Top brass at the Massachusetts National Guard said the military outfit is holding off on making changes before findings are released from an investigation into how a 21-year-old airman leaked highly sensitive government documents.
Officials there suspended some security clearances after the Department of Justice brought charges against Jack Teixeira for posting classified national defense information to a social media application designed for video game enthusiasts.
Teixeira’s unit, the 102nd Intelligence Wing, lost its intelligence mission and two commanding officers were suspended. The head of the Air Force this week gave military leaders 30 days to review access protocols for classified information. The inspector general is also investigating the matter.
Major General Gary Keefe, the head of the Massachusetts National Guard, said he will implement changes that the Department of Defense and Air Force “want us to put in place.”
“We’ve made the initial changes of suspending some security clearances,” he told the Herald on Thursday. “We’re waiting for the unit to get back on mission and move forward. And like I said, once we get the written investigation report and inspection report, we’ll go ahead and act at that point.”
Keefe said no other service members have been disciplined outside of the two suspensions.
“Not at this time,” he said after a Memorial Day event on Boston Common. “Everyone’s entitled to due process. Until we see what the facts of the case are in the investigation and the inspection, at that point then we will move ahead.”
Mass. Air National Guard officials scolded Teixeira multiple times for using his top-secret security clearance to access classified information that was not related to his job.
Letters from September and October 2022 said officers found Teixeira taking notes on classified information and later ignoring orders to stop “deep diving into intelligence information.”
Another February 2023 letter said a master sergeant observed Teixeira on an intelligence communications system “viewing content that was not related to his primary duty and was related to the intelligence field.”
A federal judge ruled last week that the 21-year-old from North Dighton is to remain in jail while his case plays out in federal court.
Herald wire services contributed.
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