Pentagon's UFO Program / Encounters & Research

Hosted byGeorge Knapp

Pentagon's UFO Program / Encounters & Research

About the show

Former military intelligence official Luis Elizondo was the head of the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP), a hidden Pentagon government unit that he directed which researched UFOs. Elizondo joined George Knapp in the first hour to discuss his work with AATIP, his current position with To the Stars Academy, efforts to educate Congress regarding the UFO mystery, and the upcoming History Channel TV series "Unidentified." He described the show as "a conversation for the American people" to tackle the topic of UFO secrecy and the government’s involvement with it. Elizondo also described the character of the Navy pilots and personnel who have reported their sightings as "trained observers" whose UFO accounts can be taken "to the bank." He also revealed that a Pentagon map of UFO "hotspots" would be shown and discussed on the upcoming program.

In hours 2 & 3, pioneering researcher Dr. Jacques Vallee discussed his over 50 years of research and theories, which have had deep and lasting effects on the field of UFO study. He said that when he interviews witnesses, his first job is "to gain their trust" and to find out "what happened before, not just what happened after" their experiences. He emphasized that the recent revelations concerning the Navy and their new guidelines for reporting UFOs is nothing new, because when he worked with Dr. J Allen Hynek in the 1960s on the U.S. Air Force's Project Blue Book, he said that reports on unidentifieds from the Navy were numerous, primarily because "on a Navy ship, there is always somebody looking" along with radar and an unobstructed view.

Vallee also spoke about his involvement with a UFO close encounter case from Argentina which he investigated in 1980, and has returned recently to speak to the main witness for a new film. The witness, 12 years old at the time, had a very unusual and disturbing encounter on an apparent craft with two entities which effectively ruined his life, as well as leaving him with some apparent psychic talents. The witness, now a man in his 40s, was alienated from his friends and family, and was still terrified of seeing the beings again, as well as paradoxically wishing to have another experience, which Vallee pointed out is not uncommon. Dr. Vallee is still looking for samples of materials from UFO cases for analysis (which he pointed out has been going on for over 30 years) because we now have "new instruments and new methodologies to study it."

Dr. John Alexander is a leading advocate for the development of non-lethal weapons. During his varied career, he held many key positions in research and development, special operations and intelligence. In the last hour, he discussed his longtime interest and involvement in the UFO subject and efforts to get government entities to fund research and studies. He was encouraged that Luis Elizondo was able to receive funding through for the Pentagon program known as ATIP to systematically study and evaluate reports. Alexander was a member of the research team at Utah’s "Skinwalker Ranch" when it was owned by billionaire Robert Bigelow and described the phenomena present and how it would always "stay a step ahead of us." He believes that many so-called paranormal phenomena are connected and that "human consciousness is in fact a piece" of the puzzle that must be solved.

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