Background
On the 16 December 2017, Politico magazine in the USA, along with the New York Times, broke the story that the U.S. Department of Defense had run a "secret" study of UFOs between about 2008 and 2012.
Today, one of Politico Magazine's articles was titled "U.S. Navy drafting new guidelines for reporting UFOs," which is a very interesting development indeed! The article deserves to be quoted in full, to which I will add my own comments.
The article
The article, written by Bryan Bender and dated 23 April 2019, is as follows:
"The U.S. Navy is drafting new guidelines for pilots and other personnel to report encounters with "unidentified aircraft,' a significant new step in creating a formal process to collect and analyze the unexplained sightings-and destigmatize them.
The previously unreported move is in response to a series of sightings of unknown, highly advanced aircraft intruding on Navy strike groups and other sensitive military formations and facilities, the service says.
"There have been a number of reports of unauthorized and /or unidentified aircraft entering various military-controlled ranges and designated air space in recent years," the Navy said in a statement in response to questions from POLITICO. "For safety reasons and security concerns, the Navy and the [U.S. Air Force] takes these reports very seriously and investigates each and every report.
"As part of this effort,' it added, "the Navy is updating and formalizing the process by which reports of any such suspected incursions can be made to the cognizant authorities. A new message to the fleet that will detail the steps for reporting is in draft."
To be clear, the Navy isn't endorsing the idea that its sailors have encountered alien spacecraft. But it is acknowledging there have been enough strange aerial sightings by credible and highly trained military personnel that they need to be recorded in the official record and studied -rather than dismissed as some kooky phenomena from the realm of science-fiction.
Chris Mellon, a former Pentagon intelligence official and ex-staffer on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said establishing a more formal means of reporting what the military now calls "unexplained aerial phenomena" - rather then "unidentified flying objects" - would be a "sea change."
"Right now, we have situation in which UFOs and UAPs are treated as anomalies to be ignored rather than anomalies to be explored," he said. "We have systems that exclude that information and dump it."
For example, Mellon said "in a lot of cases [military personnel ] don't know what to do with that information-like satellite data or a radar that sees something going mach 3. They will dump [the data] because that is not a traditional aircraft or missile."
The development comes amid growing interest from members of Congress following revelations by POLITICO and the New York Times in late 2017 that the Pentagon established a dedicated office inside the Defense Intelligence Agency to study UAPs at the urging of several senators who secretly set aside appropriations for the effort.
That office spent some $25 million conducting a series of technical studies and evaluating numerous unexplained incursions, including one that lasted several days involving the USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group in 2004. In that case, Navy fighter jets were outmaneuvered by unidentified aircraft that flew in ways that appeared to defy the laws of known physics.
Raytheon, a leading defense contractor, used the reports and official Defense Department video of the sightings off the coat of California to hail one of its radar systems for capturing the phenomena.
The Pentagon's UFO research office, known as the Advanced Aerospace Threat identification program, was officially wound down in 2012 when the Congressional earmark ran out.
But lawmakers are now asking questions, the Navy also reports. "In response to requests for information from Congressional members and staff, Navy officials have provided a series of briefings by senior Naval Intelligence officials as well as aviators who reported hazards to aviation safety," the service said in its statement to POLITICO.
The Navy declined to identify who had been briefed, nor would it provide more details on the guidelines for reporting that are being drafted for the fleet. The Air Force did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Advocates for treating such sightings as a potential national security threat have long criticized leaders for giving the phenomenon relatively little attention and for encouraging a culture in which personnel feel that speaking up about it could hurt their career.
Luis Elizondo, the former Pentagon official who ran the so-called AATIP office, complained after he retired from government service that the Pentagon's approach to these unidentified aircraft has been far too blase.
"If you are in a busy airport and see something you are supposed to say something," Elizondo said. "With out own military members it is kind of the opposite: "If you see something, don't say something." He added that because these mysterious aircraft "don't have a tail number or a flag -in some cases not even a tail-it's crickets. What happens in five years if it turns out these are extremely advanced Russian aircraft?"
Elizondo will be featured in an upcoming documentary series about the Pentagon ufo research he oversaw. He said the six part series will reveal more recent sightings of UAPs by dozens of military pilots.
Both Elizondo and Chris Mellon are involved with the To the Stars Academy of Arts and Sciences, which supports research into explaining the technical advances these reported UAPs demonstrate."
What are the key pieces of information here?
1. Let's first take a look at the wording of part of the statement from the US Navy to POLITICO.
"There have been a number of reports of unauthorized and /or unidentified aircraft entering various military-controlled ranges and designated air space in recent years," the Navy said in a statement in response to questions from POLITICO. "For safety reasons and security concerns, the Navy and the [U.S. Air Force] takes these reports very seriously and investigates each and every report.
