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AIR FORCE
89 DAYS TO RESPOND TO ARCHIVE; OUTSTANDING REQUESTS AS OLD
AS 13 YEARS
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Recordkeeping Issues - The Air Force identified ten
requests ranging from 10-13 years old. Notably, some of the
Archive requests that are still open with the Air Force have
been partially responded to. Because the response received
appeared to relate only to the FOIA requests pending with
the 11th Communications Squadron, the Archive later sent additional
requests to the four other Air Force components that receive
the largest number of FOIA requests. |
Ten Oldest - The Air Force responded approximately
89 business days after the request was made, reporting ten
FOIA requests ranging from December 5, 1989 to December 2,
1993. All ten of the requests were filed by one analyst at
the National Security Archive. The requested records concern
Germany and the Berlin Crisis, a 1965 study "Air Force
Project Blue Lance - Interrelationship Between the Strategic
Offensive and Defensive Forces," Air Force Directorate
of Operations Records from the 1960s, and Air Force records
from the late 1950s. As noted above, the Archive also sought
responses from the four other Air Force components that receive
the largest number of FOIA requests. These also demonstrated
significant backlogs, although the age of the requests pending
with these other four components was not as extreme as with
the 11th Communications Squadron: Combat Command (June 6,
1995-May 6, 2000); Education and Training (May 22, 1994-July
29, 2003); Materiel Command (May 12, 1999-August 12, 2003);
Mobility Command (No response to date). |
Workload Statistics - Although Air Force's reported
statistics from 1998 through 2002 indicate that the agency
has experienced a reduction in the number of FOIA requests
received (down 42% from 19,280 in 1998 to 11,335 in 2002),
the number processed each year also has decreased (down 39%
from 18,803 processed in 1998 to 11,480 processed in 2002).
Air Force's processing rate per year -- a comparison of the
number of requests processed to the number received -- increased
from 97.53% in 1998 to 101.28% in 2002. |
Backlog Statistics - Air Force's backlog has decreased
(from 1507 FOIA requests pending at the end of 1998 to 1316
FOIA requests pending at the end of 2002). Its backlog as
a percentage of FOIA requests processed each year has increased
from 8.01% in 1998 to 11.46% in 2002. Its backlog rate by
year - a comparison of those pending at the end of the year
to those received during that year - has increased from 7.82%
in 1998 to 11.61% in 2002. |
Processing Time - Under its two track
system, Air Force reports a median processing time for simple
requests within the statutory timeframe (16 days in 2002),
while complex requests have been reduced from a median of
100 days to 46 days over the 1998-2002 time period. Expedited
requests have a median processing time range of 3-21 days
over the 1998-2002 time period. The median days that backlogged
requests have been pending is reported as 169 for 2002. The
10 to 13-year backlog for the Ten Oldest FOIA Requests described
above show that some requests suffer a much more extensive
wait, as those have been pending between 3400 to 2300 business
days. |
TEN
OLDEST REQUESTS
11th
Wing
11th
Wing Response Letter
11th
Wing December 5, 1989 Letter
11th
Wing January 2, 1990 Letter
11th
Wing March 7, 1990 Letter
11th
Wing January 13, 1992 Letter
11th
Wing April 30, 1992 Letter
11th
Wing June 29, 1992 Letter
11th
Wing July 16, 1992 Letter
11th
Wing August 6, 1992 Letter
11th
Wing August 14, 1992 Letter
11th
Wing December 2, 1993 Letter
Air
Force Materiel Command
AFMC
Response Letter
AFMC
May 12, 1999 Letter
AFMC
October 19, 2000 Letter
AFMC
September 5, 2001 (1) Letter
AFMC
September 5, 2001 (2) Letter
AFMC
December 18, 2001 Letter
AFMC
July 26, 2002 (1) Letter
AFMC
July 26, 2002 (2) Letter
AFMC
August 13, 2002 Letter
AFMC
August 31, 2002 Letter
AFMC
September 3, 2002 Letter
AFMC
February 10, 2003 Letter
AFMC
August 21, 2003 Letter
Air
Combat Command
Air
Combat Command Response Letter
Air
Combat Command June 6, 1995 (1) Letter
Air
Combat Command June 6, 1995 (2) Letter
Air
Combat Command November 30, 1995 Letter
Air
Combat Command May 8, 1997 Letter
Air
Combat Command September 22, 1997 (1) Letter
Air
Combat Command September 22, 1997 (2) Letter
Air
Combat Command March 22, 1999 (1) Letter
Air
Combat Command March 22, 1999 (2) Letter
Air
Combat Command July 6, 1999 Letter
Air
Combat Command May 6, 2000 Letter
Air
Force Education and Training Command
Education
Training Command Response Letter
Education
Training Command June 22, 1994 Letter
Education
Training Command June 10, 2003 Letter
Education
Training Command June 13, 2003 Letter
Education
Training Command June 24, 2003 Letter
Education
Training Command June 25, 2003 Letter
Education
Training Command July 8, 2003 Letter
Education
Training Command July 14, 2003 Letter
Education
Training Command July 29, 2003 Letter
Education
Training Command Final Response Letter
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