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📑FOIA Dumps

Army Ranger: Soldier’s last stand in Afghanistan was “the most honorable thing I have witnessed.”

Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Celiz helping clear debris with fellow soldiers following the aftermath of a hurricane. (Photo courtesy of Katie Celiz)

In 2018, the leader of a team of Army Rangers on patrol in southeastern Afghanistan used his body to shield a U.S. crew in the cockpit of a medical evacuation helicopter from enemy machine gun fire. It would cost him his life.

Army CID questioned a soldier about housing allowance fraud. Then he disappeared.

Official Army photo of Sergeant First Class Johnnie Johnson. Johnson went missing after U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division questioned him about his university degrees in December 2015. (U.S. Army)

Things began to unravel in the summer of 2015, as investigators got wind of alleged fraud. By that Christmas, Sergeant First Class Johnnie Johnson would be gone, never to be heard from again.

Marine Corps FOIA docs on Sgt. Nicole Gee transfer and burial

Marine Sgt. Nicole Gee cradles an infant during the noncombatant evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, days before her death in an August 2021 suicide bombing. Gee was assigned to the Combat Logistics Battalion 24, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. (Isaiah Campbell/U.S. Marine Corps)

Phone calls—and donations—poured in to the nonprofit that flew Marine Sgt. Nicole Gee’s remains to Arlington National Cemetery after a since-discredited Fox News story prompted outrage.

Army records: Murdered Delta Force soldier used coke, meth, heroin after shooting best friend

A Marine holds a urine sample in a white bottle with a barcode on its label during a II Marine Expeditionary Force-wide drug test at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C. (Marine Corps photo/Daniel A. Wulz)

A Marine holds a urine sample during a II Marine Expeditionary Force-wide drug test at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C. (Marine Corps photo/Daniel A. Wulz)

Army CID records seem to give us answers the spokespeople wouldn’t—proving yet again the incredible value of the Freedom of Information Act and other transparency laws.

‘Ignore and Play On’: Navy training documents tell eSports team not to feed the trolls

A photo of a young man with green headphones on sitting at a keyboard and smiling at the camera, while to his right and left people are playing video games at computer stations.

James Cockrill, a Navy recruit, plays "Valorant" against the Navy esports team, Goats & Glory, at an esports event during Kansas City Navy Week, June 29, 2021. (U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Chris Williamson)

Navy documents, obtained under FOIA, reveal the service’s strategy for dealing with users trolling its eSports team on streaming services.

Two Green Berets wounded in 2019 Niger blast

Nigerien troops in first aid during Exercise Flintlock 2017 in Diffa, Niger. (Kulani Lakanaria/U.S. Army)

Awards records obtained under FOIA show the American soldiers were wounded in a June 2019 roadside bomb attack near a Nigerien weapons range, though officials initially said no one was harmed.

Revealing a Green Beret’s heroism on a Somali battlefield

U.S. forces practice convoy training with the Danab Brigade and the Kenya Defense Force (KDF) in Somalia, May 22, 2021. Special Operations Command Africa remains engaged with partner forces in Somalia in order to promote safety and stability across the Horn of Africa. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Zoe Russell)

Green Beret William Doyle is an impressive guy, to be sure. This week we got a glimpse of his combat leadership in a little-known battle in Somalia six years ago, thanks to FOIA records.