Palantir - U.S. SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND, 2017

Hello Mr. Corbeil,

Please call me to discuss, I have a few questions before I can continue to process your request. My phone number is 813 826-4030.

If I do not hear from you by close of business on Tuesday, October 17, 2017, we will assume you are no longer interested in any information responsive to your request and the request will be closed with no further action from this office.

Thank you.

Regards,

Connie

Connie H. Rupp
USSOCOM Acquisition FOIA Officer
7701 Tampa Point Blvd.
MacDill AFB, FL 33621
Phone: 813 826-4030/SSO 826-4228
DSN: 299-4030
SVOIP: 299-5990/SSO 299-3553
NSTS: 471-4027
JWICS: rc06973@socom.ic.gov
JIANT: ruppch@soc.smil.mil

Good morning Mr. Corbeil,

I apologize that I missed a call from you, I was out of the office.

When you have a few minutes today, Wednesday, October 18, 2017, or at your earliest convenience, please give me a call. I would like to discuss your FOIA request, I need a bit of clarification in order to further process your inquiry.

Thank you and have a good day!

Regards,

Connie

Connie H. Rupp
USSOCOM Acquisition FOIA Officer
7701 Tampa Point Blvd.
MacDill AFB, FL 33621
Phone: 813 826-4030/SSO 826-4228
DSN: 299-4030
SVOIP: 299-5990/SSO 299-3553
NSTS: 471-4027
JWICS: rc06973@socom.ic.gov
JIANT: ruppch@soc.smil.mil

Mr. Corbeil,

Thank you for discussing your request and providing a bit of information (i.e. the "Unique Transaction ID" was obtained by you from the USA Spending site) allowing me to further search what the "Unique Transaction ID" numbers actually are that were listed in your request, which we assigned USSOCOM FOIA 2018-003 (see attached). After numerous discussions with U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) subject matter experts (i.e. Contracting Officers), and based on the fact that I have been processing acquisition related Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for almost 10 years, I can assure you USSOCOM is not concealing information behind a "Unique Transaction ID" number.

I searched the USA Spending site at: https://www.usaspending.gov/Pages/default.aspx for Contract H92222-16-C-0078.

Your "Unique Transaction ID" is in no way, shape, or form related to the actual contract with USSOCOM. The numbers/letters you included are the URL (Uniform Resource Locator), or web address.

I have copied one of the web addresses from USA Spending pertaining to Contract H92222-16-C-0078, which is the first one you noted on your request for information dated October 6, 2017 (see attached):

https://www.usaspending.gov/transparency/Pages/TransactionDetails.aspx?RecordID=1E76BE0C-1DA3-4912-8372-60AAD53259A6&AwardID=52972499&AwardType=C

If you click on the above link, it will take you directly to the modification to the contract that is specific to the "Unique Transaction ID" number. This "ID" number has nothing to do with the contract. As stated above, this "ID" number is simply the web address. Each notation of the specific contract on USA Spending, H92222-16-C-0078 (in this case), is a modification to the contract. If you click on each contract listing in USA Spending, you will notice under "Record Information" the modification number, which on "Signed Date" 05/15/17 was Modification Number P00007.

P00000s are modifications to contracts. We pronounce them "Poohs." P00000s are the numbering system based on the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

Based on the above, and as discussed, I suggest you modify your request to include conformed copies of each contract. "Conformed" copies of contracts will include all of the latest information (e.g. if a comma was added in P00001 to an address, that comma will be in the conformed contract; if a mailing address changed in P00002, that updated address will be in the conformed contract...and so on and so forth).

If we do not receive an updated/revised request by close of business on Friday, October 20, 2017, we will assume you no longer require any information and your request will be closed with no further action from this office.

Thank you.

Regards,

Connie

Connie H. Rupp
USSOCOM Acquisition FOIA Officer
7701 Tampa Point Blvd.
MacDill AFB, FL 33621
Phone: 813 826-4030/SSO 826-4228
DSN: 299-4030
SVOIP: 299-5990/SSO 299-3553
NSTS: 471-4027
JWICS: rc06973@socom.ic.gov
JIANT: ruppch@soc.smil.mil

Good afternoon Mr. Corbeil,

The U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Office has received your revised request (attached) for conformed copies of various contracts, which we assigned USSOCOM FOIA 2018-003 (a copy of your original request is also attached). Please refer to this number should you have any questions concerning your request.

We have placed you in the "News Media" category for fee purposes, which means you are obligated to pay all duplication costs after the first 100 pages. You have not provided an amount that you give consent to pay associated with the processing of this request. Once we receive your fee agreement, your inquiry will be considered perfected and we will continue to process. If we believe processing fees will exceed your agreed upon amount, we will advise. Depending on the size of the document(s), however, we may provide the final release on CD or electronically and no charges will be assessed.

Your request is being processed in accordance with procedural requirements promulgated in Department of Defense (DoD) Regulation 5400.07, which is available on the Internet at: http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/540007_dodm_2017.pdf. The actual processing time will depend upon its complexity, whether it involves sensitive records, voluminous records, extensive searches, consultation among DoD components of other agencies, and our administrative workload.

The USSOCOM FOIA Office has a substantial number of pending FOIA cases and, therefore, we process requests in a multi-track processing system based on the date of receipt and the amount of work and time involved in processing each request. Also, when processing contract information for release under the FOIA, we have a requirement to notify the submitter and give them time to review their contract information to include recommendations for withholding any proprietary information that they would not want released; therefore, finalizing your request will likely exceed the statutory 20-working day time limit. We estimate the time for completion to be approximately 9-12 months, it could be more or less.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me directly.

