TAMPA, Fla. — Sharing secrets has landed a 62-year-old retired U.S. Army officer a 24-month federal prison sentence.
U.S. District Judge James Moody, Jr. sentenced Kevin Charles Luke to two years in prison for disclosing classified national defense information.
Luke pleaded guilty on Oct. 7, 2025, admitting to abusing his position of public trust.
After about 30 years of service, Luke retired and began working as a civilian employee at United States Central Command (CENTCOM), according to court documents.
During his time in the Army and as a civilian employee, Luke held a Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information security clearance. And multiple times, Luke acknowledged his nondisclosure agreement, with the most recent time being February 2019.
In October 2024, Luke sent a woman a text from his personal cellphone that read, "sent to my boss earlier, gives you a peek at what I do for a living." He then sent her a photo of a computer screen showing an email featuring targets of a planned U.S. military operation, the future date of the operation, the plans of operation, and its goal.
The unauthorized release of the top secret info via the photo could compromise national security, according to court documents.
Luke served in both active duty and reserve components of the United States Army from 1981 until his retirement with the rank of colonel on June 30, 2018.
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