From The Gazette (Colorado Springs):  After a delay of nearly two years, the Air Force on Monday released 250 pages of records on its use of cadet informants at the Air Force Academy.

But most of the pages released are all but blank, with the Air Force citing concerns over law enforcement secrecy and personal privacy to explain the redactions.

It’s the latest chapter in a the saga of one of the Air Force’s most secretive programs, which used cadets to spy on their classmates as agents with the Office of Special Investigations worked to root out rapists and drug users at the school.

A series of Gazette investigations showed that the informant program tipped off academy leaders to serious problems in academy’s athletic department. That led to a wide-ranging 2012 probe dubbed Operation Gridiron that saw three cadets court-martialed for misconduct while another 14 either resigned or were expelled.

One informant, former cadet Eric Thomas, alleged that the school kicked him out for cooperating with OSI agents.

The documents released Tuesday were part of an Air Force probe into the Thomas case. That probe, results of which were released in February 2014, found that Thomas was rightfully kicked out of the academy for misconduct and also said the school properly used cadet informants in its ranks.

The Gazette requested documents used to support the findings shortly after the report was issued.

Because of redactions, the documents released Monday do little more than confirm existence of the informant program. The Gazette has appealed the Air Force’s decision to redact the documents so broadly, saying it goes against Supreme Court rulings and Obama administration policy that promotes disclosure.

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