House Republicans are demanding answers after the US Air Force admitted to an unauthorized release of 11 individuals’ military service records, including those of two members of Congress, following an internal audit.
The military records of Republican Reps. Don Bacon of Nebraska and Zach Nunn of Iowa were among the 11 individuals’ records released by the Air Force. Bacon retired from the Air Force as a one-star general after nearly 30 years of service, according to his official biography, while Nunn is an officer in the Iowa National Guard, according to his campaign page.
Reps. Mike Rogers and James Comer, the chairmen of the House Armed Services and House Oversight and Accountability committees, requested various records and policies relating to the service record disclosure process in a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin last week.
An internal audit of the Air Force’s records release process from October 2021-2022 found “there was an unauthorized release of military duty information on 11 individuals,” service spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Department of the Air Force employees did not follow proper procedures requiring the member’s authorizing signature consenting to the release of information,” Stefanek said. “There was no evidence of political motivation or malicious intent on the part of any employee.”
The lawmakers wrote in their letter to Austin that the Air Force’s conduct “is, at a minimum, unacceptable.”
“It is essential that the men and women of the Armed Forces trust their leadership’s ability to protect private personnel data from improper disclosure,” they said.
The unauthorized release of Bacon and Nunn’s records was first reported by Politico.
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