How long is too long for a DOD request?
Asked by Nathaniel Tailleur on December 7, 2014.
1 answer from Michael Morisy.
I filed a request with the Department of Defense for a funding application made by a Cornell University researcher to the “Minerva Project.” I also requested all communication between the Cornell Researcher and the government official overseeing the research. This request was received by the Air Force FOIA office on October 6 (the Air Force is overseeing the research). They acknowledged my request on October 17 and asked whether I’d be willing to accept a “clearly releasable copy.” I responded that I would, and on October 24 I received a message saying that they’d be moving forward with my request.
Over a month later, I still have not received the documents. How long is too long to wait?
On average, it takes the main DoD office 90 days to respond to a request. A lot of times it depends on how simple the request is — more complex requests can take years. This should be relatively straight forward based on how you described it though. I would follow up with a call to the agency, or a follow up email/message. By law, they have to provide an estimated completion date.