Requests for deck logs by members of the general public must be submitted under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). When submitting a FOIA request for deck logs, we ask that you be as specific as possible; please include the name of the ship and the specific date for the deck logs that you are requesting. Please note you may be charged a fee based on the number of pages duplicated and the time it takes to search the records. Deck logs can run upwards of 400 pages per month, and it can take as much as five hours to review and determine if a single month of deck logs is releasable to the public. If you are unsure of the specific date(s), we recommend requesting the ship’s Command Operations Report. Command Operations Reports can often assist in narrowing down the date that an incident occurred.
Requests for Deck Log Copies from Government Officials
Veterans Affairs: Effective July 29, 2021, VBA’s Office of Field Operations, Military Records Research Center (MRRC) liaises with all service departments to secure relevant records, including classified records, required to conduct research. All deck log requests should be submitted in VBMS using the Record Research Requests chevron.
All Other Federal Agencies: Please send your request to archives@navy.mil.