The Air Force is allowing the intelligence unit that enabled Airman 1st Class Jack Teixeira to leak some of the government’s most closely held secrets to an online forum for months to resume its mission, the service announced Friday.
“The 102d Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group (ISRG) will resume its intelligence mission in support of Distributed Ground Station-Massachusetts on 1 June 2024 following approval by the commander of Air Combat Command,” Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said in a statement.
Teixeira agreed in March to plead guilty to sharing classified information and faces up to 16 years in prison. The Air Force also went after his unit, where it found that airmen who worked around Teixeira and supervised him were derelict in their duties.
The Massachusetts National Guard, in its own statement released Friday, said that its “airmen look forward to returning to serving, protecting, and defending our nation and our state.”
In April 2023, just days after Teixeira was arrested for leaking dozens of documents that included classified information about the war in Ukraine and U.S. relations with allies to an online platform used by gamers, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall took the 102nd off its mission and ordered the inspector general to look into the unit’s compliance with classified document safeguards.
By December, the Air Force was ready to hand out punishments.
The service’s inspector general released a report that found members of Teixeira’s unit failed to take proper action after becoming aware of him seeking the intelligence. The Air Force punished 15 Air National Guard enlisted troops and officers as a result.
Col. Sean Riley, the commander of the 102nd Intelligence Wing, the unit that oversaw Teixeira’s, was relieved of command for cause. Col. Enrique Dovalo, the commander of the 102nd ISRG, received an undisclosed administrative action.
The Air Force also said that other prior commanders from the 102nd Intelligence Support Squadron who were previously suspended in the wake of the leak investigation had been permanently removed.
The Massachusetts National Guard said that it gained knowledge “from this challenging experience” and it “welcomed the opportunity to help identify problems with Air Force processes that could jeopardize the safe handling of classified information.”
Stefanek added that “a new organizational structure was implemented to enhance oversight” of the unit’s operations and “inspection teams, with participation from members of the headquarters staff, evaluated the remaining open deficiencies, as well as sampling security procedures and culture across the wing.”
Military.com asked the Air Force to provide more details about what the “remaining open deficiencies” were but did not receive a reply in time for publication.
Meanwhile, Teixeira is set to be sentenced in September. In addition to his charges in federal court, Teixeira is also being prosecuted by the military justice system.
Two weeks ago, he appeared before a military hearing officer who will recommend whether the Guardsman should be court-martialed on three charges: one count of failing to obey a lawful order and two counts of obstructing justice.
Related: Jack Teixeira Faces Article 32 Hearing as Air Force Considers New Charges in Classified Leak Case
