How to Request Information

Welcome to the DPMO Declassification/Freedom of Information Act Division’s web page. This division is responsible for DPMO compliance with a number of U.S. laws and Executive Orders (EOs) requiring the public disclosure of information on the POW/MIA issue. For more in-depth information on the process, laws and EOs, please select from the following options:

All FOIA requests for DPMO documents should be routed through the Department of Defense (DoD) Office of Freedom of Information.  To assist you in filling out a FOIA request, an electronic handbook may be found here: http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/FOIAhandbook.pdf   

FOIA requests may be submitted electronically at the following site:  http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/submit_foiareq.html, or they can be mailed to the FOIA office listed below:

DoD Office of Freedom of Information
1155 Defense Pentagon
Washington, DC 20301-1155

Please note:  If you are a family member of a missing service member, you may obtain U.S. Government files on your missing family member without filling a request under the FOIA.  It is our policy to respond directly to the family members through their respective service casualty offices, and to provide them with the greatest degree of access to information that they are entitled to under the law.  The FOIA does authorize reasonable charges when extensive research is required to collect records or documents.  However, as a matter of policy, family members of MIAs may obtain information related to their case free of charge.

Your service casualty office is your first-line representative to ensure you receive all the information to which you are entitled.  The process is simple.  Just forward your request for U.S. Government files on your missing family member directly to the applicable service casualty office:

USAF Missing Persons Branch
550 C Street West, Suite 15
Randolph AFB, TX 78150-4716

U.S. Army Human Resources Command
ATTN:  AHRC-PER
200 Stovall Street
Alexandria, VA 22332-0482

Headquarters U.S. Marine Corps
Manpower and Reserve Affairs (MRC)
3280 Russell Road
Quantico, VA 22134-5103

Navy Personnel Command
POW/MIA Branch (PERS-624)
5720 Integrity Drive
Millington, TN 38055-6210

All lawfully releasable information contained in DPMO’s holdings have been placed, as required by law, in the public domain in the Library of Congress (LoC) – for access by the public – under the terms of 50 USC Sec 435 Note (commonly referred to as the McCain Bill).  As new information becomes available, it is added to the existing collection.

The requester can obtain information online at the Federal Research Division of the LoC web site:  http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/powquery.html.  Clicking on any item in the search results will display a page showing the reel and page numbers on which the material is found in the LoC collection.  For the requester’s convenience, the specified reels containing this material can be sent directly to the requester’s local library, by the LoC, through the “Inter-library Loan Program,” for viewing by the requester.  This collection is being converted to image format.  We are moving toward simplifying access to records by having the entire collection directly accessible on the LoC web site.

For more information on declassification, FOIA laws and EOs, click on the applicable links below:

- 5 United States Code Section 552 is the law that directs the implementation of the FOIA.

- EO 12958 (Classified National Security Information) - The current directive for the entire Executive Branch for classifying and declassifying documents.

- EO 13392 (Improving Agency Disclosure of Information) – The directive instructing agencies to ensure citizen-centered and results-oriented FOIA operations.

- FOIA Exemptions are types of information that the FOIA law prohibits from disclosure.

- The Declassification Review Process involves the application of numerous laws and directives and the coordination with all the governmental agencies involved in the POW/MIA issue. ( Decision Logic )

- EO 12812 is President Bush's order extending to all Executive Branch agencies and departments the requirement to disclose to the public all information on the Vietnam-era POW/MIA issue in accordance with existing laws and orders on classification and personal privacy.

- Presidential Decision Directive/NSC-8 is President Clinton's order requiring the disclosure of contemporary Southeast Asia POW/MIA material by November 11, 1993.

- 50 United States Code Section 435 Note , commonly referred to as the McCain Bill , requires the public disclosure of information contained in Department of Defense files relating to unaccounted for personnel from the Korean Conflict, the Cold War, and the Vietnam War.

- What is Treatment, Location &/or Condition (T-L-C)?

- The official repository for Korean War and Cold War POW/MIA materials is the National Archives .

- Additional information on the FOIA process is available at the DefenseLINK FOIA Website .