"As part of this effort," it added, "the Navy is updating and formalizing the process by which reports of any such suspected incursions can be made to the cognizant authorities. A new message to the fleet that will detail the steps for reporting is in draft."
So, the US Navy acknowledges the existence of a number or reports of 'unidentified aircraft'. A great step forward. Then "the Navy and the [U.S. Air Force] takes these reports very seriously and investigates each and every report." This appears to be a new piece of information, both the Navy and the USAF investigates each and every report? This doesn't seem to fit with what we have previously known, and the USAF repeatedly has shown official disinterest in studying such reports in recent years.
However, I would like to wait and see what the USAF comment is, about this new move by the US Navy. Will they likewise, issue new procedures for reporting such "unidentified aircraft." If so, will a USAF body be established to analyse such reports? A number of questions remain unanswered.
Similarly, if the US Navy does promulgate new instructions about reporting such phenomena, who are the "cognizant authorities" to whom the reports will be forwarded? Will this be a new agency?
2. Next let's take a look at another part of the US Navy statement, namely:
"In response to requests for information from Congressional members and staff, Navy officials have provided a series of briefings by senior Naval Intelligence officials as well as aviators who reported hazards to aviation safety,"
We have been aware of moves to brief members of Congress, and this has been reported to have already occurred. Some researchers have been looking for formal Congressional hearings to be undertaken, however, the US Navy statement concerns "briefings" not hearings. Note the statement that there have been "briefings by senior Naval Intelligence officials as well as aviators who reported hazards to aviation safety," It would be safe to assume that some of the already identified aircrew from the 2004 USS Nimitz incidents, and currently unnamed aircrew from the 2015 East coast will have provided testimony. What the "senior Naval Intelligence officials" spoke about of course, remains unknown.
Another question, and an important one, remains, will the general public get to hear of future military witness reports, and see the results of any analysis, or will we still be left in the dark?
However, I would like to wait and see what the USAF comment is, about this new move by the US Navy. Will they likewise, issue new procedures for reporting such "unidentified aircraft." If so, will a USAF body be established to analyse such reports? A number of questions remain unanswered.
Similarly, if the US Navy does promulgate new instructions about reporting such phenomena, who are the "cognizant authorities" to whom the reports will be forwarded? Will this be a new agency?
2. Next let's take a look at another part of the US Navy statement, namely:
"In response to requests for information from Congressional members and staff, Navy officials have provided a series of briefings by senior Naval Intelligence officials as well as aviators who reported hazards to aviation safety,"
We have been aware of moves to brief members of Congress, and this has been reported to have already occurred. Some researchers have been looking for formal Congressional hearings to be undertaken, however, the US Navy statement concerns "briefings" not hearings. Note the statement that there have been "briefings by senior Naval Intelligence officials as well as aviators who reported hazards to aviation safety," It would be safe to assume that some of the already identified aircrew from the 2004 USS Nimitz incidents, and currently unnamed aircrew from the 2015 East coast will have provided testimony. What the "senior Naval Intelligence officials" spoke about of course, remains unknown.
Another question, and an important one, remains, will the general public get to hear of future military witness reports, and see the results of any analysis, or will we still be left in the dark?
In summary
An excellent first move by the US Navy in response to credible, and authoritative witnesses who have been willing to come forward. Together with the efforts of such journalists as George Knapp; the members of the To The Stars Academy and the team at the Scientific Coalition for Ufology who submitted their technical report to members of Congress. Well done.
Update: 25 April 2019
1. The Washington Post dated 24 April 2019 contained an article by Deanna Paul. Included in the text was the following:
"'Since 2014, these intrusions have been happening on a regular basis,' Joseph Gradisher, spokesman for office of the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Warfare, told the Washington Post on Wednesday.
'We want to get to the bottom of this. We need to determine who's doing it, where it's coming from and what their intention is. We need to try to find ways to prevent it from happening again.'"
The LinkedIn page for Joseph Gradisher shows that he is listed as a PAO, US Navy, Washington DC Metro area. Public Relations and Communications. With Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Dominance (N2/N6) since October 2010.
An Internet search reveals that Vice Admiral Matthew J Kohler is the current Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Warfare, since July 2018. It would seem to imply that he must have endorsed the statement before it was released.
2. Thanks to a lead from twitter user D Dean Johnson, I obtained a copy of the full text of the US Navy's statement, from the US Navy itself.
"There have been a number of reports of unauthorized and/or unidentified aircraft entering military-controlled ranges and designated air space in recent years.
For safety and security concerns, the Navy and the USAF take these reports very seriously and investigate each and every report. As part of this effort, the Navy is updating and formalizing the process by which reports of any such suspected intrusions can be made to the cognizant authorities. A new message to the fleet will detail the steps for reporting is in draft.
In response to requests for information from Congressional members and staff, Navy officials have provided a series of briefings by senior Naval intelligence officials as well as aviators who reported hazards to aviation safety."
