Pentagon Reopens Search for Alleged “Yankee Blue” Memo After Initial Denial
A newly released FOIA appellate decision has remanded a case back to the Department of War (DoW) for additional searches related to an alleged 2023 memorandum described by the Wall Street Journal. According to the newspaper, the Secretary of Defense’s office issued a directive ordering the immediate halt of an Air Force hazing ritual known as “Yankee Blue,” which involved fabricated claims of reverse-engineering non-human technology.
The DoW originally stated that no such memorandum was found, but the appeal has now been granted, and the case remanded for a new search.
An Unverified Claim and a Growing Controversy
In June 2023, the Wall Street Journal published claims that a directive from the Secretary of Defense’s office had been circulated across the military services “ordering the practice to stop immediately.” The article tied the alleged directive to a hazing ritual in which service members were falsely told that they were working on operations involving retrieved non-human craft.
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The WSJ did not publish the memo, identify its specific date, or provide sourcing for the claim. Following publication, no document surfaced publicly, and no military component acknowledged knowledge of the directive.
In September 2025, the DoW stated in a formal FOIA response to The Black Vault that it had located no such memorandum. On October 1, when asked again about the WSJ claim, Pentagon spokesperson Susan Gough stated, “Regarding the alleged memo: I cannot confirm the existence of any department-level memo as described in the article. You may want to ask the Air Force or other military services whether they put out such a memo to their personnel.” In the original email, the word “alleged” appeared underlined for emphasis.
The Air Force did not respond after a request for comment, and the FOIA case seeking information on the alleged “Yankee Blue” ritual is still open.
A FOIA Challenge to the Pentagon’s “No Records” Determination
The Black Vault’s FOIA request filed with the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) on June 17, 2025, sought a copy of any directive issued in spring 2023 ordering the halt of “Yankee Blue”-related practices or other activities involving fabricated claims of reverse-engineering non-human technology.
OSD searched solely within the Correspondence Management Division (CMD) and reported no responsive records.
A formal appeal was filed on September 17, 2025, arguing that the search was inadequate and not legally sufficient under FOIA. The appeal emphasized that:
- The Wall Street Journal presented the alleged memo as fact, not speculation, and attributed some related details to DoD spokesperson Susan Gough.
- FOIA requires agencies to conduct a search “reasonably calculated to uncover all relevant documents,” as established in Oglesby v. U.S. Dep’t of Army, 920 F.2d 57 (D.C. Cir. 1990).
- Limiting the search to CMD failed to meet that standard because a Secretary-level directive could reasonably reside in multiple offices, including policy directorates or the OSD Executive Secretariat.
- Agencies must pursue logical leads that emerge during the inquiry, under Campbell v. DOJ, 164 F.3d 20 (D.C. Cir. 1998).
- Any such memorandum from 2023 would fall under mandatory federal records retention, and its absence would raise records management concerns.
The appeal requested either a broadened search across all appropriate OSD components or a formal clarification as to whether the directive was ever issued at all.
The Appeal Decision: A Full Remand for New Searches
On December 12, 2025, the Acting Chief of the FOIA Division issued a written decision:
“After carefully considering your appeal, and as a result of discussions between FOID personnel and this office, I am remanding your request to FOID for a search for responsive records.”
The letter states that if any releasable records are found, they will be provided, and that the requester may appeal again should a future adverse determination occur.
The appeal victory does not confirm that the memo exists, will be found, or will be released. The decision establishes only that the prior search was insufficient under FOIA and that a renewed, expanded search is now required.
However, in the broader context, the remand highlights several unresolved inconsistencies:
- The WSJ reported a memo as fact, but has not addressed follow-up reporting by The Black Vault, provided a copy of the memorandum, or clarified sourcing.
- The DoW stated to The Black Vault in two separate channels through their FOIA office and Public Affairs office, that it could not confirm the memo’s existence, emphasizing the word “alleged” in their response from the latter.
- The appeal determination directly contradicts the prior FOIA conclusion that no responsive records existed, ordering a new search despite earlier categorical statements.
The result places the question back with the Pentagon: either locate the memo described by the WSJ, or formally resolve whether it was never issued at all.
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