After initially refusing my request and after I argued with them, the US Army provided me with a FOIA contact email for OCPA West – the Office of the Chief of Public Affairs Western Region, who call themselves, ‘the entertainment industry’s direct liaison to the United States Army’. So I filed my request for ‘a list of all films and TV shows that the US army has been involved in the production of’ with them.
The answer came back today, effectively saying they could find no such record. The letter explains, ‘The Office of the Army Chief Public Affairs (OCPA) has informed this office that after making a good faith effort search of the OCPA files, no records were discovered. The OCPA does not maintain a list of any their productions. This search included a thorough check of the electronic files and databases of the records and files currently maintained by the OCPA including the Los Angeles Branch, which would have revealed any paper files or historical files transferred to storage. We believe that these search methods were appropriate and could reasonably be expected to have produced the requested records if any records were maintained by OCPA. We have determined that this search was reasonable and that no responsive documents exist under our purview.’
So, this is a ‘no record determination’ and my request has been closed. What is curious is that even though they apparently don’t maintain a list, they do see such productions as ‘their’ productions. What is more curious is that they don’t maintain a list, but the DOD (their parent organisation) do clearly maintain just such a list. You can download the US Army’s FOIA response letter here (PDF).