US Military Members Are Getting Honest About The "Signal Leak" Scandal — Here's What They Had To Say

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26-03-2025

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Ever since the Editor-in-Chief of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, announced in an article that he was included in a Signal group chat about upcoming military strikes to Yemen, people across the web have not stopped talking about it. So when Reddit user thhvancouver asked, "Ex-military, how does the latest military leak make you feel? Do you and your brothers-in-arms feel more or less safe? Why?" So many of them shared their frustrated thoughts. Here's what they said below.
1. "Any service member that did something like this would (rightly) be in a cell, pending a short trial with a guaranteed conviction that would put them in prison for decades. Discussing and planning current military operations is something that must be conducted in a SCIF (sensitive compartmented information facility) and using secured networks and electronic communications specifically made for the purpose. Cell phones are not even allowed in a SCIF. The fact that this conversation took place outside a SCIF, on ostensibly unsecured personal cellphones, using an unapproved and unsecured app, and someone added a reporter to the thread probably breaks over a dozen laws."
— Former military member
"They put a guy in on a 15-year sentence for posting less immediately sensitive information on Discord. Nothing about an imminent attack. They're still trying low-key to get Snowden, and Reality Winner enjoyed a stay in prison over leaks."
— Former military member
2. "Unfortunately, unsurprised. Accountability should be apolitical. Doubt there will be any consequences or repercussions, and if there are, it will probably be a fall guy. Next, Oliver North, after pardon, will get a few million doing a book and talk show tour. No faith whatsoever in the executive branch. 'Rules for thee but not for me.' An active duty member would already be on the way to Leavenworth [a medium security federal correctional institution] after having been detained without bail before trial."
— Former military member
"My wife works in the defense industry with a clearance, and I don't think I've seen her this mad in a long time. She was SCREAMING at Lester's newscast about how she'd already be in jail. Last time she was this pissed was that young lady in Georgia, I think? [ Reality Winner]?"
— man with wife who works in the defense industry
3. "I spent eight years in Naval Intelligence, and the reason I can reply to this post is because I never did shit like that. If I had, I would 100% be in prison. So, yeah, it's pretty infuriating."
— Naval Intelligence military member
"This whole thing is infuriating and honestly terrifying. Any one of us would've been court-martialed and tossed in the brig before we could blink for a leak like this — but under Trump, it's just another 'oopsie' from the frat bros running national security like it's a fantasy football league."
— Former military member
4. "It is a serious breach of operational security and shows an extreme amount of incompetence on the part of the team of cabinet-level officers, none of whom recognized the problem until told by the media. What's worse, two of the violators testifying under oath yesterday said that the message contained no 'classified information' when, in fact, it did. They either are ignorant or deliberately lying."
— military member
"I remember when you could be impeached for lying under oath about a blow job."
— military member
5. "My brother-in-law formerly worked at Centcom [defending and promoting U.S. interests in the Middle East, Central and South Asia] (pretty senior role). Never was political. His statement: A complete dismantling of our national security with unwitting disregard and ignorance for their utter lack of understanding for their positions. We are less safe and less powerful, and we directly put our troops' lives at risk. If Pete Hegseth doesn't get fired, then the administration sets the precedence for totalitarianism — they are all above the law."
6. "We are being run by a bunch of frat bros, which means impulsive and overly emotional decision-making and zero fucking IQ of long-term strategic planning. They are fucking underqualified and grossly incompetent for their roles."
— former military member
7. "I'm not sure which is worse: The incompetence or the fact that not one of those involved or their superiors have apologized or accepted any blame. Instead, they're deflecting and trashing the reporter/organization he works for."
— military member
"It's equal parts incompetence and entitlement. The entitlement part comes from an absolute confidence that they are completely free to disregard the multitude of laws and rules they broke. This 'just a mistake' narrative is complete BS. Anyone who hasn't been lost in the wilderness for the past 12 years has seen multiple federal cases involving the mishandling of sensitive government information, so let's take a look at who is involved:
• A National Security Advisor
• The VP
• The Secretary of State
• The Director of National Intelligence
• The Secretary of Defense
• The CIA Director
• The Treasury Secretary
• White House Chief of Staff
• White House Deputy Chief of Staff
• Others
Regardless of their qualifications (or lack thereof) for those positions, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM has been heavily involved in politics through numerous sensitive data leaks and scandals, with pretty much all of them being among vocal critics of HRC's instance.
Yet, did a single member of this chat, at any point, stop this chat because it was on Signal? No.
And why not? Because Signal was a feature, not a bug, the laws and rules of their respective departments/agencies be damned. Chats via Signal 'free' them from Freedom of Information Act, Presidential Records Act, etc.
So when they talk about adding Goldberg to the chat being a mistake, they're trying to distract from the fact that the mistake was only possible because they were using Signal in the first place, and ultimately, what the real motives for using Signal were."
— military member
8. "I had a TS/SCI [Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information] (above top secret) clearance. I left the service eight years ago. If I said the name of any of the programs I worked on — just the name, which is chosen at random, to avoid indicating what the program is about. If I said it online, in a group chat, even out loud to my spouse, and the military found out, I would be arrested within 48 hours. I would be charged and sentenced for it. And the things I worked on aren't nearly as sensitive as the shit they were talking about. Remember the hubbub about Hillary's emails? This is orders of magnitude worse. That said, I'd argue it's not as bad as Trump keeping those documents in a Mar-a-Lago bathroom."
