32358Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) ProgramA. References• Title 5, United States Code, Section 552 (5 USC 552),
The Freedom of Information Act, as amended Title 32, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 286 (32 CFR Part 286), DoD Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Program, 5 January 2017
• DoD Manual 5400.07, DoD Freedom of Information Act Program, 25 January 2017
• AR 25-55, Army Freedom of Information Act Program. 1 November 1997
B. OverviewThe basic purpose of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is to provide all persons a statutory right of access to agency records that shed light on the operations or activities of the federal government. Information responsive to a proper FOIA request will be withheld only if the agency reasonably foresees that disclosure would harm an interest protected by one or more of the FOIA exemptions, or disclosure is prohibited bylaw. For purposes of the FOIA, the Department of Defense (DoD)
is the agency, and each military department (e.g. Department of the Army) is a component of the agency. If properly requested and not exempt from release, the agency has 20 working days to respond to a FOIA request. Only an Initial Denial Authority IDA) can deny a request.
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