On March 7, 2023, a FOIA request was filed through MuckRock to the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General asking for records on directed energy weapons programmes that were testing or using DEW technology on US civilians. Tracking number: DODOIG-2023-000607. The DOD OIG rejected the request within two days. The rejection does not say the programmes don’t exist. It says the DOD OIG is not the right office to ask.
What the FOIA Request Named
The request — filed as part of a multi-agency submission — asked for records on several specific programme categories that the requester named by title. Among them: “Directed Energy Bio-Behavioral Research (DEBR) programs and contracts.” The requester also asked for records on “Remote Neural Monitoring weapons/technologies” and documentation of informed consent for human subjects in DEW testing programmes run by CIA, FBI, DOD, Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Special Operations Command.
The request asked specifically for: the statement of work on each DEBR programme; all Federal Wide Assurance documentation signed off by the Office of Human Research Protections; signed informed consent documents from human subjects; any waivers of consent from the Secretary of Defense; and the precise frequencies (Hz) used in each directed energy weapon.
The Rejection Language
The DOD OIG response, signed by Eric R. Powers, Government Information Specialist, FOIA, Privacy and Civil Liberties Office, reads: “Given our mission and responsibilities, we are not aware of a nexus between the information you are requesting and the DoD OIG. With this action, we are administratively closing your case in this office.”
The phrase “not aware of a nexus” is a narrow and precise formulation. It does not say: “No such programmes exist.” It does not say: “These records do not exist.” It says the DOD OIG — specifically the inspector general’s oversight function — does not hold or create records on these programmes. That is consistent with these programmes being held by operational agencies (CIA, DIA, Army Intelligence) rather than oversight bodies.
The DEBR Programme Name
“Directed Energy Bio-Behavioral Research” as a named programme category appearing in a FOIA request is significant. The requester either invented this term or encountered it through prior research. If the latter, it represents a specific DOD programme designation for research into the behavioural effects of directed energy on biological subjects. The AAWSAP programme, which ran from 2008–2012, commissioned research on UAP-related biological effects. The overlap in subject matter is not coincidental.
Source: MuckRock FOIA request DODOIG-2023-000607. DOD OIG response March 9, 2023. Signed Eric R. Powers. muckrock.com/foi/ tracking 142308.