[Requester name, organization, address, email, phone]
[Date]
FOIA Officer [Agency / component] [Address / portal]
Re: Freedom of Information Act request: records of an unidentified anomalous phenomenon event on [date] at/near [location]
Dear FOIA Officer:
Under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. §552, I request copies of the following records.
The event. On or about [date and time, with time zone], [describe: e.g., aircrew of [unit/aircraft] observed an object near [location]; radar operators at [facility] tracked an object; personnel at [base] reported objects over [facility]]. [Cite any public source describing the event, especially official sources: AARO case number [__], PURSUE release [identifier], congressional testimony [hearing, page], or press reports.]
Records requested. All records created or received from [date minus 7 days] through [date plus 1 year] concerning the event, including: 1. incident, mishap, hazard, safety, and intelligence reports (including any report submitted to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office or its predecessors); 2. sensor data and imagery, including radar, infrared, electro-optical, and gun-camera or targeting-pod video, and associated metadata; 3. logs and communications of the units, ships, aircraft, or facilities involved (including flight schedules, debriefs, operations logs, and chat or message traffic); 4. emails and memoranda discussing the event; 5. records of any collection, retention, transfer, or destruction of data or material associated with the event, including chain-of-custody records and any instruction not to discuss the event; and 6. analyses, assessments, or resolution of the event.
Components and record systems. Please search at least: [list components, e.g., the unit, its parent command, the wing or squadron intelligence office, the safety center, NASIC, the service’s UAP point of contact, AARO]. Please include email, unclassified and classified networks, operational and safety databases, sensor archives, and any special access program repositories in which records may be held.
Search terms. Please use at least: “UAP,” “UFO,” “unidentified anomalous phenomena,” “unidentified aerial phenomena,” “unidentified object,” “unknown aircraft,” “UAS” combined with “unknown,” the event date, the location name, and the names of the platforms and units involved.
Request for search description. In your response, please identify the record systems searched, the custodians, and the search terms used. See Slaughter v. Dep’t of the Air Force, No. 1:24-cv-862-RCL, 2026 WL 571249 (D.D.C. Mar. 2, 2026).
Segregability. Please release all reasonably segregable portions, including portions of video and imagery showing the object, with platform symbology, sensor parameters, and other classified overlays redacted if necessary, and identify the exemption for each redaction.
Official acknowledgment. [If the agency may respond with Glomar:] The existence of records about this event has been officially acknowledged in [list official sources]. A refusal to confirm or deny would not be logical or plausible. ACLU v. CIA, 710 F.3d 422 (D.C. Cir. 2013).
Fees and expedition. [Fee category; fee waiver justification; expedited processing if applicable; see Form A2-1 language.]
Timing. FOIA requires a determination within 20 working days (5 U.S.C. §552(a)(6)(A)(i)). If the agency will need longer, please provide an estimated date on which it will complete action on this request, as §552(a)(7)(B)(ii) requires, and tell me of any opportunity to narrow the request to speed processing. I am aware that the Office of Government Information Services offers mediation (§552(h)(3)) and may ask for its assistance if processing stalls.
Please provide records electronically to [email].
Sincerely, [Name]
