Pentagon: FOIA Appeal Orders New Search for 'Yankee Blue' Memo
The FOIA Appeals Division remanded a request back to the Defense Department for additional searches regarding an alleged 2023 memorandum. The directive supposedly ordered Air Force personnel to cease a hazing ritual involving fabricated non-human technology claims. The initial inquiry found no records, but appellants successfully argued the search scope was too narrow.
Background
On December 12, 2025, the Acting Chief of the FOIA Division issued a decision remanding The Black Vault's request to the FOIA Division for expanded searches. The request sought an alleged 2023 memorandum from the Secretary of Defense's office regarding 'Yankee Blue,' described as an Air Force hazing ritual where service members were falsely told they worked on retrieved non-human craft.
The appeal challenged the September 2025 'no records' determination, arguing the search was unlawfully restricted to the Correspondence Management Division. Citing precedents such as Oglesby v. U.S. Dep't of Army, the appeal asserted that a Secretary-level directive would likely reside in multiple offices, including policy directorates.
The original claim originated from a June 2023 Wall Street Journal article stating the practice was ordered to stop immediately. No document has publicly surfaced, and Pentagon spokesperson Susan Gough stated in October 2025 she could not confirm the memo's existence.