October 10, 2014 Ebola Memo from USDP&R Jessica L. Wright

MuckRock News
DEPT MR 13901
P.O. Box 55819
Boston, MA 02205-5819

Sent by electronic mail to: requests@muckrock.com

Dear Mr. Nevin:

This is an interim response to your attached Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, dated October 22, 2014. Your request was received in this office on the same date and assigned FOIA case number 15-F-0199. We ask that you use that number when referring to your request.

Concerning your request for a fee waiver on the basis that disclosure of the requested information is in the public interest, decisions to waive or reduce fees are made on a case-by-case basis and cannot be made until a search for responsive records has been conducted and the volume and nature of any responsive records have been determined. As soon as the results of the search for responsive records are known, and a review of all releasable records has been completed, we will write to you again.

As you may not be aware, the FOIA requires all requesters to state a willingness to pay FOIA fees. In that regard, this office has determined that your request should be placed in the "other" fee category. Accordingly, you are entitled to the first two hours of search time at no charge, and the first 100 pages of duplication free of charge. Subsequent processing will be assessed at the established DoD fee rates of: professional search time, $44 per hour; executive search time, $75 per hour; and document reproduction at $0.15 per page. Because you have not stated a willingness to pay all assessable fees for search and/or duplication costs in the event your request for a fee waiver is denied, your search will be limited to the two hours you are entitled to as an "other" category requester and a fee waiver decision will be based on the results of that two hour search. If you are willing to pay fees beyond the initial two hours, please provide that amount to this office. If we do not hear from you by November 5, 2014, we will conclude that you do not want the search to proceed beyond your free two hours.

At this time, we are unable to make a release determination on your request within the 20-day statutory time period as there are unusual circumstances which impact our ability to quickly process your request. These unusual circumstances are: (a) the need to search for and collect records from several offices geographically separated from this Office and (b) the need to consult with one or more agencies or DoD components having a substantial interest in either the determination or the subject matter of the records.

For these reasons, your request has been placed in our complex processing queue and it will be worked in the order the request was received. As a matter of information, our current administrative workload is approximately 1,633 open requests. I apologize for the anticipated delay in responding to your request; your continued patience is appreciated.

If you are not satisfied with this action, you may petition the Appellate Authority, the Director of Administration, Office of the Secretary of Defense, by writing directly to the OSD/Joint Staff Freedom of Information, ATTN: Appeals Office, 1155 Defense Pentagon, Washington, D.C. 20301-1155; you may also submit your appeal electronically at the following link: http://pal.whs.mil/palMain.aspx. Your appeal should be postmarked within 60 calendar days of the date of this mail, should cite case number 15-F-0199, and should be clearly marked "Freedom of Information Act Appeal.

Respectfully,
Adrianne

Mrs. Adrianne C. Blake
Government Information Specialist
for Suzanne Council on behalf of
M.L. Wahling, Acting Chief, Freedom of Information Act Division
OSD/JS FOIA Office
adrianne.c.blake.civ@mail.mil

Good Morning,

There is no change to my response of November 3, 2014.

I appreciate your patience and understanding in this matter.

Respectfully,

Mrs. Adrianne C. Blake
Government Information Specialist
for Suzanne Council on behalf of
M.L. Wahling, Acting Chief, Freedom of Information Act Division
OSD/JS FOIA Office
adrianne.c.blake.civ@mail.mil

Good Morning,

There is no change to my response of November 3, 2014.

I appreciate your patience and understanding in this matter.

Respectfully,

Mrs. Adrianne C. Blake
Government Information Specialist
for Suzanne Council on behalf of
M.L. Wahling, Acting Chief, Freedom of Information Act Division
OSD/JS FOIA Office
adrianne.c.blake.civ@mail.mil

Respectfully,

Adrianne C. Blake
Government Information Specialist
Office of Freedom of Information
OSD/JS FOIA Office
(571) 372-0428
adrianne.c.blake.civ@mail.mil

Blake, Adrianne C CIV WHS ESD (US) would like to recall the message, "Freedom of Information Request #15-F-0199".

Good Morning,

There is no change to my response of November 3, 2014.

I appreciate your patience and understanding in this matter.

Respectfully,

Mrs. Adrianne C. Blake
Government Information Specialist
for Suzanne Council on behalf of
M.L. Wahling, Acting Chief, Freedom of Information Act Division
OSD/JS FOIA Office
adrianne.c.blake.civ@mail.mil

Good Afternoon,

There is no change to my response of January 9, 2015.

I appreciate your patience and understanding in this matter.

Respectfully,

Mrs. Adrianne C. Blake
Government Information Specialist
for Suzanne Council on behalf of
M.L. Wahling, Acting Chief, Freedom of Information Act Division
OSD/JS FOIA Office
adrianne.c.blake.civ@mail.mil

Good Afternoon,

There is no change to my response of March 2, 2015.

I appreciate your patience and understanding in this matter.

Thank you.

Adrianne C. Blake, Government Information Specialist
For Suzanne Council on behalf of
M.L. Wahling, Acting Chief, Office of Freedom of Information
Office of the Secretary of Defense and Joint Staff FOIA Requester Service Center
1155 Defense Pentagon
Washington, DC 20301-1155

Good Afternoon,

The component is still processing search. The current estimated completion date is July 1, 2015, and is subject to change.

Once review is complete, we will provide a formal response to you at that time.

Thank you.

Adrianne C. Blake, Government Information Specialist
For Stephanie L. Carr, Chief, Office of Freedom of Information
Office of the Secretary of Defense and Joint Staff FOIA Requester Service Center
1155 Defense Pentagon
Washington, DC 20301-1155
(571) 372-0428

Good Morning,

There is no change to my response of May 7, 2015.

We appreciate your patience and understanding in this matter.

Thank you.

Adrianne C. Blake, Government Information Specialist
For Stephanie L. Carr, Chief, Office of Freedom of Information
Office of the Secretary of Defense and Joint Staff FOIA Requester Service Center
1155 Defense Pentagon
Washington, DC 20301-1155
(571) 372-0428

MuckRock News
ATTN: Mr. Remington Nevin
DEPT MR 13901
P.O. Box 55819
Boston, MA 02205-5819

Sent by electronic mail to: requests@muckrock.com

Dear Mr. Nevin,

This is the final response to your attached Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request dated October 22, 2014, received in this office on the same date, and assigned FOIA case number 15-F-0199. We ask that you use that number when referring to your request.

After carefully reviewing your request, we have determined that the record you seek, "a clearly legible copy together with all attachments thereto of the Memorandum (Subject: Pre-Deployment, Deployment, and Post-Deployment Training, Screening, and Monitoring Guidance for Department of Defense Personnel Deployed to Ebola Outbreak Areas) dated October 10, 2014 signed by Jessica L. Wright, Under Secretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness)," is publicly available at the following hyperlink:

http://www.defense.gov/home/features/2014/1014_ebola/docs/Pre_PostDeploymentTraining.pdf

This action closes your request in this office and there are no assessable fees associated with this response.

Thank you.

Adrianne C. Blake, Government Information Specialist
For Adrienne Santos on behalf of
Stephanie L. Carr, Chief, Office of Freedom of Information
Office of the Secretary of Defense and Joint Staff FOIA Requester Service Center
1155 Defense Pentagon
Washington, DC 20301-1155
(571) 372-0428