How 21-year-old National Guardsman Jack Teixeira could get sensitive Ukraine docsBy Caitlin Doornbos
April 13, 2023
WASHINGTON – Before the FBI announced it had arrested the suspected leaker of dozens of highly sensitive Ukraine war documents – some of which were created to brief the highest levels of the Pentagon – few would have suspected a 21-year-old National Guardsman as the potential culprit.
The FBI nabbed Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira at his mother’s home Thursday after he was implicated in the biggest national security breach in at least 10 years.
The junior airman is accused of uploading troves of secret and top secret documents to Discord, a social messaging platform for gamers, from which they were spread across several websites.
An airman 1st class, Teixeira held the lowest petty officer rank the Air Force grants enlisted troops.
His job – a cyber transport systems journeyman – would have had him working not in intelligence analysis, but with IT infrastructure.
So how could such a young, low-ranking troop have gotten access to so many critical secrets?
There are several possible explanations:
The Pentagon regularly issues security clearances to troops as young as 18.Some service members require security clearances as soon as they join the military, Pentagon spokesman Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said Thursday.
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Cyber transport systems journeymen can require higher clearance levelsThough officials have not said whether Teixeira had a security clearance, his job as a cyber transport systems journeymen (CTSJ) may have required him to work with and protect sensitive communication channels.
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His unit may have required access to foreign intelligenceThough it’s unclear why a cyber transport systems journeymen would have the need to know highly sensitive intelligence, it’s possible Teixeira’s work with the Air National Guard’s 102nd Intelligence Wing required him to have access to the sensitive channels, if not to the actual intelligence shared within.
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The military runs on the backs of young peopleAbout two-thirds of US service members are under the age of 30, and most of that group is under 25 – meaning the Pentagon is simply more likely to grant security clearances to personnel barely old enough to legally drink.
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Source:
https://nypost.com/2023/04/13/how-21-year-old-national-guardsman-jack-teixeira-could-get-sensitive-ukraine-docs/