Freedom of Information Act

 

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), known by its legal cite as 5 United States Code (U.S.C.) Section 552, along with Department of Defense (DoD) Publication 5400.7, can be found at Part 286 of Chapter 32 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), which is available in most libraries or online from the U.S. Government Printing Office Access CFR website.

What is the FOIA?

The FOIA allows the general public including foreign citizens, military and civilian personnel acting as private citizens, to request records electronically or in writing from the Federal Government. Some records are released to the public under the FOIA, and may therefore reflect deletion of some information in accordance with the FOIA's nine statutory exemptions or two law enforcement record exclusions. A consolidated list of such records is on the DoD and Air Force FOIA sites. Currently the law allows 20 working days to process a FOIA request upon receipt of the request in the FOIA office.

Who can submit a request?

Members of the public, including foreign citizens, military and civilian personnel acting as private citizens, organizations and businesses, and individual members of the Congress for themselves or constituents, may request records in writing. It is important to remember that the Freedom of Information Act applies only to federal agencies. It does not create a right of access to records held by Congress, the courts, state or local government agencies, or by private businesses or individuals. Each state has its own public access laws that should be consulted for access to state and local records.

How to make a request

Office of Information and Privacy (NGB/JA-OIP)
Attn: ANG FOIA Requests
111 South George Mason Drive, AH2
Arlington VA 22204-1373
Phone: (571) 256-7838
or (703) 607-5901
Fax: 703-607-3684


Requests can still be made on-line at: www.efoia.af.mil or by e-mail, FOIA@ng.army.mil. When requesting by email please be sure to indicate it is a request for the Air National Guard.