More Questions than Answers on UAPs

Just who is bullshitting whom?

Wednesday, July 26, 2023, may indeed go down as an important day in history. The operative word here is “may” for many reasons, but it was a big day. Witnesses provided testimony to the House Oversight Subcommittee on unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP). Specifically, two Navy airmen — Ryan Graves and David Fravor — described multiple interactions with UAPs, including both military and civilian pilot interactions, as well as previously undisclosed-to-congress interactions with private contractors. Graves and Fravor played a greater role in the hearing than many had anticipated. I recommend watching the hearing in full, but if you don’t have time, here’s a breakdown below. 

The keystone of the hearing was ret. Air Force Major David Grusch. Grusch, a former intelligence officer and one of the key players in the UAP Task Force from 2019-2021, made even more extraordinary claims, this time under oath. For those who hadn’t heard of him or his claims before, these are some key takeaways: 

• The US government has been involved in clandestine, a multi-decade “non-human” craft retrieval and reverse engineering process

• Grusch knows the exact location of the retrieved craft, and offered to provide a list of cooperative and hostile witnesses

• “Non-human biologics” were retrieved in some craft

• People investigating this topic have been harmed, and Grusch claimed the use of “administrative terrorism” on anyone attempting to be a whistleblower

• The Pentagon and its contractors are misallocating funds to divert to retrieval and reverse engineering projects

• Much information Grusch had was classified and thus could not be discussed in public but rather in a sensitive compartmented information facility (SCIF), which he repeatedly offered to Representatives

• Grusch has not seen “non-human biologic” bodies before but knows people who have

• Retrieving satellite imagery of UAP events was one of Grusch’s main tasks 

• Relying on the term “non-human” rather than “extraterrestrial” leaves the door open to options regarding whatever is piloting UAPs

He’d made these claims before in interviews, but the point of the hearing was to have this testimony entered into the Congressional record. From there, Congress can undertake an official investigation, wield subpoena power, and so on. 

Some of the key claims Graves made included: 

• UAPs appearing to be dark gray or black cubes inside clear spheres were regularly witnessed by pilots and radar alike, and were commonly seen after radar systems were upgraded on F-18s in his group around 2014

• The UAPs provide a threat to aerospace safety

• Both commercial and military pilots have very few paths to report sightings and interactions, and only ~5% of interactions are reported

• At Vandenberg Air Force Base in 2003, Boeing contractors observed a 100-yard (100-meter) per side red square hover over a launch facility for 45 seconds before leaving. Private contractors are not required to report UAP incidents

• The stigma around reporting UAP incidents needs to be lessened and a well-documented central system needs to be created to encourage pilots to come forward about experiences

Fravor largely recounted the famous Tic-Tac incident, the most well-documented UAP encounter to date. Rather than retell the story here, you can read his initial 2019 interview here. He noted that while the video of his Tic-Tac encounter is public, the video of his radar being jammed is not and he doesn’t know where it is. Radar jamming is considered an act of war among humans, for reference.

Well-Founded Skepticism

I know, I know. A lot of people are skeptical, to put it lightly. I’m skeptical too. So far, I’ve only presented what claims witnesses have made, and haven’t added my opinion. No new photos, no new videos, and no hard evidence was demonstrated. This was witness testimony only. 

Whatever the truth here is, someone is lying. Has there indeed been a decades-long UAP retrieval and reverse-engineering program the government has been lying about? Have many people lied to Grusch? Is Grusch lying? Are the others? Is the whole thing a ruse? These are all valid questions.

I further completely understand not trusting a single word that comes out of the US government in DC. Assuming they’re lying is a good place to start, and it tends to be my default position. Believing the government is constantly lying has been an excellent heuristic to separate truth from nonsense. 

Further, it was very, very odd to see political enemies drop their partisanism and ask real questions of the witnesses with minimal political posturing. That in itself can raise some eyebrows: Often, when bipartisanism occurs in DC, it’s when there’s warbucks to be made. For many, however, the bipartisanism was refreshing. Make of that what you will. How relations proceed across the aisle from here will be telling. 

Additionally, Grusch’s treatment as a whistleblower — at least what we’ve witnessed — is different from what other famous whistleblowers have received. Edward Snowden fled to Russia fearing for his life. Bradley (now Chelsea) Manning was put in solitary confinement for a long, long time. And Julian Assange is still languishing in prison after years stuck inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London. Grusch did mention he’s feared for his life and has suffered retaliation, but he’s still walking free. Again, make of that what you will. 

Finally, why would any species advanced enough to traverse dimensions or the vastness of space crash vehicles here? It seems preposterous for a moment…until you consider that we do the exact same thing with our probes. We’ve crashed them into Jupiter, left them scorched on Venus, flown them into Titan, and so on. But not with “biologics” on board we know of…so there’s still that big question. 