The statement attributed to Joseph Gradisher, Spokesman for Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Warfare.
Update 31 May 2019
An article titled 'Remove the stigma:' Navy changes its guidelines for reporting UFOs by reporter Michelle Basch, appeared yesterday US time, on wtop.com.
It quoted a US Navy spokesperson:
"We are currently updating guidelines to be more aircraft specific in order to facilitate reports of unidentified aircraft/unmanned aerial systems (UAS) that support an objective data driven analysis," Joseph Gradisher spokesperson for the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Warfare, wrote in a statement to WTOP.
...Gradisher said "multiple Department of Defense and Intelligence Community organizations" could be involved. "The information obtained in these reports will be catalogued and analysed for the purpose of identifying any hazard to our aviators," Gradisher's ststement continues "...Furthermore, any report generated as a result of these investigations, will by necessity, include classified information on military operations. Therefore, no release of information to the general public is expected."
My comment:
The To The Stars Academy, released two US Navy videos on its website for anyone to view. The information provided with the videos lacked both the date the videos were taken, and the location of the aircraft involved. It certainly, seems to me, that the US Navy could release a redacted version of reports made under the new guidelines, if they so chose to do so.
Update 21 July 2019
In a Twitter tweet dated 19 July 2019, journalist Bryan Bender wrote:
"Audience member @Aspensecurity asks @INDOPACOM Commander about Navy reports on UFOs. Chuckles all round but Adm. Phil Davidson responded that there is now a reporting process for these unexplained sightings and says the encounters were during "a finite period.""
Update: 25 April 2019
1. The Washington Post dated 24 April 2019 contained an article by Deanna Paul. Included in the text was the following:
"'Since 2014, these intrusions have been happening on a regular basis,' Joseph Gradisher, spokesman for office of the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Warfare, told the Washington Post on Wednesday.
'We want to get to the bottom of this. We need to determine who's doing it, where it's coming from and what their intention is. We need to try to find ways to prevent it from happening again.'"
The LinkedIn page for Joseph Gradisher shows that he is listed as a PAO, US Navy, Washington DC Metro area. Public Relations and Communications. With Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Dominance (N2/N6) since October 2010.
An Internet search reveals that Vice Admiral Matthew J Kohler is the current Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Warfare, since July 2018. It would seem to imply that he must have endorsed the statement before it was released.
 |
| Source: https://www.navy.mil/navydata/bios/navybio.asp?bioID=653 |
"There have been a number of reports of unauthorized and/or unidentified aircraft entering military-controlled ranges and designated air space in recent years.
For safety and security concerns, the Navy and the USAF take these reports very seriously and investigate each and every report. As part of this effort, the Navy is updating and formalizing the process by which reports of any such suspected intrusions can be made to the cognizant authorities. A new message to the fleet will detail the steps for reporting is in draft.
In response to requests for information from Congressional members and staff, Navy officials have provided a series of briefings by senior Naval intelligence officials as well as aviators who reported hazards to aviation safety."
The statement attributed to Joseph Gradisher, Spokesman for Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Warfare.
Update 31 May 2019
An article titled 'Remove the stigma:' Navy changes its guidelines for reporting UFOs by reporter Michelle Basch, appeared yesterday US time, on wtop.com.
It quoted a US Navy spokesperson:
"We are currently updating guidelines to be more aircraft specific in order to facilitate reports of unidentified aircraft/unmanned aerial systems (UAS) that support an objective data driven analysis," Joseph Gradisher spokesperson for the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Warfare, wrote in a statement to WTOP.
...Gradisher said "multiple Department of Defense and Intelligence Community organizations" could be involved. "The information obtained in these reports will be catalogued and analysed for the purpose of identifying any hazard to our aviators," Gradisher's ststement continues "...Furthermore, any report generated as a result of these investigations, will by necessity, include classified information on military operations. Therefore, no release of information to the general public is expected."
My comment:
The To The Stars Academy, released two US Navy videos on its website for anyone to view. The information provided with the videos lacked both the date the videos were taken, and the location of the aircraft involved. It certainly, seems to me, that the US Navy could release a redacted version of reports made under the new guidelines, if they so chose to do so.
Update 21 July 2019
In a Twitter tweet dated 19 July 2019, journalist Bryan Bender wrote:
"Audience member @Aspensecurity asks @INDOPACOM Commander about Navy reports on UFOs. Chuckles all round but Adm. Phil Davidson responded that there is now a reporting process for these unexplained sightings and says the encounters were during "a finite period.""
Update: 16 June 2021
It was announced today that the House Select Committee on Intelligence's sub-committee titled Counter terrorism; counter intelligence and counter proliferation would hold a classified briefing on UAP today. Chaired by Congressman Andre Carson.
this is the same navy that does diplomacy with 100,000 tons carriers
ReplyDelete