(UnitedVoice.com) – The military is supposed to keep the personal information of service members private. However, United Voice recently reported a Department of Defense email server was unprotected by a password for at least two weeks, allowing anyone who knew the IP address to gain access to sensitive information related to military personnel. That isn’t the only improper breach recently.
The Air Force is embroiled in a scandal related to the improper release of the military records of almost a dozen service members.
Air Force Scandal
On February 21, POLITICO reported Major General Troy E. Dunn, the commander of the Air Force Personnel Center, sent a letter to Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) informing him that his military records were improperly released. According to the February 7 letter, the Air Force Center Military Records Branch got a number of requests from someone for his records. The man who wanted them was Abraham Payton, a background analyst from the Due Diligence Group, LLC. The Air Force released the congressman’s information without his consent, and he wasn’t the only one.
Rep. Zach Nunn (R-IA) told POLITICO that he also received a letter from the Air Force informing him that his records were improperly released. So were the military records of two former GOP candidates, Sam Peters, Jennifer-Ruth Green, and Kevin Dellicker. The information of at least 11 individuals was improperly released.
In the letter to Bacon, the major general said, “there was no criminal action or malicious intent” by the Air Force employee who released the information improperly. However, Dunn claimed the employee who released the Nebraska congressman’s information was reprimanded for it.
Republicans Want Answers
Bacon is calling for an investigation into Due Diligence for requesting his military records. The GOP wants to know whether the firm had any connection to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), or if the Democrats who were running against the Republican candidates were involved in any way.
The Air Force has launched an investigation into the release of Green’s records. USAF spokesperson Ann Stefanek said that almost all of the releases were made to the same third party. Bacon said he knows the information was all sent to the Department of Justice, and he expects anyone who broke the law to be held accountable in a court of law. Peters, one of the other victims, stated the DCCC should also be held accountable if it had anything to do with the release.
The Department of Justice has not commented on the improper release.
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