Pentagon: Most UFO Reports Are ‘Unremarkable’

The Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) recently reported that most sightings of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAPs) are “unremarkable,” glimpses of balloons, drones, or airborne plastic bags and other trash.

If you’re keeping score at home, UAPs used to be called UFOS and, before that, flying saucers; the AARO was called the Airborne Object Identification and Management Group (AOIMSG) and, before that, the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force (UAPTF).

There you have it. Klaatu barada nikto.

Download the AARO 2022 UAP report here.

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Chicken captured near secure Pentagon area

An avian intruder was nabbed near the Pentagon early Monday morning. The chicken was intercepted and captured by security forces. Defense Department officials denied the feathered interloper intended harm to Colonel Sanders, and called any links between Chicken Kiev and the Ukraine crisis pure speculation.

The furtive fowl was tentatively identified as a Rhode Island Red, but communist ties are not suspected. Predatory poultry has been increasingly responsible for rogue incidents of urban terrorism over the past decade, as growing numbers of likely recruits have roosted in backyards across America, and are egged on by bandit bird ringleaders.

More:

“Chicken captured near secure Pentagon area,” Martin Weil, Washington Post

“The Inside Story of Pentagon Chicken’s Capture,” Tori Bergel, Washingtonian

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New Pentagon UFO Program

There’s a new UFO program at the Pentagon. The Navy’s Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force is out, and the Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group (AOIMSG) is in. The new program will lead all federal Ufology efforts and “assess and mitigate any associated threats to safety of flight and national security.” This will all be led by an Airborne Object Identification and Management Executive Council (AOIMEXEC).

“AOIMEXEC” sounds like an archeological site in Yucatan. And “AOIMSG” is obviously named after a food additive.

More:

“Pentagon creates new group to monitor and ‘mitigate’ threat from UFOs,” Mike Snider, USA Today

“Pentagon silent on whether UFO tracking officials will wear black suits, sunglasses,” Jeff Schogol, Task & Purpose

“The Pentagon gave its new UFO task force the least sexy name possible,” Andrew Paul, Input

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Trump Fires Pentagon Brass, Commemorates Veterans Day

High School Cadet Capt. Trump. Thank you for your service.

On Wednesday it was raining too hard to play golf, so President Donald Trump commemorated Veterans Day by visiting Arlington National Cemetery and silently laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Mr. Trump had prepared for the event on Monday by firing West Point graduate Mark Esper, his more-or-less 5th Secretary of Defense. Mr. Esper, a veteran of the Army’s 101st Airborne Division, was awarded the Bronze Star for his service in Iraq. You may recall that Mr. Trump has a service-related disability: he was gravely wounded as soon as he became eligible for the Vietnam draft lottery, and was treated (on paper) at a Queens NY storefront a podiatrist rented from Fred Trump, his dad.

Armed Forces Fact: The Pentagon is in Arlington, Virginia, only 2 miles from Arlington National Cemetery.

More:

“Trump Fires Mark Esper, Defense Secretary Who Opposed Use of Troops on U.S. Streets,”Helene Cooper, Eric Schmitt and Maggie Haberman,  New York Times

“Pentagon sees flurry of resignations after Trump ousts secretary,” Ellen Mitchell, The Hill

“‘Devastating’: Top Pentagon leadership gutted as fears rise over national security,” Lara Seligman and Daniel Lippman, Politico

“Worries grow about rudderless post-election Pentagon,” Ellen Mitchell, The Hill

“Trump administration upends senior Pentagon ranks, installing loyalists,” Dan Lamothe, Missy Ryan, Josh Dawsey and Paul Sonne, Washington Post

“Trump loyalists elevated to powerful roles at the Pentagon after firing of Defense Secretary Esper,” Amanda Macias. CNBC

“Trump Stacks the Pentagon and Intel Agencies With Loyalists. To What End?” David E. Sanger and Eric Schmitt, New York Times

“Republicans muzzle anger over Trump’s Pentagon culling, afraid antagonizing him could imperil Georgia runoff,” Karoun Demirjian, Washington Post

Updates:

“Military wary that shakeup could upend its apolitical nature,” Lolitia C. Baldor, Associated Press

“Why Trump is suddenly replacing Pentagon officials with loyalists,” Alex Ward, Vox

Related:

“Gen. Milley’s nurse wife gave CPR to bystander who collapsed at ceremony,” Marina Pitofsky, The Hill

