By Tim Binnall
The Pentagon's effort to investigate UFOs has been given a new name along with an expansion of its scope to now include unidentified submerged and transmedium objects. Detailing the change in a press release issued on Wednesday evening, the Department of Defense announced that the somewhat cumbersome sounding Airborne Object Identification and Management Group (AOIMSG), which was established back in November, would now be known as the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO). The DoD went on to explain that the change came about because the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) "included a provision to establish an office, in coordination with DNI, with responsibilities that were broader than those originally assigned to the AOIMSG."
To that end, the newly named office will no longer be solely focused on unidentified aerial phenomena, but will also examine cases of anomalous submerged objects as well as transmedium oddities that appear to be able to travel though air and water. That said, the mission of the AARO remains largely the same as its previous incarnation in that it aims to "to detect, identify and attribute objects of interest in, on or near military installations, operating areas, training areas, special use airspace and other areas of interest, and, as necessary, to mitigate any associated threats to safety of operations and national security." Heading the office will be Dr. Sean M. Kirkpatrick, who previously served as the chief scientist for the DIA's Missile and Space Intelligence Center.
While the 2022 NDAA led to the creation of the AARO, additional efforts aimed at understanding the UFO phenomenon are currently in the works by way of the 2023 installment of the budgetary bill which includes an amendment that would establish a robust UAP reporting system. The provision also allows for amnesty for individuals who were "previously prohibited from reporting under any nondisclosure written or oral agreement." Meanwhile, the 2023 Intelligence Authorization Act features a tantalizing amendment which would compel the General Accounting Office to develop "a complete historical record of the intelligence community's involvement with unidentified aerospace-undersea phenomena," including their efforts to recover downed craft and "manipulate public opinion" about the subject.