Freedom of Information Act provides transparency for the Joint Task Force

Photo By Master Sgt. Blair Heusdens | The U.S. Freedom of Information Act is a law ensuring public access to U.S. government records. Joint Task Force Guantanamo makes every effort to provide access to documents in accordance with the FOIA act to maintain transparency of operations. JTF Guantanamo conducts safe, humane, legal and transparent care and custody of detainees, including those convicted by military commission and those ordered released by a court. The JTF conducts intelligence collection, analysis and dissemination for the protection of detainees and personnel working in JTF Guantanamo facilities and in support of the War on Terror. JTF Guantanamo provides support to the Office of Military Commissions, to law enforcement and to war crimes investigations. The JTF conducts planning for and, on order, responds to Caribbean mass migration operations.  

GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA

06.19.2009

Story by Sgt. 1st Class Michael Gholston 

Joint Task Force Guantanamo Public Affairs

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba — Joint Task Force Guantanamo Bay is comprised of many elements that may not be apparent in a transparent and seamless environment. Demographics include U.S. Army and Navy military units as well as numerous government agencies and local support departments. In essence, the JTF Guantanamo is comparable to any city where government infrastructure is the framework that provides cohesion and guidance to achieve objectives.

One of the departments at JTF Guantanamo that is key to mission transparency researches Freedom of Information Act requests. The FOIA office is headed by Mr. Phillip Reilly, who returned to Guantanamo after retiring from the Puerto Rico National Guard last year.

"I first arrived April 14, 2007, as a mobilized Army National Guard Judge Advocate General officer," said Reilly, the FOIA director. "I was basically working with attorneys who were coming to Guantanamo Bay to see detainees. After retiring, I made the decision to come back to head the FOIA office last December."

Since returning as a civilian, he has handled more than 150 FOIA requests that must be expediently processed through numerous channels. When a FOIA request is received, Reilly must determine which divisions might have pertinent information regarding a particular client. Once this is done, he compiles and indexes the documents that are forwarded to U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM).

"After all the documents are sent to SOUTHCOM, they are responsible for sending the information to the requestor in the Department of Defense who finally delivers it to the attorney who requested it," stated Reilly.

The entire FOIA process can be timely, but the initial request must be responded to within a specified time period.

"According to the law we have 20 days to comply," Reilly explained. "In reality the 20 days are just enough time to reply and say we have information. We will tell the requestor that we have so many pages of documents and give them an estimate of how long the request may take to process."

Then, it is up to the FOIA requestor to continue with, or not seek further assistance because some requests can involve hundreds and possibly thousands of pages that must be redacted prior to their release. And the cost of this censoring is passed off to the requestor in the form of a written estimate.

Each division or section must redact all of their requested documents. Additionally, if FOIA finds documents that belong to other government agencies, they have to be referred to them for redaction and eventual disclosure.

Working behind the scenes at the FOIA office is a former U.S. Navy yeoman who served on active duty at the JTF Intelligence Operations Facility from February 2006 through August 2007. As the assistant FOIA manager, Randy Cothram is responsible for all the systems required to support the facilitation of the mission.

"After receiving the tracker request from SOUTHCOM, I am responsible for delegating this down to the unit level and then coordinating status updates for the FOIA manager," said Cothram.

He also is responsible for coordination with the JTF Staff Judge Advocate's office as well as handling all computer issues to include scanners, software and hardware support.

Cothram's formula for success is simple, "I just prioritize to get the job done."

This year the JTF FOIA office has already received approximately 98 requests, as compared to last year where approximately 160 requests were processed.

"One of the reasons for the increased requests this year is the announcement of the closure of the detention facilities," Reilly said. "Another reason is that attorneys want to get as much information as they can before going to court ... they use FOIA as part of their discovery process."

• Date Taken: 06.19.2009
• Date Posted: 06.26.2009 14:46
• Story ID: 35676
• Location: GUANTANAMO BAY, CU