On October 31, 2023, the Pentagon chose to announce the long-awaited official and secure reporting mechanism for UAPs. However, in a fashion typical of the long history of public statements by the U.S. government on the subject of UFOs, confusion still seemed to reign within the American administration.
Prominently displayed on the official Department of Defense website is the following announcement :
"The Department of Defense Launches Secure Reporting Mechanism on the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office Website."
Furthermore, on the same day, the Department of Defense press secretary, Gen. Ryder, stated in a press conference that the director of the Pentagon's UFO study group, Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick, would :
"Present the status of the AARO website and the next phase of the secure mechanism for contacting AARO to report unidentified anomalous phenomena."
However, when you visit AARO, it is not a system for collecting reports of UAP sightings that you can find, but a system for reporting secret programs. Furthermore, it has been activated on the same day.
One can question the reasons for this misunderstanding, especially for a government entity with an annual budget of over 700 billion dollars. It is even clearly stated on the All Domain Anomaly Resolution’s website :
"Current Operational UAP Reporting: Military personnel should report through their command or service”
Then :
“Civilian pilots are encouraged to promptly report UAP sightings to air traffic control. AARO receives UAP-related Pilot Reports (PIREPs) from the Federal Aviation Administration."
And further :
"AARO is NOT currently accepting reports of UAP sightings/encounters from the general public."
Even for military personnel who have observed a UAP, the website specifies :
"Please do NOT use this unclassified website to submit current operational reports of UAP sightings/encounters that have occurred in the course of your official U.S. Government duties as a Service member, federal employee, or contractor personnel. Please follow the process established by your service branch or federal agency to report the information to AARO."
Contrary to what the Pentagon and its spokesperson indicated, there is currently no centralized system in place for citizens or military personnel to report a UAP sighting.
Secret Programs
Nonetheless, AARO declares to be open to reports of programs or activities related to UAPs only if the whistleblower has direct knowledge of them. This would exclude whistleblower David Grusch, who became famous for testifying under oath that there is a secret program for reverse-engineering crashed UFOs. Ironically, the fact that his information is indirect and that he did not have to sign a non-disclosure agreement to access it, allowed him to testify publicly.
However, the website does state that AARO, by law :
"may receive all UAP-related information, including any classified national security information involving military, intelligence, and intelligence-related activities, at all levels of classification regardless of any restrictive access controls, special access programs, or compartmented access programs."
Note the absence of unacknowledged special access programs and waived special access programs, the two most secretive categories of programs in the United States. Furthermore, it is stated that these testimonies will be limited to a period dating as far back as 1945 and will be used to create a report on historical archives.
It is also confirmed that non-disclosure agreements are null and void only during discussions between the witness and AARO, making public statements by witnesses on the subject impossible.
The website, however, informs witnesses that they are protected from any retaliation that may occur if their testimony becomes known and refers them to the inspector generals of different branches or agencies where they are employed.
One may wonder if witnesses would be willing to take the risk, considering that David Grusch had to file a reprisal complaint after exposing an alleged illegal UAP reverse-engineering program, and that witnesses were absent from hearings because they were pressured.
Dr. Kirkpatrick's briefing, as announced by Gen. Ryder, has not been released to the public at the time of writing.
Edit, 1/11/2023, here is the link to the official transcript of Dr. Kirkpatrick's briefing.
