Q. I am writing a biography of an individual who served in the USAF for 25 years. I have a significant piece of his history from his time served in Vietnam but would like to review the remainder of his military history. Would I be permitted to file a FOIA request for the remainder of his disclosable military history and expect a positive result? He is not a relative.
A. If you do not have the written consent of a veteran or his next-of-kin, you may still be able to obtain various information from the veteran's Official Military Personnel File (OMPF) via the Freedom of Information Act. See examples of releasable information here.
To submit your request, you'll first need to figure out where to send it, which depends upon the veteran's date of discharge. See this chart for instructions. You may submit your request using Standard Form 180 or by a letter that provides the same information requested in the SF-180.