NDAA forms new UFO Office in DOD

Looks like the US Government might be officially back in the UFO business.

An important amendment to the House version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) concerning UFOs and Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon (UAP) has been approved. Outside of secret projects and clandestine DoD programs, this follow-up to the June 2021 Intelligence Committee report is the first major incentive to reckon with the UFO phenomenon since the Air Force ended Project Blue Book in 1969. Speaking from a UAP conference in San Marino, former Pentagon insider and UFO whistleblower Luis Elizondo explained, “The National Defense Authorization Act is basically the directive by congress to the Department of Defense saying ‘Thou shalt do something if you want to get paid.’ So it’s a big deal.”

It does look like a big deal.

Representative Ruben Gallego (Democrat, AZ), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Intelligence and Special Operations, authored the amendment that bears his name. In a formal press release about the new amendment, Gallego explained the scope and intention of the new mandate, “It is in the national security interest of the United States to know what is flying in our skies. Whether emerging tech from strategic competitors and adversaries or aerial phenomena from unknown origins, our military must have a full intelligence picture and the tools to respond quickly to these potential threats. My amendment creates a permanent office at DoD to comprehensively evaluate these UAPs, and I’m proud to announce its inclusion in the House version of the NDAA.”

The specific directives of the amendment do not shy away from the likelihood that the aerial phenomena comes “from unknown origins.” One need not even read between the lines to get the impression that the ET hypothesis is on the table.

The new amendment calls for the formation of a UAP office within the Office of the Secretary of Defense to replace the current and temporary UAP Task Force created by the Senate Intelligence Committee. The new office needs to be established within 180 days of the enactment of the NDAA. The governments’ new UFO office will be charged with a broad-ranging mission to collate, coordinate, and analyze information on UFOs collected from all branches of military and from across all intelligence platforms. The office will be charged with tallying UFO incursions into restricted airspace and “evaluating the threat that such incidents present to the United States.” In addition, the UAP Office will work with other government departments and even US allies to exchange information on the phenomenon.

Whether emerging tech from strategic competitors and adversaries or aerial phenomena from unknown origins, our military must have a full intelligence picture and the tools to respond quickly to these potential threats.

Representative Ruben Gallego

The new office will also be responsible for creating and submitting an annual report that lists the number of UFOs reported over restricted US airspace, analyzes the incidents, and correlates intelligence on UFOs from every conceivable intelligence source including satellite data, radar, and signals intelligence. “Basically it’s saying that every single type of intelligence we have will be used to collect information on UAPS,” Elizondo remarked. It’s not limited just to US sensor data. The annual report is to contain information on international efforts with US allies “to track, understand, and address unidentified aerial phenomena.”

In what may be the strangest directive in the entire amendment, the annual report also needs to include “an update on any efforts underway on the ability to capture or exploit discovered unidentified aerial phenomena,” implying that such efforts are already underway. Efforts to “capture” a UFO imply military intercepts. Efforts to “exploit discovered” UFOs implies back-engineering UFO technology derived from crash retrievals—a persistent and unsubstantiated rumor since 1947.

The annual report also needs to include an update on any efforts underway on the ability to capture or exploit discovered unidentified aerial phenomena.

The amendment also calls for an “assessment of any health-related effects for individuals that have encountered unidentified aerial phenomena.” This language must be based upon known cases of people who have suffered physical effects from close encounters.

Elizondo commented, “This is an enormous step forward … that the government would even talk about sharing with allies and partners on UAP information they are collecting. It talks about biological effects and collecting information from any individuals who may have sustained any type of [health effects from contact with] UAP. If that is not an acknowledgement …? That’s huge. It’s massive.” It’s especially massive for Elizondo who has spent the last five years lobbying for the formation of such an office within the DoD. Elizondo resigned his post with the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) in 2017 because he was unable to persuade the brass to take the UFO problem seriously. Since then, he has worked primarily in the civilian sector to pressure the government toward disclosure. The Ruben Gallego Amendment to the NDAA is a tribute to the success of his efforts.

The first annual report is due Dec. 31, 2022, and to be submitted to “appropriate congressional committees” including the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the Select Committees on Intelligence for both the House and the Senate.

Elizondo said, “I expect if that this gets out in the news it’s going to go white hot.”

Here’s the full text of the amendment:

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 H.R.4350 – National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022

(a) Establishment.–Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Director of National Intelligence, shall establish an office within the Office of the Secretary of Defense to carry out, on a Department- wide basis, the mission currently performed by the Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon Task Force as of the date of the enactment of this Act.

(b) Duties.–The duties of the office established under subsection (a) shall include the following:

1. Developing procedures to synchronize and standardize the collection, reporting, and analysis of incidents regarding unidentified aerial phenomena across the Department of Defense.
2. Developing processes and procedures to ensure that such incidents from each military department are reported and incorporated in a centralized repository.
3. Establishing procedures to require the timely and consistent reporting of such incidents.
4. Evaluating links between unidentified aerial phenomena and adversarial foreign governments, other foreign governments, or nonstate actors.
5. Evaluating the threat that such incidents present to the United States.
6. Coordinating with other departments and agencies of the Federal Government, as appropriate.
7. Coordinating with allies and partners of the United States, as appropriate, to better assess the nature and extent of unidentified aerial phenomena.

(c) Annual Report.–

1. Requirement.–Not later than December 31, 2022, and annually thereafter until December 31, 2026, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on unidentified aerial phenomena.
2. Elements.–Each report under paragraph (1) shall include, with respect to the year covered by the report, the following information:
   • An analysis of data and intelligence received through reports of unidentified aerial phenomena.
   • An analysis of data relating to unidentified aerial phenomena collected through–
   • geospatial intelligence;
   • signals intelligence;
   • (iii) human intelligence; and
   • (iv) measurement and signals intelligence.
   • The number of reported incidents of unidentified aerial phenomena over restricted air space of the United States.
   • An analysis of such incidents identified under subparagraph (C).
   • Identification of potential aerospace or other threats posed by unidentified aerial phenomena to the national security of the United States.
   • An assessment of any activity regarding unidentified aerial phenomena that can be attributed to one or more adversarial foreign governments.
   • Identification of any incidents or patterns regarding unidentified aerial phenomena that indicate a potential adversarial foreign government may have achieved a breakthrough aerospace capability.
   • An update on the coordination by the United States with allies and partners on efforts to track, understand, and address unidentified aerial phenomena.
   • An update on any efforts underway on the ability to capture or exploit discovered unidentified aerial phenomena.
   • An assessment of any health-related effects for individuals that have encountered unidentified aerial phenomena.
3. Task Force.–Not later than the date on which the Secretary establishes the office under subsection (a), the Secretary shall terminate the Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon Task Force.
4. Definitions.–In this section:
   • The term “appropriate congressional committees” means the following:
     • The Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives.
     • The Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Foreign Relations, and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate.
   • The term “unidentified aerial phenomena” means airborne objects witnessed by a pilot or aircrew member that are not immediately identifiable.

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It’s Happening.

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