The U.S. Air Force has disciplined 15 of its personnel in connection with the leak of classified documents about the war in Ukraine earlier this year.
Federal prosecutors initially arrested Massachusetts Air National Airman 1st Class Jack Teixeira in April, in connection with the classified documents leak. Following Airman 1st Class Teixeira’s arrest, the Air Force initiated an inspector general investigation into potential security failures within Mr. Teixeira’s unit, the 102nd Intelligence Wing at Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts.
The Air Force Inspector General’s Office released the results of its investigation to the public on Dec. 11. The branch announced that since September, it had initiated disciplinary and other administrative actions against 15 individuals for dereliction of duty for taking insufficient actions after becoming aware of a potential leak threat.
According to the inspector general’s report, several members of Airman 1st Class Teixeira’s unit and chain of command likely knew of his alleged intelligence-seeking behaviors before his alleged leaking and that an unspecified number of them “intentionally failed” to report several security concerns and incidents involving his access to classified information.
Those 15 individuals disciplined for the leaks ranged in rank from mid-level enlisted airmen to senior field-grade officers. Disciplinary actions ranged from relief of command and other duty positions to nonjudicial punishments.
Col. Sean Riley, the commander of the 102nd Intelligence Wing, received an adverse administrative action and was relieved of command for cause, according to the Air Force press statement. Col. Enrique Dovalo, commander of the 102nd Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group, received an adverse administrative action over concerns with unit culture and compliance with policies and standards.
Improper Access at Classified Briefings
The Air Force had temporarily suspended leaders within the 102nd Intelligence Wing during the inspector general investigation and the unit’s intelligence responsibilities were reassigned to other Air Force components.
“Every Airman and Guardian is entrusted with the solemn duty to safeguard our nation’s classified defense information. When there is a breach of that sacred trust, for any reason, we will act in accordance with our laws and policies to hold responsible individuals accountable,” said Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall following the report’s publication. “Our national security demands leaders at every level protect critical assets, ensuring they do not fall into the hands of those who would do the United States or our allies and partners harm.”
The report states Airman 1st Class Teixeira served as an information technology (IT) support specialist with his unit, but his superiors approved of him and other IT specialists sitting in on weekly intelligence briefings to impress upon them the importance of their role in keeping classified IT systems running.
The IG report says this “know your why” effort was improper in that it provided a higher level of classified information than was necessary for Airman 1st Class Teixeira and other IT specialists to understand their mission and created uncertainty about their true need to know this information.
Throughout the summer and fall of 2022, Airman 1st Class Teixeira was allegedly observed on multiple occasions viewing Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI).
In a Sept. 15, 2022 incident, a member of Airman 1st Class Teixeira’s unit allegedly saw him viewing intelligence documents and writing on a post-it note. A member of the unit confronted him about his note-taking and told him to shred the note, however it was never verified what he’d allegedly written or whether it was shredded as ordered.
Detailed Knowledge of Classified Material
In another Oct. 25, 2022, intelligence briefing, Airman 1st Class Teixeira is alleged to have asked detailed questions that suggested a knowledge of existing TS/SCI materials.
When confronted about his line of questioning, the Airman acknowledged his questions overlapped with classified materials but insisted the same information was also available through “open sources.” Despite his claims, the inspector general’s report asserts that it was unlikely that the matters Airman 1st Class Teixeira referenced were based on public information. Airman 1st Class Teixeira was ordered to “cease and desist” his intelligence “deep dives” following this October 2022 incident and the incident was documented at the time in a Memorandum for Record (MFR) but never reported to the proper security officials.
Airman 1st Class Teixeira was reportedly caught viewing intelligence documents again in January, and senior unit leaders were notified of that and other incidents involving the airman. According to the inspector general’s report, this January incident did prompt unit leaders to notify security officials, but those unit leaders provided “a substantially minimized version” of Airman 1st Class Teixeira’s concerning behaviors to the appropriate security officials.
Airman 1st Class Teixeira faces six counts for the unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information. Each count carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. The airman pleaded not guilty at his initial court appearance in June.
NTD News reached out to Airman 1st Class Teixeira’s lawyers for comment about the new findings in the inspector general’s report but did not receive a response by press time.