Two Commanding Officers Connected to Jack Teixeira, Alleged Leaker, Suspended by Air Force

Following the arrest of Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira for sharing classified government documents online, the US Air Force has suspended two commanding officers who are suspected of either assisting or facilitating this illegal activity. The officers in question belong to the same military unit as Teixeira - the 102nd Intelligence Wing at Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts. According to Air Force spokesperson Ann Stefanek, the senior officers were suspended “pending further investigation into the unauthorized disclosure of classified information.” Stefanek added that more members of the unit may face suspension as the investigation progresses.

Teixeira, a 21-year-old air national guardsman, was arrested earlier this month and charged with possessing classified documents pertaining to national security and possessing national defense material. Investigators believe he was the leader of a chat group on the gaming platform Discord where he shared details from the classified documents starting in December 2022. The chat group was made up of around two dozen people who discussed their interests in guns, memes and current events. Authorities tracked down Teixeira through billing information associated with his account on Discord.

Teixeira is accused of posting a wealth of classified government documents, including briefing slides of Ukrainian military positions and assessments of international support for Ukraine, along with other sensitive information. These leaks have raised serious concerns about national security and how such classified materials could have found their way onto an online forum. Indeed, the Air Force recently stripped the Cape Cod-based unit of an assigned intelligence mission until it becomes clear how Teixeira managed to obtain and leak these sensitive materials.

The involvement of Teixeira’s commanding officers in this matter could be seen as particularly worrying, as it could suggest that there are additional personnel within the military unit who may have been assisting or facilitating the sharing of classified information. The Air Force is taking the matter seriously and has promised a thorough investigation. Until the investigation is complete, it is unclear what the consequences might be for those who are found guilty of having a role in this illegal activity.