Regards,

Connie

Connie H. Rupp
USSOCOM Acquisition FOIA Officer
7701 Tampa Point Blvd.
MacDill AFB, FL 33621
Phone: 813 826-4030/SSO 826-4228
DSN: 299-4030
SVOIP: 299-5990/SSO 299-3553
NSTS: 471-4027
JWICS: rc06973@socom.ic.gov
JIANT: ruppch@soc.smil.mil

Mr. Corbeil,

As noted in the acknowledgement of your request for information (see attached), we estimate the time for completion to be approximately 9-12 months, it could be more or less. There are a number of requests ahead of yours in our queue, we process FOIA inquiries on a first-in, first-out basis, and the actual processing time depends on the complexity of each request. USSOCOM FOIA 2018-003 will take time especially considering you have asked for copies of multiple contracts.

In the future, PLEASE note USSOCOM FOIA 2018-003 in the subject line when requesting a status update, it allows for easier tracking since we have a huge number of requests we process on a daily basis.

Thank you and have a good day.

Regards,

Connie

Connie H. Rupp
USSOCOM Acquisition FOIA Officer
7701 Tampa Point Blvd.
MacDill AFB, FL 33621
Phone: 813 826-4030/SSO 826-4228
DSN: 299-4030
SVOIP: 299-5990/SSO 299-3553
NSTS: 471-4027
JWICS: rc06973@socom.ic.gov
JIANT: ruppch@soc.smil.mil

Good morning Mr. Corbeil,

Your request for information is being processed as quickly as possible, it is quite complex, and there were a number of FOIA requests ahead of yours already in our queue. As previously advised, we process requests on a first-in, first-out basis, and based on their complexity. Our estimated time of completion of your inquiry is 9-12 months.

I have revised the subject line each time when I respond to your status update emails; however, each status update request comes back without the FOIA control number. Again, in the future, PLEASE note USSOCOM FOIA 2018-003 in the subject line when requesting a status update, it allows for easier tracking since we have a plethora of requests we process on a daily basis.

Thank you and have a nice day.

Regards,

Connie

Connie H. Rupp
USSOCOM Acquisition FOIA Officer
7701 Tampa Point Blvd.
MacDill AFB, FL 33621
Phone: 813 826-4030/SSO 826-4228
DSN: 299-4030
SVOIP: 299-5990/SSO 299-3553
NSTS: 471-4027
JWICS: rc06973@socom.ic.gov
JIANT: ruppch@soc.smil.mil

Hello Mr. Corbeil,

The U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA) Office is currently auditing our FOIA request backlog and have found
this outstanding request, USSOCOM FOIA 2018-003 is attached.

We apologize for the delay in responding to your request for information.
Due to the large number of requests ahead of yours in our multi-track
processing queue, those backlog requests required attention before
completing your inquiry.

We are committed to reducing these outstanding requests and satisfying those
for which the requesters are still interested by continuing to work our
backlog and close requests one by one.

Please respond by close of business on October 23, 2020; if we do not hear
from you, we will assume you no longer require the information and will
close this FOIA request with no further action from this office.

We appreciate your time and consideration regarding this matter and we
sincerely apologize for any inconvenience that our delay may have caused.

Thank you and have a good day! Stay safe.
Regards,

Connie

Connie H. Rupp
USSOCOM Acquisition FOIA Officer
7701 Tampa Point Blvd.
MacDill AFB, FL 33621
Phone: 813 826-4030
DSN: 299-4030
SVOIP: 299-5990
JWICS: rc06973@SOCOM.ic.gov
JIANT: ruppch@socom.smil.mil

Hello Mr. Corbeil,

We have not heard from you in response to the below email regarding interest
in your request for information, USSOCOM FOIA 2018-003. We have, however,
received an automated email from your email address at Muckrock.com in our
organizational mailbox asking for status of the request, therefore, we are
asking for confirmation if a response to the attached inquiry is needed.

Please respond by close of business today, based on the below sent to you on
September 23, 2020, if a response to the attached request is still required.
If we do not hear from you, this request will be closed with no further
action from this office.

Thank you for your time and consideration, and we apologize for any
inconvenience.

Stay safe.
Regards,

Connie

Connie H. Rupp
USSOCOM Acquisition FOIA Officer
7701 Tampa Point Blvd.
MacDill AFB, FL 33621
Phone: 813 826-4030
DSN: 299-4030
SVOIP: 299-5990
JWICS: rc06973@SOCOM.ic.gov
JIANT: ruppch@socom.smil.mil

Hello Mr. Corbeil,

Based on the below attempting to contact you and since we have not heard
from you in response to either of the two emails, we believe you no longer
require a response to your request for information, USSOCOM FOIA 2018-003;
therefore, this request is closed with no further action from this office.

Thank you for your consideration, stay safe.
Regards,

Connie

Connie H. Rupp
USSOCOM Acquisition FOIA Officer
7701 Tampa Point Blvd.
MacDill AFB, FL 33621
Phone: 813 826-4030
DSN: 299-4030
SVOIP: 299-5990
JWICS: rc06973@SOCOM.ic.gov
JIANT: ruppch@socom.smil.mil