regiment-commander-sgt-maj-fired/

I am preemptively waiving any objection to the redaction of the names of any U.S. Government officials below a GS-14 position or whom otherwise were not acting in a supervisory position. I similarly waive any objection to redactions of the names of any U.S. Government contractors in a position of authority similar to that of a GS-13 series civilian employee or below.

In terms of all other third parties who work or worked for the U.S. Government and whose names appear in records responsive to this request, I respectfully submit that the privacy interests of those individuals have been diminished by virtue of their involvement in one or more of the U.S. Government functions described above as falling within the scope of this request. There is a recognized inverse relationship between the position of authority that a government employee holds and the strength of that employee’s privacy interests. See Stern v. FBI, 737 F.2d 84, 92 (D.C. Cir. 1984); Jefferson v. Dep’t of Justice, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26782, *11 (D.D.C. Nov. 14, 2003); see also Perlman v. Dep’t of Justice, 312 F.3d 100, 107-109 (2d. Cir. 2002)(setting forth five factors to consider in weighing government employee’s privacy interests against public interest in disclosure, including employee’s rank and whether information sheds light on a government activity).

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

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

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Good Morning Mr. Szoldra,

This is to acknowledge the receipt of your request and to let you know that we have forwarded it to MARFORPAC.  If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to James O'Donnell ( james.odonnell@usmc.mil) or (808) 477-8503. (mailto:james.odonnell@usmc.mil)

Sincerely,
HQMC FOIA TEAM

Good Morning Mr. Szoldra,

This is to acknowledge the receipt of your request and to let you know that
we have forwarded it to MARFORPAC. If you have any questions please feel
free to reach out to James O'Donnell (james.odonnell@usmc.mil) or (808)
477-8503.

Sincerely,
HQMC FOIA TEAM

Commandant of the Marine Corps (ARSF)
Headquarters US Marine Corps
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Please see the attached letter.

Mr. Szoldra,

I am reaching out to confirm that our office is in receipt of your FOIA
request seeking:
A copy of the report of investigation of the command team of 3rd Battalion,
3rd Marines that was prompted by anonymous Inspector General complaints.

Please feel free to reach out if any questions or issues!

Very Respectfully,

Graham E. Hilts
Captain, U.S. Marine Corps
Office of the Staff Judge Advocate
3d Marine Division, FMF
DSN: 315-622-9039
Cell: 090-1949-9837
WhatsApp: 702-329-0038
OSJA SharePoint page:
https://iiimef.usmc.mil/gce/3mardiv/staff/sja/Pages/default.aspx

Thanks, Graham. Please give me a call if you have any questions!

Respectfully,

Paul Szoldra
Editor-in-Chief of Task & Purpose <https://www.taskandpurpose.com/>

Task & Purpose is part of Recurrent <http://recurrent.io/>

*Email*: paul@taskandpurpose.com
*Secure Email*: paulszoldra@protonmail.com
*Office*: 347-867-8859
*Mobile/Signal/WhatsApp*: 949-903-2913
*Twitter*: @paulszoldra <https://www.twitter.com/paulszoldra>

Mr. Szoldra,

Please find attached our office's initial response to FOIA Request
DON-USMC-2022-006704.

For your awareness, we have encountered some technical difficulties with the
electronic signatures in some of the enclosures and are still working through
redactions to those enclosures.

That said, I wanted to get you what I could. Included in the attached document
is the SJA's initial response. The enclosure includes the 27 page command
investigation into the V33 command team that was prompted by an anonymous IG
complaint.

Again, we are still working on redactions to the report's enclosures and will
send those over as soon as they are completed.

Thanks and please let us know if questions!

Very Respectfully,

Graham E. Hilts
Captain, U.S. Marine Corps
Office of the Staff Judge Advocate
3d Marine Division, FMF
DSN: 315-622-9039
Cell: 090-1949-9837
WhatsApp: 702-329-0038
OSJA SharePoint page:
https://iiimef.usmc.mil/gce/3mardiv/staff/sja/Pages/default.aspx

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The sender has left you a note:

We have received your request that you submitted on FOIA Online for all the "A copy of the report of investigation of the command team of 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines that was prompted by anonymous Inspector General complaints.” This is the complete redacted investigation.

Full information about the drop-off:

Claim ID: ohVCuPsKDyrhG68C
Recipient Code: G727Ff
Claim Passcode: rpyQEmZWwpU3A7as
Drop-off Submitted: 2022-05-13 07:42:23 UTC
Drop-off Completed: 2022-05-13 07:42:27 UTC

-- Sender --
Name: VICE.CASEY.BLAYNE
Organization: USMC
Email Address: casey.vice@usmc.mil

-- File --
Name: V33 IG Complaint 34565 CI Full Package Combined and Redacted.pdf
Description: V33 IG Complaint Redacted
Size: 64093153
SHA-256 Checksum: 6A134B51B754666CA32295B9D06EFCA0E96FDA344C5D20E12D5CB73445E16A03
Content Type: application/pdf

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Thank you.

DON-USMC-2022-006704 has been processed with the following final disposition: Partial Grant/Partial Denial.