Types

• The U.S. Department of Defense releases information to the public in two main ways: through Freedom of Information Act requests and public news releases, according to the DOD.
  
  

Identification

• Every American has the right to request information from the DOD under the FOIA, according to the DOD (See References 1; Page 1). Public news information is automatically released to the public.
  
  

Considerations

• The DOD does not provide public information on sensitive documents and those relating to the intelligence community, reports the DOD. The DOD also does not provide information if records are lost or FOIA procedures are not followed properly.
  
  

Features

• The DOD only releases "records" under FOIA requests. Records are collections of data, such as books, maps, and photographs held by the DOD (See References 1, page 3). News stories consist of statements from the DOD, like updates on casualties and new officer assignments.
  
  

Time Frame

• DOD FOIA releases to the public can take months due to the large amount of requests each year and the considerably large size of the DOD. Denials or approvals for public releases are attempted within 20 days. News stories are frequently printed, often on the DOD's Defense Link website.