Retired MacDill lieutenant colonel sentenced to 3 years for keeping classified documents

TAMPA, Fla. - A retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force will spend three years in prison after pleading guilty to keeping classified documents related to national defense, officials said. 

Robert Birchum, 55, of Tampa, pleaded guilty back in February to charges of unlawfully possessing and retaining classified documents relating to the national defense of the U.S., the Department of Justice said. 

The court also ordered Birchum to pay a $25,000 fine. 

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Birchum served 29 years in various positions of intelligence, including those requiring him to work with classified intelligence information, according to officials with the DOJ. He worked in Joint Special Operations Command, the Special Forces Command and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. 

While Birchum was on active duty, he entered into several agreements with the U.S. regarding the protection and proper handling of classified information, investigators said. 

Law enforcement discovered in 2017, though, that he knowingly removed more than 300 classified files or documents from authorized locations – including more than 30 that were marked "Top Secret."

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Birchum kept the classified materials in his home, his overseas officer's headquarters and a storage pod in his driveway – which were not authorized areas to store the documents, the DOJ said. 

DOJ officials said Birchum also possessed two documents that were on a thumb drive found in his home that contained information relating to the National Security Agency's capabilities and methods of collection and targets' vulnerabilities.

Both documents were classified as "Top Secret/SCI," and their unauthorized release could cause exceptionally grave damage to national security, the DOJ said.