Intelligence mission yanked for National Guard unit where leaks occurred

The Air Force on Tuesday stripped a Massachusetts Air National Guard unit of its intelligence mission after a lone airman there was accused of leaking potentially hundreds of classified military documents, including material about the state of Ukraine’s ongoing war against Russia and U.S. assessments of Taiwan’s ability to withstand an attack by China.

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall also ordered the service’s inspector general to investigate “overall compliance with policy, procedures, and standards” at the 102nd Intelligence Wing, based in Cape Cod.

“The 102nd Intelligence Wing is not currently performing its assigned intelligence mission. The mission has been temporarily reassigned to other organizations within the Air Force,” Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said in a statement.

Airman 1st Class Jack Teixeira, 21, had been assigned to the unit when he was arrested Thursday and charged with unauthorized removal and retention of classified material. He is expected to make another appearance on Wednesday in federal court in Boston.

According to its website, the mission of the 102nd Intelligence Wing is to “provide worldwide, precision intelligence, and command and control, along with trained and experienced airmen for expeditionary combat support and homeland security.”

Airman Teixeira is accused of leaking hundreds of sensitive military and intelligence documents on a private chatroom for gamers on the Discord social media site, creating political embarrassment and security headaches for the Biden administration with allies and adversaries alike. Every unit in the Air Force will conduct a security-focused “stand-down” within the next 30 days, Mr. Kendall said in a memo to the force.

“The focus of the stand-down will be to reassess our security posture and procedures, validate the need to know for each person’s access, and emphasize to all Airmen and Guardians the responsibility we are entrusted with,” he said.

Mr. Kendall said commanders are responsible for safeguarding national security information within their units and ensuring their personnel are properly trained in security procedures.

“We must be continually alert for personnel who should not have access or who do not possess the need-to-know for specific classified information. Enforcing the need-to-know requirement is a chain-of-command responsibility,” he said.