Air Force reprimands 15 service members over Discord leaks

The Air Force has disciplined 15 Air National Guard personnel after an investigation found a “lack of oversight” and failure to report suspicious activity that allowed Jack Teixeira to kill 21 years after revealing US military secrets online earlier this year.

In a report presented to Congress on Monday, which was launched in April and completed in August, Air Force officials said Teixeira acted alone in issuing the hundreds of documents published on the social media platform Discord, without any confirmation of its superiors. be aware of such leaks.

But the investigation by the Air Force Inspector General also found evidence that some members of Teixeira’s unit, reports of the chain and leaders “had information about many different incidents of his questionable activity ” but failed to take action, according to an eight-page summary of the document previously reported by The Washington Post.

The service has since disciplined 15 personnel, ranging from staff sergeants to colonels, for “dereliction of duty,” Air Force officials said. Force in the statement.

Air National Guard commanders issued disciplinary and other orders against 15 individuals between September 7 and December 2, and some were removed from their positions and some received administrative orders. It is called punishment without justice, this is the explanation.

Among those who were sentenced were Col. Sean Riley, the commander of the 102nd Intelligence Wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, which Teixeira reported. “Riley received an administrative order and was relieved of duty for cause,” officials said.

Another person is Col. Enrique Dovalo, the head of the 102nd Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group, who “received the authority for concerns about the culture of the units and compliance with policies and standards.”

Officials did not mention Dovalo’s sentence.

Several other low-ranking personnel were previously suspended in April from their roles in the 102nd Intelligence Support Squadron and have since been “permanently removed from those positions,” according to Air Force officials.

Although he held a junior position in the Massachusetts Air National Guard, Teixeira, a technical support worker, had access to the Pentagon’s Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communication System. He was stationed at the Otis Air National Guard Base in Cape Cod, Mass.

He said he first began leaking military secrets on Discord, a popular forum for video gamers, by summarizing intelligence reports he received. Over the course of several months, he eventually began printing and photographing classified information on US allies and enemies and posting it on the Internet, the official said.

Publishing, photographing and sharing classified information is a crime, and Teixeira was arrested in April and indicted in June on six federal counts of withholding and leaking information. the defense of the country, which he pleaded not guilty.

The revelation shocked the US intelligence community, with many wondering how long it took Teixeira to release classified information that was not known to military leaders.

More dangerously, Teixeira was admonished in September and October 2022 regarding actions related to his handling of classified information.

The Air Force Inspector General said those red flags should have been addressed by Teixeira’s team, but they “failed to take appropriate action when they learned of his investigative activities.”

Such actions include an incident in July or August of 2022, when Teixeira was seen looking at intelligence issues on classified information websites. His supervisor was notified, but the incident was not documented.

Then, in September, a member of the unit noticed that Teixeira was watching the intelligence again “and saw him writing notes on a Post-it note.”

“Teixeira was confronted about the letter and ordered to destroy it. However, it was not confirmed what was written on the letter or whether it was cracked,” the report said.

But after his supervisor and another member of the unit documented the incident — with Teixeira being ordered to stop writing notes on classified information and “stop all research that he doesn’t need to know about.” ” – the incidents were not reported to the security officials.

The following month, during a briefing, Teixeira asked detailed questions and even attempted to answer questions using suspected Top Secret-Sensitive Compartmented Information, information he don’t need to know.

The leader there asked how he knew the information he was quoting, as he did not believe it was not publicly available. Teixeira was again ordered to “cease and desist” his investigations and document the incident but again failed to report it to the proper security agency.

In the last incident, in January, a member of the unit saw Teixeira looking at intelligence after being ordered to cease and desist. The supervisor was notified, as were several senior members of the team’s leadership, but after internal discussions, “security measures were not taken and no investigation or investigation was conducted.”

A small group of members of the unit had a more complete picture of Teixeira’s investigative behavior “and have not been able to report the full details of these concerns/emergencies,” for fear of the officials of the security may be “closer,” the inspector wrote.

“Had one of these representatives come forward, security officials may have facilitated the restriction of systems/facilities and identified relevant authorities, reducing the length and depth of unauthorized and unauthorized information to certain extents. a few months,” they said.

The Inspector General also said that the commanders of the group “were not vigilant in inspecting the behavior of all the people who were placed under their command.”

In a statement Monday, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said all employees have a duty to protect classified information and “when there is a breach of that sacred trust,” they must be held accountable.

“Our national security requires leaders at all levels to protect critical assets, ensuring they do not fall into the hands of those who would harm the United States or our friends and allies,” he said. Kendall.