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.  

DoD Regulation 5400.7-R, "Department of Defense Freedom of Information Act Program," can be found at Part 286 of Chapter 32 of the Code of Federal Regulations, which is available in most libraries.

Due to its size and complexity, the Department of Defense's FOIA program is decentralized among the several DoD Components which operate their own FOIA offices and respond directly to the public for their own records. To contact the National Guard directly, write to:

Army National Guard FOIA

Attn: NGB/JA-OIP

111 South George Mason Drive, AH2

Arlington VA 22204-1373

Phone: (571) 256-7838 or (703) 607-5901

Fax: (703) 607-3684

foia@ng.army.mil

 If you are seeking records from the Arizona National Guard, write to:

Arizona National Guard
Attn: NGAZ-IMO-FPA
5636 E. McDowell Rd
Phoenix, AZ  85008

Or contact:

SFC Kurt M. Lingle
Phone: (602) 267-2035
Fax: (602) 267-2925
kurt.m.lingle.mail@mail.mil

How to file a FOIA or Privacy Request

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.

If you are seeking personal records on yourself under the Privacy Act you must provide a signed letter indicating the specific records you are seeking.  Based on the existing retrieval practice for the records you are seeking, you may be asked to provide additional information to allow us to retrieve your record.  The letter, containing your signature, can be mailed, faxed, or scanned and sent as an e-mail attachment.

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..

If you are a former member of the Arizona National Guard whose service ended prior to 2003 and you wish to obtain copies of your records, please contact Mr. Jeff Thomason at the Records Holding Area. He can be reached by telephone at (602) 267-2647 or fax  at (602) 267-2385.

If you are a former member of the Arizona National Guard whose service ended after 2003 and you wish to obtain copies of your records, please contact the following:

Enlisted records - 602-267-2617

Officer records  -  602-267-4384

Essential Elements of a FOIA Request Letter:

• Provide your full name and contact information
• Provide a reasonable description of the record(s) requested
• Provide a statement of your fee category and your willingness to pay applicable fees
• Send your request to the applicable FOIA Office (see below)

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 (http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/540007r.pdf), and on the DD 2086, Record of FOI Costs (http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/infomgt/forms/eforms/dd2086.pdf).
For more information the Freedom of Information Act, please visit http://www.usdoj.gov/oip/index.html

Army National Guard (ARNG) Records The following guide will assist you in properly submitting a FOIA request for Army Records: A Citizen’s Guide To Request Army Records Under The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) If you are seeking records within the ARNG, to include the staff of the ARNG Director, you should direct your request to the appropriate ARNG FOIA Officer using the attached directory .  Most contracts within the National Guard are Army National Guard records and are held within the state where the contract was initiated.  If you have the contract number, you may use this chart to find the appropriate FOIA office to handle your request. Requests for IG Records must be made to the ARNG Inspector General FOIA Office at: SAIG-ZXR 2511 Jefferson Davis Highway Suite 12600 Arlington, VA  22202-3912 (571) 256-7838 FAX: 703-607-3684 E-mail: office.saig-zxl@ignet.army.mil You may also find the records you are seeking by visiting the Department of the Army Reading Room at https://www.rmda.army.mil/foia/FOIA_ReadingRoom/index.aspx If you are still unsure who to make your request to, or if you have concerns about the service received from an ARNG FOIA Office, you may contact the NGB ARNG FOIA Officer, Ms. Jennifer Nikolaisen, at (703) 607-3195 or by e-mail at FOIA@ng.army.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://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 Air or Army National Guard Title 5 employees, please visit http://www.whs.mil/HRD/Civilian/Benefits/EmploymentVerification.cfm or https://compo.dcpds.cpms.osd.mil/ for instructions your client must complete to allow for verification. Other Commonly Requested Records For inquiries on background investigations and personnel records for former NGB, ARNG and ANG employees, please reference: http://www.opm.gov/efoia/html/foia_contacts.asp For inquiries on retired, separated, and deceased military personnel records (including Army and Air National Guardsmen), please reference: http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/get-service-records.html For inquiries on Department of the Army (Non-Guard) records, please reference: https://www.rmda.army.mil/foia/docs/foia-servicecenters.pdf For inquiries on Department of the Air Force (including Air National Guard) records, please reference: http://www.foia.af.mil/offices/ For inquiries on National Guard Bureau (Joint DoD Activity) records, please visit http://www.ng.mil/sitelinks/foia.aspx

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