Jack Teixeira, the airman accused in the leak of classified military documents online, was part of a unit in Massachusetts that collects and analyzes sensitive intelligence gathered from all over the world, according to a criminal complaint unsealed on Friday. (Wikipedia)
WASHINGTON — Jack Teixeira, the airman accused in the leak of classified military documents online, was part of a unit in Massachusetts that collects and analyzes sensitive intelligence gathered from all over the world, according to a criminal complaint unsealed on Friday.
Teixeira, 21, was arrested by FBI agents in southeastern Massachusetts on Thursday, about a week after the first tranche of secret documents were found by authorities on social media sites. The airman first class appeared in federal court in Boston on Friday to face the charges of unauthorized retention, removal and transmission of national defense information.
Teixeira joined the Air National Guard in 2019 and is a Cyber Transport Systems journeyman stationed at Otis Air National Guard Base on Cape Cod. As CTS journeyman, it was Teixeira’s job to maintain communications equipment at the base.
One question in the minds of the American public is how was a 21-year-old airman first class in the Massachusetts Air National Guard able to access highly classified information about the war in Ukraine and U.S. activities in other countries?
The criminal court unsealed on Friday says Teixeira had the highest possible security clearance as part of his position. But having that clearance doesn’t automatically entitle a service member to see any and all classified materials.
“It’s not just, ‘I want to have access to it because I have a clearance,’” Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon’s top spokesperson, told reporters Thursday. “It’s all based on need to know. Do you have a need to know that information? And that typically will grant you access if you have the appropriate clearances.”
Ryder said the leak of documents has led the Pentagon to review its procedures involving the release of classified intelligence to see if changes are needed for access, distribution lists or other areas that could pose a potential risk.
It may not be surprising, however, that Teixeira’s unit — the 102nd Intelligence Wing — would have access to highly classified material.
One of its main functions, according to the unit’s website, is to “exploit and analyze information sent from unmanned aerial vehicles circling the globe” and deal in “worldwide precision intelligence.” One of the unit’s six “distinct capability” goals is “information superiority.”
The 102nd Intelligence Wing has about 1,260 personnel who are trained for intelligence missions, surveillance and reconnaissance operations, cryptologic intelligence and cyber engineering, its website says.
According to the Air Force, Teixeira’s job required a single-scope background investigation (SSBI) in order to obtain a security clearance. An SSBI usually examines a person’s background related to finances, education and career for a period of 10 years. The check looks for more personal elements, such as relationships, over the past seven years.
Some of the steps in a SSBI are a credit check and a person’s employment record, references and verification of citizenship. Any number of things can cause a person to fail to obtain a security clearance, including a criminal record, suspicious associations and negative character references.
“In the interest of safeguarding the welfare of the American people, it is required that all persons privileged to be employed in the departments and agencies of the United States Government shall be reliable, trustworthy, of good conduct and character, and of complete and unswerving loyalty to the United States,” the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency, which performs most of the government’s background checks, states on its website.
Authorities have not yet disclosed any information about the check into Teixeira’s background. There are three ascending levels of security clearances — confidential, secret and top secret. Teixeira had a top secret clearance, the highest.
“In addition to Teixeira’s top secret clearance, he maintained sensitive compartmented access (SCI) to other highly classified programs. He has also had this access since 2021,” Friday’s unsealed criminal complaint said.
The 102nd Intelligence Wing dates back to 1942 during World War II, when its predecessor — the 318th Fighter Group — was formed. After the war, the 318th became the 102nd Fighter Group, which operated as an ordinary flight group from the beginning of the Cold War, through Vietnam and into the 2000s.
In 2008, it was redesignated the 102nd Intelligence Wing — and its mission changed from flight combat operations to supporting global intelligence activities.
The Massachusetts Air National Guard, in fact, held a ceremony when the changeover happened.
“The F-15 pilots and crews are being replaced by specialists who will use computer technology to acquire, analyze and distribute data gathered from all over the world to combatant commanders and others who need to know what enemy forces are doing,” the Guard said when the changeover occurred on Jan. 28, 2008.
Part of the reason the fighter group morphed into an intelligence wing had to do with the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and the evolving threats against the United States. No longer were the main threats only coming from a foreign government like Russia.
“The 102nd Intelligence Wing will begin a different kind of ‘watch’ as we embark on a new 24/7 mission centered around intelligence gathering, analysis and exploitation,” Air Force Col. Anthony Schiavi, former commander of the 102nd Intelligence Wing, said when the changeover occurred in 2008.
“We are now an integral part of the first team that helps dominate air, space and cyberspace mediums,” he added.
The leak of documents — which contained highly sensitive information about the war in Ukraine and U.S. intelligence gathering in other countries — have been damaging politically to President Joe Biden’s administration. On Friday, the president ordered the defense and intelligence communities to do everything they can to prevent future leaks.
“I commend the rapid action taken by law enforcement to investigate and respond to the recent dissemination of classified U.S. government documents,” Biden said. “While we are still determining the validity of those documents, I have directed our military and intelligence community to take steps to further secure and limit distribution of sensitive information, and our national security team is closely coordinating with our partners and allies.”
ware.doug@stripes.com
