Tor (DoD)

Dear Mr. LeVines:

This is in response to your attached Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, dated January 12, 2015. We received your request on January 14, 2015 and assigned it FOIA case number 15-F-0615.

However, please note that your request was misdirected to this office for processing. Please be aware that this FOIA office only processes requests for the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) and the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JS). There is not a central FOIA processing point for the entire Department of Defense (DoD) records management, but is, instead, delegated to those officials of the military services and various DoD components that generate and/or maintain the records being sought. The Navy, who operates its own FOIA office, would have cognizance over the information you have requested. If you have not already done so, you should submit your request directly to the Navy FOIA office at the following address:

SECNAV/CNO FOIA Office
Chief of Naval Operations (DNS-36)
2000 Navy Pentagon
Washington, DC 20350-2000

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

v/r

Sean Porter, FOIA Specialist
for Aaron Graves on behalf of
Paul Jacobsmeyer, Chief,
Freedom of Information Act Division
OSD/JS FOIA Office
(571) 372-0421

George LeVines
MuckRock News
Dept MR 15571
PO Box 55819
Boston, MA 02205-5819

Sent by electronic mail to: requests@muckrock.com

Dear Mr. LeVines,

This is an interim response to your attached Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) which was received in this Office on January 12, 2015 and assigned case number 15-F-0615. We ask that you use that number when referring to your request.

With regard to your request for a waiver of any applicable fees, a fee waiver is appropriate when “disclosure of the requested information is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations and activities of the government and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.” 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(iii) In making a determination, six factors are considered as to whether your request satisfies this statutory standard: (1) whether the subject of the requested records concerns the operations or activities of the government; (2) whether the disclosure is likely to contribute to an understanding of government operations or activities; (3) whether disclosure of the requested information will contribute to the understanding of the general public; (4) whether the disclosure is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of government operations and activities; (5) whether the requester has a commercial interest that would be furthered by the requested disclosure; and, (6) whether any such commercial interest outweighs the public interest in disclosure.

While the requested information does concern the operations and activities of the government and does not appear to be intended for a commercial interest, it is not clear how the responsive documents - should they exist - would significantly contribute to the public understanding of the operations and activities of the government. After carefully reviewing your request, this Office is denying your fee waiver request because the information stated does not support how the documents will significantly contribute to the public’s increased understanding of the operations and activities of government. Please be aware that we reserve the right to grant a fee waiver should a search find documents that meet the criterion of a public interest fee waiver as described in the previous paragraph.

You have been placed in the “Other” category for fee purposes. The “Other” fee category affords you two hours of search time and 100 pages of duplication free of charge. As you did not provide any willingness to pay, search will be halted after your two free hours have been expended. If you wish to add a willingness to pay please contact the action officer assigned to your request at your earliest convenience.

You should also know that although we have already begun processing your request, we will be unable to respond to your request within the FOIA's 20-day statutory time period as there are unusual circumstances which impact on our ability to quickly process your request. These unusual circumstances are: (a) the need to search for and collect records from a facility geographically separated from this Office; and (b) the need for consultation with one or more other 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 will be worked in the order the request was received. Our current administrative workload is over 1550 open requests.

If you are not satisfied with this action, you may appeal to the appellate authority, the Director of Administration and Management, Office of the Secretary of Defense, by writing directly to the Defense Freedom of Information Policy Office, Attn: Mr. James Hogan, 1155 Defense Pentagon, Washington, D.C. 20301-1155. Your appeal should be postmarked within 60 calendar days of the date of this letter, should cite to case number 15-F-0615 and should be clearly marked "Freedom of Information Act Appeal."

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
(571) 372-0428

Mr. LeVines,

Attached, please find the final response to your Freedom of Information Act Request assigned OSD/JS FOIA case number 15-F-0615.

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