ABout MARINE FORCES RESERVE

Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES) was created by Congress as the Reserve Component of the Marine Corps.  The mission of Marine Forces Reserve is to augment and reinforce active Marine forces in time of war, national emergency or contingency operations, provide personnel and operational tempo relief for the active forces in peacetime, and provide service to the community.  Equipped and trained to the same rigorous standards as our active Marine forces, to include joint operations, Marine Forces Reserve will be trained and educated to the highest levels, and provide rapid response when called upon.

FOIA INFORMATION

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), enacted in 1966, generally provides that any person has the right to access to all federal agency records except for those records (or portions of those records) that are protected from disclosure by any of nine exemptions or three exclusions (reasons for which an agency may withhold records from a requester).

The exemptions cover:

 (1)  classified national defense and foreign relations information,
 (2)  internal agency rules and practices,
 (3)  information that is prohibited from disclosure by another law,
 (4)  trade secrets and other confidential business information,
 (5)  inter-agency or intra-agency communications that are protected by legal privileges,
 (6)  information involving matters of personal privacy,
 (7)  certain information compiled for law enforcement purposes,
 (8)  information relating to the supervision of financial institutions, and
 (9)  geological information on wells.

 In 1996, Congress revised the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by passing the Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments (E-FOIA).  The E-FOIA amendments provide for public access to information in an electronic format and for the establishment of electronic FOIA reading rooms through agency FOIA sites on the Internet.

ACTIVITIES SERVED BY MARFORRES 

Marine Forces Reserve - Headquarters Battalion
4th Marine Division
4th Marine Aircraft Wing
4th Marine Logistic Group
Force Headquarters Group

INITIAL DENIAL AUTHORITY (IDA)

MARFORRES maintains FOIA Initial Denial Authority (IDA) over all MARFORRES units.  ONLY Commander, Marine Forces Reserve (CMFR) is authorized to withhold records under the FOIA based on the nine FOIA exemptions.  As the IDA, CMFR is also authorized to grant or deny requests for fee waivers.

COMMONLY REQUESTED RECORDS 

Names and Duty Station Addresses including E-Mail Addresses:
10 U.S.C. § 130(b) prohibits the release of names and duty station addresses and e-mail addresses of individuals who are stationed overseas, routinely deployable (i.e., aboard ships/aircraft), or assigned to sensitive units.  All other addresses are withheld under 5 U.S.C. §552(b)(6).

Home Addresses of Former Members:
We do not maintain home addresses of former members.  Further, home addresses cannot be released under FOIA since release would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.

Military Personnel Records of Former Members:
To request YOUR OWN Official Military Personnel File (OMPF), if you were in the USMC from 1999 to present only, please contact the following:

Manpower Management Records & Performance Branch
Attn: MMRP
2008 Elliott Road
Quantico, VA 22134

eMail: smb.manpower.mmsb@usmc.mil
Phone: (800) 268-3710

Note: If you were in the USMC before 1999 please visit the National Archives Website to determine the location of the record.

Requests for records held by the National Personnel Records Center can be made at: http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/

Privacy Act Records:
To identify what records this Department may be maintaining on you, visit the Navy's Privacy Act website. Each systems notice identifies how long records are maintained and how to access such records. Please be advised that signatures are required for access to PA systems of records and therefore electronic requests are normally not acceptable.

HOW TO MAKE A FOIA REQUEST

In the Request Description section of the request, describe the specific record(s) you are seeking with enough detail so that a knowledgeable official of the activity may locate the record with a reasonable amount of effort. Such detail should include descriptive information, time-frame to be searched, etc. Because most Navy records are not retained permanently, the more information provided, the better opportunity there is to determine if the records would still exist and where. The FOIA clearly states that records must exist at the time the request is submitted to be considered.

Be sure to state your limit for fee payment or provide sufficient justification to support a fee waiver. Currently we charge search, review (for commercial requesters only), and duplication costs. (The fee schedule is provided at enclosure (3) of Secretary of the Navy Instruction 5720.42F).

HELPFUL LINKS

Department of Defense FOIA Handbook

USMC HQMC FOIA Website

SECNAVINST 5720.42G (Department of the Navy Freedom of Information Act Program)

QUESTIONS

FOIA requesters who have any questions concerning the processing of their requests with the MARFORRES FOIA Coordinators should contact this center at the phone numbers above.  If you are not satisfied with the response from that center, you may contact the USMC FOIA Public Liaison at SMB.HQMC.FOIA@usmc.mil or telephone (703) 614-4008.