Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Privacy Office

Welcome to the National Guard Bureau's FOIA Requester Service Center and Privacy Office.
As a Joint Activity of the Department of Defense, the National Guard Bureau FOIA Requestor Service Center processes requests from the public for records created under the seal of the Chief, National Guard Bureau as authorized by DoD Directive 5105.77, paragraph E2.1.1.

The NGB FOIA Requestor Service Center only processes requests for records created by the Chief, National Guard Bureau's Joint Staff, Personal Staff, and Special Staff. A directory of the staff that is serviced by this requestor service center can be found here.

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.

 

Where to Make a FOIA Request for National Guard Bureau (NGB) Records

NGB FOIA Office (NGB/JA-OIP)
111 South George Mason Drive, AH2
Arlington, VA 22204-1373
ngb.foia@mail.mil

To inquire on the status of your request, you may contact the NGB FOIA Office at (844) 573-2939 or e-mail ngb.foia@mail.mil.
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 make such requests.

Any customers who have concerns about the service received from the NGB Requestor Service Center may contact the DoD FOIA Public Liaison:
Defense Freedom of Information Policy Office
Attn: Mr. James Hogan
1155 Defense Pentagon
Washington, D.C. 20301-1155
(571) 372-0462
OSD.FOIALiaison@mail.mil

 

 

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 National Guard Bureau FOIA Office does not process IG records. The FOIA websites for those IG offices are as follows:

• Air National Guard (AF IG)

• Army National Guard (Army IG)

• National Guard Bureau (DoD IG)

 

Where to Make a Privacy Act Access Request for National Guard Bureau (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 here.

 

Essential Elements of a FOIA Request

  • Cite that you are requesting records under the FOIA
  • Provide your full name and contact information, to include e-mail address to expedite communications
  • Provide a reasonable description of the record(s) requested as well as the office(s) you believe are most likely to have the records sought. A listing of the offices serviced by this requestor service center can be found here.
  • Provide a statement of your fee category and indicate your willingness to pay applicable fees for processing. You may include a dollar amount you are willing to pay up to, or you may leave the amount you are willing to pay open ended.

 

Fee Categories

Educational, Noncommercial, Scientific, and Media:
Any accredited U.S. educational or research institution or instructor of an institution, or representative of the news media using the information in a scholarly or analytical work contributing to public knowledge and disseminated to the public.

Commercial:
Increases the commercial interest of the requestor.

All Others:
All other requestors

 

 

Fees
The FOIA provides for the collection of fees for:

  • Searches: Time spent in looking for and retrieving material, either paper or electronic files, that are responsive to the request to include personnel hours (clerical and professional) and computer time.
  • Reviews: Time spent to determine if the record is releasable under legal guidelines, excluding resolution of legal or policy issues. This does include time spent excising text that is exempt under FOIA.
  • Reproduction: Generating a copy of a requested record in the appropriate medium, for example paper or computer file.
    Fees rates and schedules can be found in DoD 5400.7, DoD Freedom of Information Act Program, and on the DD 2086, Record of FOI Costs.

 

 

Obtaining Air or Army National Guard Records under FOIA

If you are seeking Army National Guard records please visit: https://arng.ng.mil/Pages/FOIA.aspx

If you are seeking Air National Guard records, please visit: http://www.foia.af.mil

 

 

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 Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, please visit https://scra.dmdc.osd.mil/scra/.

If you are seeking records on former civilian or military service members for either the Air or Army National https://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 Air or Army National Guard Title 5 employees, please visit http://www.whs.mil/service/employment-verification or https://compo.dcpds.cpms.osd.mil/ for instructions your client must complete to allow for verification.

 

FOIA Links

• FOIA Home

• FOIA Reading Room

• FOIA Library

• DoD FOIA Handbook

• Defense Technical Information Center Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Requester Service Center