— military member with TS/SCI clearance
"This. They shove training down your throat and emphasize the penalties for mistakes, such as 'Even though that classified folder has nothing in it, it should not be visible unless in use and being handled by an authorized individual.'
They stressed how pieces of information being leaked can be gathered over time to get the entire picture. Here we have the picture and then some. People have been arrested and imprisoned for much less.
The double standards are real."
— military member
9. "It just illustrates another crack in the armor of our democracy. We have one side that is so ignorant and indifferent that it's to the point of an existential threat to the safety of the country. On the other hand, there was a group of people who were so inept, passive, and ineffectual that they were just standing there, holding a bucket of water and watching it all burn. This security breach is a criminal action on the level of treason. People need to be fired for this; some might need prison time, and I am terrified that there's not even going to be an inquiry or an investigation, let alone charges."
Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images
"I don't want to fight for this chaos. I don't want to participate in any conflicts led by people who are this bad at their jobs and who care so little about the integrity of the armed forces, but I also am so incredibly disappointed in the reaction to this level of incompetence. Democrats need to start stepping up and being more aggressive and more proactive. Stop letting this happen — and if it does happen, don't let them get away with it. Unchallenged."
— military member
10. "Former Navy Officer here. I was in a school where a fellow officer misplaced a manual classified 'secret' for a few hours (it was found in the classroom; it had fallen behind the classified filing cabinets). We all knew that just that lapse was probably going to end his career. So this leak really doesn't concern me any more than having a president who had boxes of classified materials in the bathroom of his house. Leadership sets the expectations. So, I knew the whole attitude that taking classified documents was no big deal would lead to security lapses. (Let me say that with the amount of classified materials that go through the White House, it's inevitable some of it is going to mistakenly be put in the personal files of a leaving president. I don't like that, but it's inevitable. It's keeping the materials when the mistake is realized that upsets me.)"
— Former Navy Officer
"None of those were 'mistakenly' put in his files. There are photos of them being carried out of the White House. He knew exactly what he was doing. The fact that he took them all back again should prove it."
— jcoleman10
11. "I am and always will be proud of my military service (six years in the USMC). But at this point in time, I am prouder of the fact that my service is in the past. I am not subject to potential illegal orders from the circus, which is the Trump executive branch."
— former marine corps
12. "Trump doesn't give a damn about the active duty military or veterans. It seems to me that everyone in charge is dangerously incompetent or also just does not care. People are the most important part of any organization. If you blatantly ignore basic principles of communication security, then you are knowingly and willfully putting those people at greater risk than need be. This is, in my opinion, unforgivable. Now, I have been out of the military for over 20 years. Even when I was in, I was skeptical about the people in charge for reasons I won't get into here, but I didn't have such a low opinion of the people in charge as I do now."
— pimpvader
13. "Less safe. As a navy RM/IT (Radioman and Information Systems Technician) from back in the day, strict circuit discipline and guarding of TS/TSI information was drilled into us, and the punishment was severe if we ever leaked or ran our mouths. We'd be in the brig for this shit. The current administration is an abject failure on all levels."
14. "As a veteran, this information before the fact — absolutely is classified. Is it a full 'strike package'? No. Even a secret classification denotes a possible loss of life as a result of the information falling into the wrong hands. There is no denying it could have caused loss of life. Confirmed now that the texts have been released by the Atlantic. The fact that a journalist was added or they didn't mean to has no basis for the classification. The fact that this is on Signal when there are approved communication channels for exactly this is the issue. The purposeful skirting of records has me angry. Nothing is going to happen as a result."
— veteran
"As a vet and contractor with 18 years in this space so far, this is pretty much my take as well. The way it was presented in the original article, I expected more detail, like specific target grids or identities, specific squadrons departing specific ships, HUMINT (Human Intelligence) or SIGINT (Signals Intelligence) details confirming targets, and things like that.
Thankfully, what we see is not that, but I think it's definitely Secret spillage based on the timeline Hegseth put in the chat. Maybe it is not a leak at the level we were initially led to believe, but it is absolutely an issue, and if anyone else did it, they would lose their clearance and be disciplined. I don't think we'll see anything happen to anyone involved, though."
— military veteran and contractor
15. "I got the maximum punishment possible just for having my phone when I shouldn't have. There should be consequences."
16. "Former Naval Aviator here. F-18, to be exact. It may sound silly to say, but when I read through these and saw specifics about when F-18s would be striking, it made my stomach turn. Having flown several combat missions, it made me feel uneasy and a bit scared. Yeah, I know that we were always relatively safe up there and have little to NOTHING to complain about compared to those on the ground. But the thought of the enemy knowing where I'll be, when I'll be there, and what I'll be doing... and knowing that I still have to go and do it anyway. That's just fucked beyond words."
— Former Naval Aviator
17. "I'm not so worried about the leak itself. I'm more concerned with all the moles the Russians are able to implant into our government. Also, on the cyber side of the situation, Trump has weakened us. There's no telling what foreign countries are doing and implementing into our systems."
Contributor / Getty Images