What did the declassified documents reveal?

This is a Declassified episode, reading a document from the Office of the Secretary of Defense/Joint Staff Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) response, case number 25-F-2554. The document was released by The Black Vault, Inc. on May 21, 2025, through a FOIA request submitted by Mr. John Greenewald. The document can be found at https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/osd/25-F-2554.pdf. The Office of the Secretary of Defense/Joint Staff (OSD/JS) received Mr. Greenewald's request on March 18, 2025, and assigned it FOIA case number 25-F-2554. The OSD/JS FOIA Requester Service Center conducted a review of 78 responsive pages referred by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG). According to the document, the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), Office of General Counsel (OGC), and the Office of the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs (OATSD(PA)), components of OSD, and the United States Navy (Navy), conducted a review of the responsive pages. Mr. Paul Plescow, Senior Intelligence Officer, AARO; Mr. David Bennett, Director, OIC, OGC; Ms. April Holt, FOIA Program Manager, OATSD(PA); and Mr. Richard Strong, Director, Navy FOIA/PA Program Office, determined that portions of the records are exempt from mandatory disclosure pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552: (b)(5), inter- and intra-agency memoranda which are deliberative in nature; (b)(6), information which, if disclosed, would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of the personal privacy of individuals; and (b)(7)(C), law enforcement records or information that could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. The document also mentions that 61 pages were referred to the U.S. Army (USA) for direct response to Mr. Greenewald. The USA FOIA office contact information is provided in the document. The document includes a response from Mr. Lue Elizondo, dated June 5, 2019, regarding substantiating documentation for his involvement in the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) issue. The response is redacted under exemption (b)(6) due to personal privacy concerns. For your convenience, the full document is available at https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/osd/25-F-2554.pdf. This is what the public record looks like at its most ordinary. Storyflo.com

Why was this case declassified?

This material entered the public record through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process.

Case · DAILY-002

OSD/Joint Staff FOIA release (case 25-F-2554)

JUL 5 · 2026Narrated by daily-declassified-osd-joint-staff-foia-release-case-25-f-25543 minLast updated July 5, 2026

The short version

This is a Declassified episode, reading a document from the Office of the Secretary of Defense/Joint Staff Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) response, case number 25-F-2554. The document was released by The Black Vault, Inc. on May 21, 2025, through a FOIA request submitted by Mr.

Date: JUL 5 · 2026
Release: Declassified · U.S. public record (FOIA)

↯ Dispatch — press play

0:003:08

↯ Share

X in r/

Episode notes

Questions about this case

What was OSD/Joint Staff FOIA release (case 25-F-2554) about?: This is a Declassified episode, reading a document from the Office of the Secretary of Defense/Joint Staff Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) response, case number 25-F-2554. The document was released by The Black Vault, Inc. on May 21, 2025, through a FOIA request submitted by Mr.
Why was this case declassified?: This material entered the public record through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. Storyflo narrates it directly from the public release.

✉ Dispatches

A short dispatch when a new file is released — narrated, answer-first, and linked straight to the primary source. No spam; unsubscribe anytime.

↯ Subscribe to the feed

RSS feed Browse all cases

Questions about this case

Get the next declassified case in your inbox