FALLS CHURCH, Va. -- Twelve Air Force Office of Special Investigations members received the Northern Virginia Public Service Award for their work uncovering an insider-threat breach involving a civilian engineer who mishandled thousands of classified documents.
“The team’s actions protected information that simply cannot be compromised. They work long hours on challenges most people will never see, and this recognition reflects the importance of what they do” said Lee Russ, executive director of AFOSI Office of Special Projects (PJ).
The award, presented in September, is part of the Eastern District of Virginia’s annual program recognizing law-enforcement contributions to significant criminal and civil cases.
This time, the district attorneys awarded the joint investigation by AFOSI Special Agents, led by AFOSI PJ, with help from the AFOSI Center and the FBI’s Washington Field Office into Gokhan Gun, 51, a dual U.S.–Turkey citizen and engineer who worked at the Joint Warfare Analysis Center from Aug. 2023 to Aug. 2024.
“This recognition highlights what can be accomplished when agencies work side by side toward a common goal,” said Col. Brian Alexander, commander of the AFOSI Center. “Our partnerships are essential to protecting national security.”
At the time of the breach, Gun held a top-secret security clearance with access to sensitive compartmented information. According to investigators, Gun began removing documents in May 2024, often printing large batches after colleagues had gone home.
They later determined Gun printed thousands of pages of material and regularly carried them out of the building in plastic shopping bags. Of the 256 printed documents, over 190 were printed after typical work hours.
While some of the files were unclassified, others originated from highly restricted networks, and at least 82 documents were marked top secret.
The joint investigation intensified on the morning of Aug. 9, 2024, when Gun was scheduled to travel to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, for what he said was a fishing trip. But before the flight ever took off, FBI agents executed a search warrant for Gun’s house.
At the Falls Church home, they found a backpack that contained a document marked “top secret” and a copy of his intelligence credentials listing the classified compartments he could access. Inside, they found stacks of classified documents, including one printed just two days earlier.
“The coordination between the agencies is what ensured the investigation to move forward without compromising national security,” said Special Agent Gabriela Miller, AFOSI PJ special agent in charge, detachment 9.
In the end, Gun pleaded guilty to unauthorized removal and retention of classified material and was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison and fined $25,000.
The prosecution was led by Assistant U.S. Attorney John T. Gibbs of the Eastern District of Virginia and Justice Department trial attorneys Adam L. Small and Chantelle Dial of the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
The case was announced by Sue Bai, head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division; Erik S. Siebert, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Phillip E. Bates, the acting assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; and Lee Russ, executive director of AFOSI PJ.