DoD Releases Contracts with SANCORP Outlining Work For UFO Office AARO

COLD OPEN: This is a declassified document from the Department of Defense, released in 2023. It outlines contracts with Sancorp, a company providing support services to the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO). The document is notable for shedding light on the inner workings of the AARO, a little-known office within the DoD. The document is available on the Black Vault website, a repository of declassified government records. PROVENANCE: The document was released in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request from The Black Vault, a non-profit organization dedicated to transparency in government. The request was assigned FOIA case number 23-F-1114 and was processed by the Washington Headquarters Services, Acquisition Directorate. The document was declassified on September 11, 2023. THE DOCUMENT: DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION DIVISION 1155 DEFENSE PENTAGON WASHINGTON, DC 20301-1155 Ref: 23-F-1114 September 11, 2023 Mr. John Greenewald, Jr The Black Vault, Inc. 27305 W. Live Oak Rd. Suite #1203 Castaic, CA 91384 Dear Mr. Greenewald: This is a final response to your July 19, 2023 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, a copy of which is enclosed for your convenience. We received your request on July 19, 2023, and assigned it FOIA case number 23-F-1114. We ask that you use this number when referring to your request. The Washington Headquarters Services, Acquisition Directorate, a component of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, conducted a search of their records systems and located 125 pages determined to be responsive to your request. Ms. Paulette Creighton, Division Director, Enterprise Acquisition Policy & Strategic Initiatives, in her capacity as an Initial Denial Authority (IDA), has also determined that the responsive records contain information exempt from public release, including 11 pages withheld in their entirety pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552 (b)(5), inter- and intra- agency memoranda which are deliberative in nature; this exemption is appropriate for internal documents which are part of the decision-making process, and contain subjective evaluations, opinions and recommendations. The aforementioned IDA determined that portions of the remaining 114 responsive pages are exempt from release pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552 (b)(4), trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person and privileged or confidential and (b)(6), disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of the personal privacy of individuals. We have considered the foreseeable harm standard when reviewing records and applying exemptions under the FOIA in the processing of this request. In this instance, fees for processing your request were below the threshold for requiring payment. Please note that fees may be assessed on future requests. If you have any questions or concerns about the foregoing or about the processing of your request, please do not hesitate to contact the Action Officer assigned to your request, Kayla Webster, at kayla.n.webster2.civ@mail.mil or 571-372-0440. [document continues with contract details] CONTEXT: The Department of Defense has confirmed that the contracts outlined in this document are related to the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), a little-known office within the DoD. The AARO is responsible for investigating and resolving reports of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs). OUTRO: This is what the public record looks like at its most ordinary. The declassified document provides a glimpse into the inner workings of the AARO and the contracts it has with private companies like Sancorp. For more information, visit the Black Vault website at theblackvault.com. The canonical PDF of this document is available at documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/osd/23-F-1114.pdf.