U.S. Marine Corps Drone Documents
| Tracking # |
2012F070680 |
| Submitted | July 20, 2012 |
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Communications
From: Drone Watch
To Whom It May Concern:
This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:
1. any requests for proposals, proposals submitted by vendors, contracts, budgets or cost allocations for the purchase and/or use of aerial drones, UAs, UAVs, and UASs (hereinafter “drones”);
2. any policies, guidelines, manuals and/or instructions on department use of drones, including on the legal process required (such as a warrant or court order), if any, before operating a drone;
3. any departmental records concerning this department’s use of drones now or plans to use drones in the future including:
a. the types of investigations or instances in which this department is using or plans to use drones, or how it plans to support, manage or oversee the usage of drones by another department or office;
b. policies, guidelines, manuals and/or instructions on storage requirements or procedures for video or static images obtained through use of drones, including retention times;
c. the altitude at which drones can or do fly;
d. drones’ ability to carry weapons.
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,
Drone Watch
From: Gonzalez CIV Barbara
Good Morning Sir/Madam,
This is a receipt acknowledgement of your FOIA request below. Your request is controlled under file number USMC-HQ 2012F070680.
It is noted that you would like correspondence sent to the Muckrock and not directly to a person. However, please be kind enough to provide a point of contact so we may address you accordingly.
Please note that records management is not centralized but is, instead, delegated to those officials that generate and/or maintain the documents. Further, most U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) generated documents are not considered to be "permanent" records and are routinely destroyed pursuant to records retention/disposal schedules set forth by the Archivist of the United States. Additionally, the USMC maintains no centralized index or database to allow for the identification of documents and/or their records manager simply by the name of an individual or by the simple subject or topic of a document. Therefore, in order to facilitate a reasonable records search, we require that a requester provide sufficient descriptive information about specific desired documents to allow for their ready identification and/or retrieval by a knowledgeable official of the agency or to facilitate identification of the official(s) that would maintain those documents. If you can provide a timeframe, contract numbers, policy numbers or anything other information, we will be able to pinpoint the records you seek.
In view of the above, we am holding your request in abeyance pending your provision of additional specifying information about the documents you seek so that we may initiate a reasonable records search. If, however, we do not hear from you by August 13, 2012, we will close-out your request file as an "unperfected request" action.
Questions concerning this action should be directed to the undersigned at (571) 256-8634 or (703) 614-4008, via email to smb.hqmc.foia@usmc.mil or fax at (703) 614-6287. Please reference the file number in the subject line above.
Finally, please note that the official responsible for this determination is Mr. David E. Vogt III, FOIA Team Lead (ARSF). He may be reached at (703-614-4008).
Sincerely,
Barbara Gonzalez
From: Drone Watch
Hi,
Thank you for your e-mail requesting clarification.
This request's point of contact is Shawn Musgrave.
As for identifying responsive documents, we're looking for documents that were generated in connection with the the Marine Corps' successful request to the FAA for a Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Certificates of Authorization (COAs), which the FAA has indicated it granted:
https://www.eff.org/document/faa-list-certificates-authorizations-coas
While we don't have the specific time frame for this request or the specific office which granted the COA, we would appreciate you forwarding this request on to USMC departments that normally handle or oversee the requisitioning, training, and research of drones for the Marine Corps.
If additional clarification is still needed, please let us know.
Thanks!
From: Gonzalez CIV Barbara
Hi Mr. Musgrave,
Thanks so much for getting back to me so quickly. I appreciate the additional information. I will send your request out again with the email below and hopefully we will be able to locate the records you seek.
Any questions, just ask. Thanks and have a wonderful afternoon.
Sincerely,
Barbara Gonzalez
From: Gonzalez CIV Barbara
Good Afternoon Sir,
This is our final response to your Freedom of Information Act request below.
Please be advised that the Department of the Navy/U.S. Marine Corps records management is not centralized but is, delegated instead to those officials that generate and/or maintain records. In this instance, the records you seek, if any, would fall under the cognizance of Camp LeJeune and/or Camp Pendleton. Accordingly, in an effort to assist you, we have transferred your request to those offices (see attached). You may call Camp Lejeune at (910) 451-4452 and Camp Pendleton at (760) 725-6008.
Thanks for your patience and have a wonderful day.
Sincerely,
Barbara Gonzalez
From: Parra Civ Albino
To Whom it May Concern,
Attached is the acknowledgement letter concerning your request. Pls let me know if there are any questions for concerns. Thanks and have a great day!
R/S
Al Parra
From: MuckRock.com
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on July 20, 2012. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #2012F070680.
Thank you for your help.
From: Parra Civ Albino
I am currently out of the office and will return on 1 Oct 12. If you have any questions concerning Freedom of Information Act Requests, pls contact SSgt Marrufo, Janet at (760) 725-6253.
From: Parra Civ Albino
Good afternoon Sir,
Sir, your request is still being worked on. As soon as its complete, I will mail you a copy of the response. Thanks and have a great day.
R/S
Al Parra
From: USMC -- Camp Lejeune
From: MuckRock.com
Ms. Drake:
Per our phone conversation, MuckRock would like to clarify its request:
-Please conduct a search for any proposals, proposals submitted by vendors, contracts, budgets or cost allocations relating to aerial drones, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and unmanned aerial systems (UASs). Please search for all three designations, which are interchangeable.
-Please include documents pertaining to purchase and use of these vehicles, as well as operator training.
Additionally, please clarify whether an additional search will be conducted for the remaining portion of our original request beyond contracts and purchase documents -- we also requested departmental records, policies, manuals, etc related to use of drones by USMC.
Thank you for your help.
Best,
Shawn Musgrave
MuckRock
From: Parra Civ Albino
Dear MuckRock News,
It has been determined that your organization is considered a commercial requester. Therefore, fees have incurred and advance payment is required prior to releasing any portion of the documents you have requested. The attachment is provided concerning the fees incurred. If you have any questions, pls don't hesitate to contact me. Thanks and have a great day.
R/S
Al Parra
From: Parra Civ Albino
Good morning MuckRock News,
The attachment concerning the advance fees required prior the records being sought was emailed to you on October 26. As of today I have yet received the required fees or any correspondence concerning your intent. If I don't hear from anyone within MuckRock News by the close of business on November 13th, I will consider your request being withdrawn and your file will then be closed. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me. Thanks and have a great day.
R/S
Al Parra
From: Marines
An interim response, stating the request has been delayed
From: Marines
An interim response, stating the request has been delayed
From: Marines
An interim response, stating the request has been delayed
From: Marines
A copy of documents responsive to the request.
From: Marines
A copy of documents responsive to the request.
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