Welcome to Headquarters United States Africa Command Requester Service Center.  The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Requester Service was established in compliance with Executive Order 13392.  FOIA is a federal statute which generally provides that any person has a right to request federal agency records, except to the extent the records are protected from disclosure by any of the nine exemptions contained in the law or by one of three special law enforcement exclusions.

This Service Center was designed to assist the public in making FOIA requests for the HQ United States Africa Command records.  The information obtained herein is not intended to be definitive or exhaustive.  The FOIA, which is known by its legal cite as Title 5 U.S.C. § 552, along with the Department of Defense (DOD) Regulation 5400.7-R, governs how requests will be processed within the United States Africa Command.  Because the United States Africa Command must comply with national security laws, some documents or parts of documents may be exempt from release.  Please see FOIA exemptions under How to File a FOIA Request for more information.

Your FOIA request may be similar to previous requests approved for release.  Please review the Reading Room section of this web page to see if the information you are requesting is already posted.

Please note:  If you are making a request for personal records regarding yourself, you must provide a signed letter.  The letter, containing your signature, can be mailed, faxed or scanned and sent as an email attachment. 

This FOIA Requester Service Center is the initial point of contact for FOIA requesters to receive status, updates and appropriate information about their requests.  Any requesters which have concerns about the service they are receiving from this FOIA Requester Service Center can raise their concerns with Mr. James Hogan, FOIA Public Liaison, Chief of FOIA Policy, Appeals and Litigation.  He can be reached at 703-588-6820, DSN 425-6820 or email to foia.liaison@whs.mil.

v      Handbook

o        How to make a FOIA Request

o        How to file a FOIA Appeal:

If your request was initially denied in whole or in part, the letter advising you of the denial of your request should also have advised you of your right to appeal the determination within 60 days. If you wish to make an appeal you must file your appeal with the correct appellate authority within sixty (60) days. The appellate authority for the United States Africa Command is the FOIA Appeals and Policy Branch, DFOISR. This information, including an address, will be located on all returned requests that are denied in whole or in part.

v      Resource Materials

o        Department of Defense FOIA Guidance

o        Department of Defense Directive 5400.07

o        Department of Defense Directive 5400.7R

o        Defense Freedom of Information Policy Office

o        Office of the Secretary of Defense & Joint Staff

o        United States Department of Justice

v      Reading Room

o        5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(2)(A) Records -- Final opinions and orders made in the adjudication of cases that may be cited, used, or relied upon as precedents in future adjudications.
     Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals

o        5 U.S.C. § 552 (a)(2)(B) Records -- Statements of policy and interpretations that have been adopted by the agency and are not published in the Federal Register.
     Directive Type Media
     U.S. Africa Command Transcripts and Documents

o        5 U.S.C. § 552 (a)(2)(C) Records -- Administrative staff manuals and instructions, or portions thereof, that establish DoD policy or interpretations of policy that affect the public.
     DoD Directive 5400.07
     DoD Reading Room

o        5 U.S.C. § 552 (a)(2)(D) Records -- Records released to the public, under the FOIA, that are or will likely become the subject of subsequent requests.
      U.S. Africa Command Organization Chart in PDF Format