[Title 32 CFR 518.53]
[Code of Federal Regulations (annual edition) - July 1, 2002 Edition]
[Title 32 - NATIONAL DEFENSE]
[Chapter V - DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY]
[Subchapter A - AID OF CIVIL AUTHORITIES AND PUBLIC RELATIONS]
[Part 518 - THE ARMY FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT PROGRAM]
[Subpart E - Release and Processing Procedures]
[Sec. 518.53 - Public information.]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]


32NATIONAL DEFENSE32002-07-012002-07-01false518.53Sec. 518.53NATIONAL DEFENSEDEPARTMENT OF THE ARMYAID OF CIVIL AUTHORITIES AND PUBLIC RELATIONSTHE ARMY FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT PROGRAMRelease and Processing Procedures
Sec. 518.53  Public information.

    (a) Since the policy of the Department of Defense is to make the 
maximum amount of information available to the public consistent with 
its other responsibilities, written requests for a DoD or Department of 
the Army record made under the FOIA may be denied only when:
    (1) The record is subject to one or more of the exemptions in 
subpart C of this part.
    (2) The record has not been described well enough to enable the DoD 
Component to locate it with a reasonable amount of effort by an employee 
familiar with the files.
    (3) The requester has failed to comply with the procedural 
requirements, including the written agreement to pay or payment of any 
required fee imposed by the instructions of the DoD Component concerned. 
When personally identifiable information in a record is requested by the 
subject of the record or his attorney, notarization of the request may 
be required.
    (b) Individuals seeking DoD information should address their FOIA 
requests to one of the addresses listed in appendix B.
    (c) Release of information under the FOIA can have an adverse impact 
on OPSEC. The Army implementing directive for OPSEC is AR 530-1. It 
requires that OPSEC points of contact be named for all HQDA staff 
agencies and for all commands down to battalion level. The FOIA official 
for the staff agency or command will use DA Form 4948-R to announce the 
OPSEC/FOIA advisor for the command. Persons named as OPSEC points of 
contact will be OPSEC/FOIA advisors. Command OPSEC/FOIA advisors should 
implement the policies and procedures in AR 530-1, consistent with this 
regulation and with the following considerations:
    (1) Documents or parts of documents properly classified in the 
interest of national security must be protected. Classified documents 
may be released in response to a FOIA request only under AR 380-5, 
chapter III. AR 380-5 provides that if parts of a document are not 
classified and can be segregated with reasonable ease, they may be 
released, but parts requiring continued protection must be clearly 
identified.
    (2) The release of unclassified documents could violate national 
security. When this appears possible, OPSEC-FOIA advisors should request 
a classification evaluation of the document by

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its proponent under AR 380-5, paragraphs 2-204, 2-600, 2-800, and 2-801. 
In such cases, other FOIA exemptions (para 3-200) may also apply.
    (3) A combination of unclassified documents, or parts of them, could 
combine to supply information that might violate national security if 
released. When this appears possible, OPSEC/FOIA advisors should 
consider classifying the combined information per AR 380-5, paragraph 2-
211.
    (4) A document or information may not be properly or currently 
classified when a FOIA request for it is received. In this case, the 
request may not be denied on the grounds that the document or 
information is classified except in accordance with Executive Order 
12356, Sec. 1.6(d), and AR 380-5, paragraph 2-204, and with approval of 
the Army General Counsel.
    (d) OPSEC/FOIA advisors will--
    (1) Advise persons processing FOIA requests on related OPSEC 
requirements.
    (2) Help custodians of requested documents prepare requests for 
classification evaluations.
    (3) Help custodians of requested documents identify the parts of 
documents that must remain classified under this paragraph and AR 380-5.
    (e) OPSEC/FOIA advisors do not, by their actions, relieve FOIA 
personnel and custodians processing FOIA requests of their 
responsibility to protect classified or exempted information.