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West Virginia National Guard's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Requester Service Center
Welcome to the West Virginia National Guard’s FOIA Requester Service Center. This Requestor Service Center was designed to assist the public in making FOIA requests for West Virginia National Guard records. The FOIA, known by its legal cite as Title 5 U.S.C. § 552, along with the Department of Defense (DoD) Regulation 5400.7, governs how FOIA requests will be processed within the National Guard.
What is the FOIA?
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. 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 FOIA 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 FOIA 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 by consulted for access to state and local records.
How to make a FOIA request?
If you want to submit a FOIA inquiry, send a written request to the FOIA office where the record is located, describe the records you want as specifically as possible and let us know how much you are willing to pay. Please note that the filing of a FOIA or Privacy request is a personal matter. Military personnel and Federal Government Employees may not use government time or equipment, to include their government email address or government stationary to make such requests.
FOIA Costs. The FOIA allows fee charges based on the requester's category. There are three categories:
- Commercial (pay search, review, and reproduction fees);
- Educational, non-commercial scientific institution, and news media (pay search and reproduction fees; first 100 pages provided at no cost); and,
- Others (pay search and reproduction fees; first two hours search and 100 pages provided at no cost).
The FOIA also allows waivers or reductions in fees if disclosing the information is in the public interest.
To learn more about the FOIA and about how to request information through the FOIA, view the DoD FOIA Handbook.
Where to make a FOIA Request?
FOIA requests must be in writing, cite the Freedom of Information Act and contain a statement of willingness to pay fees. Send all WV Army National Guard requests to:
West Virginia Army National Guard Records:
West Virginia Army National Guard
Office of the Staff Judge Advocate
ATTN: FOIA Manager
1703 Coonskin Drive
Charleston, WV 25311-1085
Phone Number (304) 561-6619
Fax Number (304) 561-6327
Email Address: ng.wv.wvarng.mbx.foia-request@mail.mil
Requestors dissatisfied with the service received by this FOIA Requestor Service Center can contact the ARNG FOIA Officer, Ms. Jennifer Nikolaisen, at (844) 573-2939 or by e-mail ng.ncr.ngb-arng.mbx.ngb-foia@mail.mil
National Guard Bureau
Office of Information and Privacy
The National Guard Bureau
111 S. George Mason Drive, Bldg 2
Arlington, VA 22204
You may also find records previously released by the Department of the Army, including the Army National Guard, by visiting the Department of the Army Reading Room: https://www.foia.army.mil/ReadingRoom/
FOIA requests must be in writing, cite the Freedom of Information Act and contain a statement of willingness to pay fees. Send all WV Army National Guard requests to:
West Virginia Air National Guard Records:
FOIA requests, comments or questions can be directed to:
Air National Guard FOIA
ATTN: NGB-JA/OIP
111 South George Mason Drive, AH2
Arlington VA 22204-1373
Fax: (703) 607-3684
Requests can also be made on-line https://www.efoia.af.mil/palMain.aspxat or by e-mail, NGB.FOIA@mail.mil. When e-mailing, be sure to indicate it is a request for Air National Guard.
For submitting Freedom of Information requests online to our Requester Service Centers (RSC) click on the following AF eFOIA Public Access Link (PAL): https://www.efoia.af.mil/palMain.aspx.
If dissatisfied with the response received from the Requester Service Center, you may contact the Air Force FOIA Public Liaison Office, Ms. Anh Trinh, at usaf.pentagon.saf-cio-a6.mbx.af-foia@mail.mil or 703-614-8500.
The electronic reading room is located on the Air Force Freedom of Information Act web page at http://www.foia.af.mil/index.asp, under the title, "Reading Room."
Service records on former civilian and military members are NOT maintained by the Air National Guard. They are maintained by the National Archives and Records Administrations' National Personnel Records Center. Records request instructions and contact information is listed on their Web site.
Mandatory Declassification Review
Executive Order 12958 allows you to request declassification of classified records. If you are only seeking a copy of a record or records that are currently classified, and would like the record reviewed for appropriate declassification and release, you should file a Mandatory Declassification Review request. Mandatory Declassification Review is a provision of Presidential Executive Order 13526 that allows members of the public to request a mandatory declassification review of a classified document in order to obtain a releasable version of the document. The desired document requested must be specified in sufficient detail that it can be readily located. The record in question may not be the subject of litigation. The mandatory declassification review process can be a very timely and in-depth, due to the classification of materials being reviewed by internal and outside agencies. MDR decisions can be administratively appealed to the Headquarters Air Force/AAII (Mandatory Declassification Review) or Interagency Security Classification Appeals Panel (ISCAP).
Requests for review and release of classified records under the MDR process can be made to:
Headquarters Air Force/AAII (Mandatory Declassification Review)
1000 Air Force Pentagon
Washington, DC 20330-1000
Email: usaf.pentagon.saf-aa.mbx.mdr-workflow@mail.mil
Telephone: (703) 695-2226
National Guard Inspector General Records
If you are making a request for National Guard Inspector General records, please make your request directly to the respective service or DoD IG as the West Virginia Army National Guard FOIA Office does not process IG records. The FOIA websites for those IG offices are as follows:
For Air National Guard (AF IG): http://www.af.mil/InspectorGeneralComplaints.aspx
For Army National Guard (Army IG): http://www.daig.pentagon.mil/foia.aspx
For National Guard Bureau (DoD IG): http://www.dodig.mil/FOIA/submit.html
Where to Make a Privacy Act Access Request for NGB Records
If you are seeking records on yourself under the Privacy Act, you should contact the Privacy Act System of Records Notice Manager directly to obtain your records. Your request should include a signed letter indicating the specific records you are seeking, and comply with any other requirements outlined in the System Notice. The National Guard Bureau does not have any unique System Notices at this time as all records maintained are covered by existing notices issued within DoD components. A listing of all DoD notices can be found at http://dpcld.defense.gov/.
Obtaining Military Service or Employment Verification
If you are seeking verification of military service for either the Air or Army National Guard to comply with the Service members Civil Relief Act, please visit https://www.dmdc.osd.mil/appj/scra/scraHome.do.
If you are seeking records on former civilian or military service members for either the Air or Army National http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/ and complete a Standard Form 180 and send to the appropriate address listed on page 3 of the form. These requests for records are not processed by our office.
If you are seeking verification of employment for either West Virginia Air or Army National Guard Technicians, please visit http://www.wv.ngb.army.mil/jobs/default.html or https://compo.dcpds.cpms.osd.mil/ for instructions your client must complete to allow for verification.
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