The Freedom of Information Act generally provides that any person has a right, enforceable in court, to obtain access to federal agency records, except to the extent that such records (or portions of them) are protected from public disclosure by one of nine exemptions, or by one of three special law enforcement record exclusions.

The principles of government openness and accountability underlying the FOIA are inherent in the democratic ideal: "The basic purpose of the FOIA is to ensure an informed citizenry, vital to the functioning of a democratic society, needed to check against corruption and to hold the governors accountable to the governed."

Click here for the full text of the Freedom of Information Act. (PDF, 110 KB)

Members of the public, including foreign citizens, military and civilian personnel acting as private citizens, organizations and businesses, and individual members of the Congress for themselves or constituents, may request records in writing. It is important to remember that the Freedom of Information Act applies only to federal agencies. It does not create a right of access to records held by Congress, the courts, state or local government agencies, or by private businesses or individuals. Each state has its own public access laws that should by consulted for access to state and local records.

The FOIA allows fee charges based on the requester's category. There are three categories: commercial (pay search, review, and reproduction fees); educational, non-commercial scientific institution, and news media (pay reproduction fees; first 100 pages provided at no cost); and others (pay search and reproduction fees; first two hours search and 100 pages provided at no cost).

If you are advised or expect that a fee will be charged, you may request in writing a waiver of those fees if the disclosure of the requested information is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations and activities of the government and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester. The mere fact that you are a non-profit organization or a member of the media does not in and of itself qualify for a fee waiver. In addition, a requester's inability to pay is not a legal basis for granting a fee waiver.

 
Send requests for 944th Fighter Wing records to:

944 FSS/SCOK(FOIA)
14708 W. Super Sabre St
Luke AFB, AZ 85309
or
HQ AFRC/A6OK (FOIA)
155 Richard Ray Blvd.
Robins AFB GA 31098-1635
DSN: 497-1550
Comm. 478-327-1550
AFRC.FOIA@us.af.mil
(No FAX, No emails and No walk-Ins)

Please ensure you mention "FOIA" and indicate a willingness to pay fees associated with the processing of your request or, in the alternative, why a waiver of fees may be appropriate.

Written requests may be received by postal service or electronically at 944FW.FOIA.REQUESTS@us.af.mil. E-mailed requests must have a mailing address included since it may not be practical to provide a substantive response electronically.

If dissatisfied with the response received from the FOIA Requester Service Center, you may contact the Air Force FOIA Public Liaison Office, Ms. Anh Trinh, at usaf.pentagon.saf-cio-a6.mbx.af-foia@mail.mil, (703) 614-8500.

Mandatory Declassification Review: Executive Order 12958 allows you to request declassification of classified records. If you are only seeking a copy of a record or records that are currently classified, and would like the record reviewed for appropriate declassification and release, you should file a Mandatory Declassification Review request. Mandatory Declassification Review is a provision of Presidential Executive Order 13526 that allows members of the public to request a mandatory declassification review of a
classified document in order to obtain a releasable version of the document. The desired document requested must be specified in sufficient detail that it can be readily located. The record in question may not be the subject of litigation. The mandatory declassification review process can be a very timely and in-depth, due to the classification of materials being reviewed by internal and outside agencies. MDR decisions can be administratively appealed to the Headquarters Air Force/AAII (Mandatory Declassification Review) or Interagency Security Classification Appeals Panel (ISCAP). Requests for review and release of classified records under the MDR process
can be made to:
Headquarters Air Force/AAII (Mandatory Declassification Review)
1000 Air Force Pentagon
Washington, DC 20330-1000
Email: usaf.pentagon.saf-aa.mbx.mdr-workflow@mail.mil
Telephone: (703) 695-2226

To submit a FOIA inquiry online click here. For mailing/faxing contact the FOIA Requester Service Centerwhere the record is located, describe the records you want as specifically as possible, and let the office know how much you are willing to pay. Furnish any facts or clues about the time, place, persons, events, subjects, or other details of the information or records you want. That will help the office decide where to search and determine what records pertain to your request. It can also save you and the government time and money, and you may get what you want faster. There is no special form to complete. Mark your request and envelope "FOIA." 

For Submitting Privacy Requests 

If you are seeking records on yourself, this is a Privacy Act request and you will need to provide proof of identity. At this time, all Privacy Act request must be submitted by mailing/faxing directly to the appropriate Requester Service Center. For more information on the Privacy Act click here. 

NOTE: Air Force-affiliated requesters, to include military and civilian employees, should not use government equipment, supplies, stationery, postage, telephones, or official mail channels to make FOIA requests. Requests should be made through personal e-mail or postal service. 

Air Force policy is to deny requests for lists of e-mail addresses (both personal and organizational) using FOIA exemption (b)(2)(high). We also rely on FOIA exemption (b)(6) when denying lists of personal e-mail addresses. High (b)(2) protects internal information, the disclosure of which would risk circumvention of a statute or agency regulation. Because DoD e-mail systems are to be used only for official and authorized purposes, the addresses are considered primarily internal. The regulations at issue that could be circumvented include DoD and AF regulations that require us to limit use of e-mail to authorized purposes, and to protect the security of your computer and information systems. Exemption (b)(6) protects information that if released would permit a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. This does not prohibit an organization from including a single e-mail address on a Web page of in correspondence.