US classified information leaks suspect Jack Teixeira was assigned to the 102nd Intelligence Wing, which is a “24/7 operational mission” that takes in intelligence from various sources and packages it for some of the most senior military leaders around the globe, according to a defense official.
Teixeira’s job was not to be the one packaging the intelligence for those senior commanders, but rather to work on the network on which that highly classified intelligence lived.
For that purpose, the official said Teixeira would be required to have a top secret/sensitive compartmented information (TS/SCI) clearance, in the instance that he was exposed to that level of intelligence.
“This airman, even as a young man, his job was to work on this network that carried highly classified information,” the official said. “Because of this, the information carried on the network, people who work on it have to have that kind of clearance.”
“It’s not like your regular IT guy where you call a help desk and they come fix your computer,” the official added. “They’re working on a very highly classified system, so they require that clearance.”
Teixeira underwent “a very rigorous background check” to obtain that clearance, the official said. People with TS/SCI clearances are required to sign nondisclosure agreements, and they are “required to self-report” if they accidentally mishandle information or have any kind of issue that “might affect your mental state or ability to continue to do your job.”
Teixeira, a 21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guardsman, has been on federal orders since Oct. 1, 2021, the official said. Before that, he was in drilling status, which is the typical status for National Guardsmen conducting monthly drills.