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Petulant President’s Resignation Response

On Thursday, Secretary of Defense James Mattis resigned as Secretary of Defense after President Trump precipitously ordered the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria without Pentagon consultation. His letter of resignation is a clear-eyed, well-reasoned, stinging rebuke to Mr. Trump’s chaotic decision-making and leadership. Secretary Mattis said he would resign at the end of February to allow for a smooth transition of Defense Department leadership. President Trump responded with the  thoughtfulness and grace that has characterized his administration, posting a Tweet announcing that General Mattis will be gone by January 1st. His successor, a Trump appointee, was a Boeing executive for 30 years and, like the Commander-In-Chief, has no military experience.

More:

“Trump, Angry Over Mattis’s Rebuke, Removes Him 2 Months Early,” Helene Cooper, New York Times

Related:

“Mattis is out, and Blackwater is back: ‘We are coming,’” Tara Copp, Military Times

“John McCain Once Called Trump’s New Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan a ‘Fox in the Henhouse’ Over Ties to Boeing,” Ramsey Touchberry, Newsweek

“Someone please get President Trump on the golf course,” Dallas Morning News editorial

Update:

“Trump is now saying he ‘fired’ James Mattis,” Kathryn Krawczyk, The Week

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Pentagon UFO Program Revealed

The Pentagon has confirmed that it ran a multi-million-dollar UFO investigation program for five years. The Advanced Aviation Threat Identification Program (AATIP) was initiated through the urging of Harry Reid, then Senate Majority Leader, influenced by a hotel billionaire and the lead singer of the rock group Blink-182.

Still, there’s justification for interest. The military had detected several unexplained aerial phenomena, including a 2004 UFO sighting by two navy pilots:

Pentagon Won’t Punish ‘Pillow-Talk’ Petraeus

David Petraeus, who resigned as CIA director after revelations he’d shared classified information with his mistress and biographer, Paula Broadwell, won’t be punished any further by the Pentagon, reported the Washington Post. General Petraeus pleaded guilty to a single count of unauthorized use of classified material last year in a …, um, “sweetheart deal.” Now he won’t even be demoted and will continue to receive a four-star general’s retirement benefits, including a pension of nearly $220,000 a year.

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Psychology Association: Okay, We’ll Stop Helping Torturers

“The American Psychological Association voted Friday in favor of a resolution that would bar its members from participating in national security interrogations.

The resolution by the country’s largest professional organization of psychologists passed overwhelmingly. The only dissenting vote came from Col. Larry James, a former Army intelligence psychologist at Guantanamo.”

— “Psychology Group Votes To Ban Members From Taking Part In Interrogations,” Dina Temple-Raston, NPR News

“The association’s ethics director, Stephen Behnke, coordinated the group’s public policy statements on interrogations with a top military psychologist … and then received a Pentagon contract to help train interrogators while he was working at the association, without the knowledge of the association’s board. Mr. Behnke did not respond to a request for comment.”

— “Outside Psychologists Shielded U.S. Torture Program, Report Finds,” James Risen, New York Times

Related:

“Larry James,” Center for Torture Accountability

“US torture report: psychologists should no longer aid military, group says,” Spencer Ackerman, The Guardian

Total Information War

The U.S. military is determined to prevail on the cyber-psycho-cultural field of battle, winning hearts, minds, and Facebook friends with global information operations. In accordance with Pentagon planning document Joint Vision 2020 (Department of Defense, Joint Vision 2020 [aka DOD JV 2020], 2000), the U.S. military will not rest until it achieves information domain dominance with tactical tweets and barrages of blog posts. The Web has been weaponized, and social media militarized. Sign up now for a career in Information Operations (IO).

Closet Veterans

 

The Washington Post is observing Veterans Day with a story previewing the Pentagon report on the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy:

“More than 70 percent of respondents to a survey sent to active-duty and reserve troops over the summer said the effect of repealing the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy would be positive, mixed or nonexistent, said two sources familiar with the document. The survey results led the report’s authors to conclude that objections to openly gay colleagues would drop once troops were able to live and serve alongside them.”

— “Sources: Pentagon group finds there is minimal risk to lifting gay ban during war,” Ed O’Keefe and Greg Jaffe, Washington Post.

The chief authors of the study are Pentagon General Counsel Jeh Johnson and the Commander of U.S. Forces in Europe, General Carter Ham.

 

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