00-175. Comments on Department of Defense Intent To Make Decisional Documents of Discharge Review Boards (DRB) and Correction Boards (CB) Available in a Searchable, On-Line Database, and To Discontinue Indexing in Hardcopy Form

[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 3 (Wednesday, January 5, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Page 440]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-175]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Office of the Secretary


Comments on Department of Defense Intent To Make Decisional 
Documents of Discharge Review Boards (DRB) and Correction Boards (CB) 
Available in a Searchable, On-Line Database, and To Discontinue 
Indexing in Hardcopy Form

AGENCY: Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Program Integration, DoD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice is published to comply with the Electronic Freedom 
of Information Act Amendments of 1996. The Department of Defense 
intends to provide on-line access to decisional documents of DRBs and 
CBs in a computer database, which will be searchable by key words. All 
decisional documents issued after October 1998 will be available on 
this searchable on-line database accessible via the Internet. 
Decisional documents issued prior to October 1998 will not be included 
in the database, but will continue to be available in microfiche in the 
DRB/CB reading room. Hard copy indices to these older decisional 
documents will continue to be available as well. However, the DRB/CB 
reading room will no longer create and make available to the public 
hard copy indices for decisional documents issued after October 1998, 
since these documents will be available and searchable on-line. This 
notice is to provide interested parties with the opportunity to submit 
written comments on the proposed changes. Implementation of the 
proposed changes will require application to the United States District 
Court for the District Columbia, since the changes would effect 
indexing requirements contained in a settlement order issued in Urban 
Law Institute of Antioch College, Inc. v. Secretary of Defense, Civ. 
No. 76-0530 (D.D.C.) (Stipulation of Dismissal, Jan. 31, 1977) (Order 
and Settlement Agreement, July 30, 1982).

DATES: Comments are due no later than May 4, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Forward comments to the Office of the Under Secretary of 
Defense for Personnel & Readiness, Program Integration, Legal Policy, 
4000 Defense Pentagon, Washington, D.C. 20301-4000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lt Col Karen J. Kinlin, OUSD (P&R) PI-
LP, 4000 Defense Pentagon, Room 4C763, Washington, D.C. 20301-4000; 
telephone [phone]; facsimile [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Electronic Freedom of Information Act 
Amendments of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104-231, 110 Stat. 3048, became 
effective on October 2, 1996. These amendments required agencies to use 
electronic information technology to enhance the availability of 
reading room records. The Amendments embody a strong preference that 
records be made available on-line whenever possible. To satisfy this 
requirement, a web-site for the DoD Electronic Reading Room for 
Corrections and Discharge Review Boards is being created which will 
contain all decisional documents of the Military Departments' 
Correction Boards and Discharge Review Boards after October 1998. The 
web site will include the search engine DocuShare that will allow 
members of the public to search decisional documents by keyword.
    The current hard copy indexing system will still be available for 
documents prior to October 1998 which will be retained on microfiche. 
However, at the end of this process, when all the boards have posted 
their up-to-date decisional documents, the DoD plans to discontinue 
using the current hard copy index system prescribed in DoD Directive 
1332.28, and instead will rely on the web site's search capability. The 
DocuShare search engine will enable applicants and/or their 
representatives to find those cases that may be similar to theirs and 
that indicate the circumstances under which or reasons why the DRB or 
the Secretary concerned granted or denied relief.
    Decisional documents issued prior to October 1998, and not 
accessible on the web site, would still be available on microfiche in 
the Armed Forces Discharge Review/Correction Board Reading Room and 
would retain the old indexing system.
    Because the corrections boards also use a hard copy index system, 
DoD proposes that the proposal to replace the current indexing system 
with the electronic search engine will also include decisional 
documents of the Boards for Correction of Military Records. Microfiche 
correction board documents available in the reading room will continue 
to be available and will continue to be searchable by means of existing 
hard copy indices.
    We believe the changes outlined above will significantly improve 
public access to DRB/CB decisional documents, as well as the 
individual's ability to search for and identify documents of interest 
to him or her.

    Dated: December 29, 1999.
L.M. Bynum,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.
[FR Doc. 00-175 Filed 01-04-00; 8:45 am]
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