Request 023 and 024 — 1/23 and 1/24/2026

Two requests: one on vending machines (in the Pentagon) and one on amusement parks (not in the Pentagon)

Happy Saturday, and happy foiaday!

I’m going to start this by saying that I hardly want this — skipping and grouping days together — to become a habit of the year. It is just as annoying for me as it may be for you! I promised daily FOIA updates, after all.

I’ve been on-and-off sick for the past week or two, which I’m chalking up to still getting my sealegs when it comes to being freshly immunocompromised. (That’s a new-ish development, something I touched on a little bit back in October in a different place, and will probably write more about soon.) But for now, it’s malaise with a touch of brain fog, and we work with what we’ve got.

Two requests tonight, then, on wildly different (well, maybe not?) topics: a weird vending machine at the Pentagon, and amusement parks.

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Friday’s request 🎊

I was browsing socials when a fascinating story from Task & Purpose came across my feed, with a killer headline:

“What is a loot box and why is there one at the Pentagon?”

Sorry, what?

As originally reported by Task & Purpose, the “lucky box” appeared in the main Pentagon food court, and offers those who pony up cash to possibly win a blind loot box that, in the past, has netted winners “a boxing glove autographed by legendary fighter Muhammad Ali, and a 2003 Topps Chrome Lebron James Rookie Gem Mint 10 card.” (Not to mention rare Pokémon cards, a possibility which 404 Media reported.)

In Virginia, the other spots where these are located are a hop skip and a jump away from a Capital Grille in Tyson’s Corner and right outside the Adidas and Sketchers outlet stores in Woodbridge.

(There’s one at O’Hare, too, in Terminal Five… hm. New bucket list item?)

So how did it end up in the Pentagon? The DoD told Task & Purpose very few details, just that it was put in place on December 23. As of yesterday, it’s been removed. (Womp.)

So let’s request records related to the loot box. At first I was almost certain that this request should go to the DCMA — the Defense Contract Management Agency — but I was really going down a rabbit hole here. (Seriously, I’ve spent almost an hour trying to figure out the structure by which this machine found itself in the Pentagon and dicking around on USASpending.gov lol.)

I started to think that maybe it was the DoD Defense Commissary Agency, that doesn’t quite fit with their mission. But then! Nestled on the Washington Headquarters Services website, a landing page for menus, concessions, events and maps of the food court and other amenities.

And what’s that seal?

The Department of Defense Concessions Committee. Noice.

A big 2025 “WELCOME to the PENTAGON” pdf also has descriptions about the different third-party vendors within the food court specifically, and the DoDCC oversees all of them.

Now that this rabbit hole is sufficiently chased down, let’s get to request language, maybe?

Based on the reporting that’s been done, I know that the DoD press office has been receiving requests for comment about Lucky Box Vending and the loot boxes it had posted up around Christmastime. So let’s request for that first:

All email correspondence including spokesperson Susan Gough (cc'ed, bcc'ed, sent, received) regarding the Lucky Box Vending, LLC "loot boxes" vending machines in the Pentagon food court. Keywords that may be helpful for search are "Lucky Box", "Lucky Box Vending LLC", "loot box" and "vending machine." Please limit the search from 12/1/2025 to present (1/23/2026 or whenever this request is processed). Please redact any PII and release emails in a .pdf, .msg or .eml format.

A quick aside, though, because of course — people think that Sue Gough is an alien? Or knows something about it? Which feels insane but it is literally one of the first things that pop up when I search her name:

Okay. Now that it’s out of the way, let’s grab details about Lucky Box Vending from the DoDCC:

- Contracts, bids, payments, invoices, MOUs, agreements, communication or other documentation involving the relationship between the DoDCC or Washington Headquarters Services and Lucky Box Vending, also known as Lucky Box Vending LLC, and the "loot box" placed in the Pentagon food court. Please limit the search of records between 1/1/2025 and present (1/23/2026 or whenever this request is processed). 

No more rabbit holes on this one. I swear!

Saturday’s request 🎢

As a reporter, there are sometimes moments where knowledge I possess pops up when it is probably better that it doesn’t.

Remember the road trip I mentioned last week or so?

A night from it was spent at a pop-up carnival in the shadow of Scott’s Bluff, which was an incredible sight at midnight. But.

My brain helpfully reminded me that not every state requires amusement parks to be regulated. And as we were queuing up for the swingy ride at the left, across from the Himalaya ride to the right (which kept putting off suspicious levels of smoke), I couldn’t remember if Nebraska required it and proceeded to casually info dump on my friends.

Needless to say it was not a great moment and I was rightfully thumped across the back of the head. (We rode the ride anyway.)

Thankfully, Nebraska has required it since 1987. Illinois requires it, too. The only federal-level regulation comes from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which is, well. Worse for wear.

Amusement park regulation varies widely from state to state and agency to agency. In Illinois, the Department of Labor regulates permits for different types of rides and experiences, and also manages inspections.

Their website has lists of all permitted rides, which is great, and the thresholds for testing specific kinds of rides. But the most recent list is from 2024, and it’s a chopped off vertical Excel file converted to a PDF.

So, let’s request:

- Lists of DOL permitted rides, as listed here (https://labor.illinois.gov/rides/permitted-rides.html) from 2016 until 2025, in a .xlsx or .csv or machine-readable format. If released in a .pdf format, please ensure that all fields are able to be read in their entirety. Please also include a current list of all DOL permitted rides for 2026 so far.

- All inspections of DOL permitted rides between 1/1/2024 and the present (1/24/2026 or whenever this request is processed). Please release records in a digitized format, like a .pdf or .xlsx file. Please include documents that indicate the result of the inspection, any corrective action needed and the date of inspection. If individual inspection documents are unduly burdensome to the agency, please release data or documents sufficient to show a list or log of all inspections undertaken.

- Data or documents sufficient to show the number of DOL ride inspectors, including the date of hire, and, if possible, the inspections they have undertaken.

- The most recent records retention schedule for the department, which includes a list of documents kept by the agency and for how long each record is retained. Please release this in a .pdf if possible.

Not trying to fearmonger over here — I think part of the charm and appeal of a pop-up carnival is the rickety nature of it that does make you wonder if a bolt will come loose and you’ll die — but I’m just so fascinated by this. Illinois is a big state, and while we’re in the dead of winter, and it is decidedly not outdoor traveling carnival season, digging through inspections should be fun. (And scary.)

Okay. I’m going to take a small jaunt over to my personal pharmacy and mix myself up something fierce. There’s no shortage of things to make my head hurt right now.

Like I mentioned at the top, I’m trying to not make skipping nights a habit, but I’d be lying if I said I expected this entire year would be perfect. For the past few years, I’ve written almost entirely enterprise and longform projects — hardly at a daily publishing clip. This is a challenge as much as it is an adventure! Bumps in the road are to be expected. (And if you weren’t expecting them, well. Expect them!)

In the meantime, if you have any ideas for requests that you want to see filed, feel free to reply to this email and drop me a line. I’d love to hear them!

Happy filing, and continue to stay warm!!

Cam