I just obtained a 1958 "secret" CIA report titled "A Technical Evaluation of the Soviet Nuclear Power Program" through a FOIA appeal. I think it's an important document and should be made available to the public. Any suggestions?

Bill,

NARA has Public Catalog Listings which state the measured linear inches of documents and their Classification or Restrictions. These can be FOIA'd and submitted by the NARA National Declassification Center to their originating agencies.NARA also has documents that may Not be listed on the Online Public Catalog, and you would have to take a guess or ask for the SF135, or have actually been there and witnessed the event, or taken the picture.   The Classified Motion Picture Titles has numerous listings of Cold War atomic testing.  The new Amelia Earhart info is on YouTube. If she was imprisoned in Saipan, then there are most likely Still Pictures of other high priority target regions. It must have been difficult for the Marine Commadant to know that the real story did not match the history books. But there is always a secondary gain or agenda from the denial and disinformation. I also wonder if one of the stars on the CIA memorial, may be in her honor, if the plane design also included the photo reconnaissance of the Pacific theater. And perhaps film canister drops that were to be recovered by ship? NARA also has a PIDB Public Interest Declassification Board which obtains topics from legislative members and submits the recommendations to the President. Many of the documents are being moved into underground mines, and if there is not an SF135 in the data base, then it will sit in a vault until the next WW3 is over.....

Just to clarify, NARA does accept Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests on archival records, although most of the records in our holdings are unrestricted and are available for research without filing a FOIA request. You may submit a FOIA request to the National Archives for archival records that are security-classified or otherwise restricted (e.g. for personal privacy). NARA's Special Access/FOIA Staff will review the request, consulting other agencies if necessary, and will advise you as to whether any or all of the files have been released. NARA’s FOIA Reference Guide provides a detailed overview of the FOIA process, which includes instructions on how to submit a request.

Bill,

It seems that in some cases,  if the records are given to NARA, then the originating Agency has  "No Searchable Record"  in their data base. If the records are not in the NARA database or Online

Public Catalog, then they are in some state of :"ghostly" limbo.  In some cases it seems that they may be

sending records to the mine Vaults, without creating an electronic search designation, which can be accessed

by FOIA teams. Don't ask how I came to this conclusion, but it involved something like actually going to the

site to see if the records were there? There was no reference to a S135 or 258.  That leads me to believe that NARA may be bypassed by some agencies and the DOD. NARA may not be aware of these physical locations since they have their own underground facilities. And most likely do not have access to the data base. NARA must submit the

records to the Originating Agencies,  who in my case stated they had no records. Eventually the Pentagon FOIA office said NARA had them after months went by. Now that records are electronic, and there is no physical evidence, they can easily be transferred from server to server and  into an endless rabbit hole. Many researchers will have to focus

on physical artifacts.

NARA does receive FOIA requests - it depends on the collection. At Presidential Libraries that are not part of the Presidential Records Act (beginning with Reagan), records of certain federal groups - such as the Cuban/Hatian Task Force - are obtainable through FOIA. Others will  be requested with a MDR. It's best to actually ask the archivists who work at NARA or the Presidential Libraries and Federal Records Centers about how these things work.

A Mandatory Declassification Review can also be requested,  and after 1 year of no action,  it can also be requested through the ISCAP.  The majority of DOE or NTRA, Nuclear Threat Reduction Agency records are classified for 50 years.  Some of the Desert Storm documents actually underwent declassification, and then they were reclassified.

I Just read a May VFW article about the USS Stark missile attack by an Iraqi Pilot in 1988 during Operation Earnest Will, which killed 37 crew members. The article stated that the records were still classified. The Crew was denied the Navy Combat Action Badge. NARA has the 7 inches of Stark Investigation records with the restricted RG 518

Desert Storm records. The FOIA's for documents in NARA's custody must be sent to the declassifying agencies. So the originating agency, and agencies,  must review the documents for release, such as the DOD. Once they create a common electronic FOIA portal, then each FOIA can be easily accounted for and tracked. It will eliminate the paper system and ensure accountability. Agencies are supposed to place frequently requested records on a public web site in electronic format.  Some agencies are using out dated methods and are not even aware, or even ensuring the new guidelines are being implemented. The DOJ OIP summary is available, and the new motto is " release to one and release to all".

The problem is that, the agencies do not prioritize declassification.  And the younger generation is too busy on their

IPhone.  War is all about business and profit, and sometimes diplomacy never works. It also makes it easier to wage another war. Plus, someone has to be the good guy....?

Bill,

NARA has records that are "transferred" and "accessioned" , whereby transferred records are still in the legal custody of the originating agency. This is the type of records held by the WNRC, Washington National Records Center.

When records are "accessioned"  I think it means NARA has legal custody of the records. I think NARA had a problem in the past where documents were requested and removed by an originating agency, and then never returned.

A MDR is requested under Executive Order 13526, and may be appealed or appealed to the ISCAP. A FOIA can be

Appealed and then challenged in Federal Court. Similar to Judicial Watch and Freedom Watch cases.

Certain records can be held by the agencies up to 25, 50 years, and even up to 75 years. In some cases the records are declassified,  and then reclassified again. In some cases the records or computer server is not located in the United States, whereby foreign governments are not under US law. In some cases the data may not be held on a government server,  and private corporations are exempt. Most individuals look for short cuts to "bend " the regulations and over classify or simply avoid transfers and accessions and FOIA disclosures.  The PIDB (Public Interest Disclosure Board) is an important tool.