COLORADO SPRINGS — The Air Force Academy may stop sending all sensitive documents on computers after an e-mail with private information about cadets was accidentally sent to all cadets last week, an official said Friday.
The academy already has decided that the documents mistakenly released Tuesday will, in the future, be distributed in person. Officials now may hand-deliver all documents with sensitive information, said Col. Marty Coffman, commander of the 34th Training Group, which oversees cadet training.
The academy's computer experts also are studying how to make the system fail-safe against such mistakes, Coffman said.
The e-mail, which was obtained by The Gazette, lists 40 cadets who are being investigated for 15 alleged crimes and academy violations ranging from drug use to possessing child pornography and theft. It even named tipsters in one case.
Another document in the e-mail named cadets who are being treated for mental health problems and who are graduating late. Detailed information was included.
The e-mail's entry for one cadet begins "diagnosed with depression" and then details the mental health care the cadet is receiving.
Coffman spoke to all cadets about the e-mail Friday night at a briefing. Earlier in the day, Coffman said he planned to apologize, give the background on why the information is collected and the steps to be taken to ensure their privacy in the future.
"I will remind them that any use of this information is subject to the cadet discipline system and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. They need to delete (the e-mail) and not use it for any reason."
On Tuesday, an officer who works for Coffman clicked on the wrong group of e-mail recipients and sent information protected by federal law to all the roughly 4,400 cadets and 30 other academy officials. The weekly update usually goes to a few dozen commanders.
The officer immediately realized his mistake and tried to pull back the message. Coffman said up to 70 percent of the e-mails were recalled. Then officials put out a message ordering cadets to delete the e-mail without reading it.
Coffman declined to say if the officer would be punished.
"The real culprit is the person who gave the e-mail to the media. That person needs to be counseled because they are giving the academy a bad name," a school spokesman said.