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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION DIVISION 1155 DEFENSE PENTAGON WASHINGTON, DC 20301-1155

Ref: 21-F-0909

July 8, 2022

Mr. John Greenewald, Jr.

The Black Vault, Inc.

27305 W. Live Oak Road

Suite #1203

Castaic, CA 91384

Dear Mr. Greenewald:

This is a final response to your April 27, 2021 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, a copy of which is enclosed for your convenience. We received your request on April 27, 2021, and assigned it FOIA case number 21-F-0909. We ask that you use this number when referring to your request.

The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence & Security, a component of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, conducted a search of their records systems and located five pages determined to be responsive to your request. Mr. Brian Kreitlow, Chief of Collection Policy Division, in his capacity as an Initial Denial Authority, has determined that portions of the five responsive pages are exempt from release pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(1), information that is currently and properly classified in the interest of national security. The classified information is withheld pursuant to Executive Order 13526, as amended, applying Sections 1.4(a), protection of military plans, weapons, systems, or operations; 1.4(c), intelligence activities (including special activities), intelligence sources or methods; and 1.4(g), vulnerabilities or capabilities of systems, installations, infrastructure, projects, plans or protection services relating to the national security, which includes defense against transnational terrorism. Information was also withheld pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(6), disclosure that would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of the personal privacy of individuals. Please note that we have considered the foreseeable harm standard when reviewing records and applying exemptions under the FOIA in the processing of this request.

In this instance, fees for processing your request were below the threshold for requiring payment. Please note that fees may be assessed on future requests.

If you have any questions or concerns about the foregoing or about the processing of your request, please do not hesitate to contact the Action Officer assigned to your request, Hillary Maravilla, at 571-372-0418 or Hillary.e.maravilla.civ@mail.mil. Additionally, if you have concerns about service received by our office, please contact a member of our Leadership Team at 571-372-0498 or Toll Free at 866-574-4970.

Should you wish to inquire about mediation services, you may contact the OSD/JS FOIA Public Liaison, Toni Fuentes, at 571-372-0462 or by email at OSD.FOIALiaison@mail.mil, or the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) at the National Archives and Records Administration. The contact information for OGIS is as follows:

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Office of Government Information Services

National Archives and Records Administration

8601 Adelphi Road-OGIS

College Park, MD 20740

E-mail: ogis@nara.gov

Telephone: 202-741-5770

Fax: 202-741-5769

Toll-free: 1-877-684-6448

You have the right to appeal to the appellate authority, Ms. Joo Chung, Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Privacy Civil Liberties, and Transparency (PCLT), Office of the Secretary of Defense, at: 4800 Mark Center Drive, ATTN: PCLFD, FOIA Appeals, Mailbox #24, Alexandria, VA 22350-1700.

Your appeal must be postmarked within 90 calendar days of the date of this response. Alternatively, you may email your appeal to osd.foia-appeal@mail.mil. If you use email, please include the words "FOIA Appeal" in the subject of the email. Please also reference FOIA case number 21-F-0909 in any appeal correspondence.

We appreciate your patience in the processing of your request. As stated previously, please contact the Action Officer assigned to your request, Hillary Maravilla, and reference FOIA case number 21-F-0909, if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

for Pamela Andrews

Stephanie L. Carr

Chief

Enclosures: As stated

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This document is made available through the declassification efforts and research of John Greenewald, Jr., creator of:

The Black Vault

The Black Vault is the largest online Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) document clearinghouse in the world. The research efforts here are responsible for the declassification of hundreds of thousands of pages released by the U.S. Government & Military.

Discover the Truth at http://www.theblackvault.com

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