This photo illustration created on April 13, 2023, shows Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira reflected in an image of the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. (Stefani Reynolds, AFP/Getty Images/TNS)
WASHINGTON — The Massachusetts Air National Guard unit of which Jack Teixeira was a member when he leaked classified documents will resume its intelligence operations June 1, the Air Force announced Friday.
“The [102nd] Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group will resume its intelligence mission in support of Distributed Ground Station-Massachusetts,” Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said in a statement.
The Air Force suspended the unit’s operations after Teixeira, 22, was arrested in April 2023. Officials said he had been sharing top-secret information with other users of the social media site Discord. The leaks included intelligence on Russia’s war in Ukraine, terrorist plotting in Afghanistan and the threat posed to Taiwan by China.
The 102nd Intelligence Wing’s mission is to provide worldwide precision “intelligence and command and control … for expeditionary combat support and homeland security,” according to a statement on its website.
Teixeira, a member of the wing at Otis Air National Guard Base on Cape Cod, joined the Air National Guard in 2019 and attained the rank of airman first class and became a Cyber Transport Systems journeyman. The job is like an information technology specialist.
The Air Force found Teixeira acted alone but disciplined 15 officials, concluding they were derelict in their duties and failed to respond appropriately to the situation, the service inspector general said in December.
Col. Sean Riley, commander of the 102nd Intelligence Wing, was relieved of his command, and Col. Enrique Dovalo, the wing’s surveillance and reconnaissance group commander, received an administrative action for “concerns with unit culture and compliance with policies and standards.” Also, commanders from the 102nd Intelligence Support Squadron and the detachment overseeing administrative support for airmen in the unit were permanently removed, according to the IG report, which did not name them.
The Air Force took the intelligence mission from the 102nd after the leaks were discovered and the group’s mission was reassigned to other units.
Teixeira pleaded guilty in March and faces more than 16 years in federal prison after reaching a plea deal with the Justice Department on six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information. He remains in custody while awaiting sentencing scheduled for the fall.
The Air Force opened preliminary criminal proceedings on May 14 because Teixeira faces military charges. He is accused of obstructing justice and failing to obey orders. The hearing was the first step in determining whether the case should proceed to a court-martial.