Lots to Chew On

However…despite reasons to be skeptical, I get the impression there’s a lot of depth to this story. Dismissing it out of hand as bullshit (which I have seen many do in recent days) is intellectually lazy and misses a lot of what makes this particular hearing special. 

No matter your take on this story — the retrieved advanced craft, the non-human biologics, the close encounters, the cover-ups and fraud, and so on — this story is a Big Deal™. This is for two reasons: 

• If the story is real and Grusch, especially, is telling the truth, it’s the biggest story in history

• If the story is fake and Grusch, especially, is lying or subject to disinformation, it’s still an enormous and ominous story that opens the door for all sorts of malfeasance

Sadly, since my requests for a Top Secret security clearance have been repeatedly ignored, I can’t verify the claims made on Wednesday. What I can do, however, is examine the context, consider alternate views, and set the table for more to come. Because it’s about way more than just aliens. Haha…just aliens…

From Silly to Serious: What Happened? 

From the Roswell UFO Museum

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For decades, UFO research was the realm of kooks, cranks, stoners, acid casualties, and so on. At least, that’s what popular portrayals would tell you. Especially after Project Blue Book, the Air Force investigation into UFOs, (officially) closed in 1969, it was considered a laughable topic in Washington. It was considered equally laughable in serious journalism. Discussing such a topic could cost you your career, so discussing it publicly was verboten. 

Example: I’ve been to the Roswell UFO Museum in Roswell, New Mexico, where the alleged 1947 crash took place. There’s a well-documented series of events with photos, news clippings, the storyline, and so on. Even then, there’s a light-hearted air to the place, as if to say “Aw shucks, it sure sounds crazy, doesn’t it?” All the while detailing the…well, details. If you wanted any sort of place in public discourse, you couldn’t talk about UFOs without having a hefty dose of self-deprecating humor. 

Consequently, if you were to tell a UFO enthusiast even ten years ago such a hearing was taking place in 2023, they’d have either been thrilled or died laughing. Commander Fravor noted exactly that this last Wednesday — that not long ago, any Congressman seriously discussing UFOs would get him laughed off the Hill. So what happened? 

Consider the quick turnaround since the New York Times story of 2017 made the topic of UFOs (rebranded as UAPs) one of serious consideration again. It was then revealed that former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had ordered an investigation into UAPs, which resulted in a lot of what’s happening now. 

Now, I know for many of us the NYT lost much credibility years ago with its support of the Iraq war. But credit where credit is due in bringing UAP discussion into the serious range again, since clearly something is happening, and it warrants discussion. 

Since that article, the Navy has confirmed videos like the video of the famous Tic Tac incident described by Commander Fravor. They weren’t tripping over themselves to do so — they confirmed it in 2019, though the incident is from 2004. From here, it looks like the Pentagon has been dragged kicking and screaming into this, and is still offering significant resistance to investigation. That’s one of the main reasons for the hearing and the beginning of the Congressional investigation. 

Alternate Explanations

Let’s get back to this specific hearing, and crucially, to public reactions to it. I don’t judge readers for any position they take, since nothing is yet proven. The only thing I ask is that readers consider the gravity of the situation (no pun intended) and the implications of either the truth or the falsehood of this story. 

After all, there are multiple extremes in perception here. One extreme takes everything said at the hearing at face value: Aliens are real, they’re here, and Oh My God. The other extreme looks something like a Project Blue Beam enthusiast who sees the false disclosure as evidence that we can expect a fake alien invasion sometime soon.  

Others have claimed this hearing is a distraction from other stories, like Hunter Biden’s plea bargain falling through, Sam Bankman-Fried having campaign finance violation charges dropped, the Ukraine war being a mess, and so on. I don’t find these claims compelling, since there has been no shortage of major stories this year, and any particular week could have been deemed a distraction.

Alternatively, it could be a way for the US to not-so-subtly rattle its sabers at adversaries like Russia and China, claiming that the military has technology so advanced they couldn’t hope to compete. 

Of course, it could simply be a way to induce fear in the population yet again — the setup for the world’s biggest jump-scare (like Blue Beam) and/or unlimited military funding for a space war or even the creation of a world government (see above). The current climate fearmongering and induced Covid panic, for example, indicate that’s indeed a popular and profitable playbook. 

Intragovernmental Power Struggle

But I see something else going on here: notably, an intragovernmental power struggle between elected officials and, for lack of a better term, the Deep State. Essentially, some members of Congress have finally figured out that they’re not really calling the shots since they’ve been denied access to UAP evidence, and they’re pissed off. Imagine the blow to the ego that’d be: You think you’re in charge and find out that someone who didn’t even have to campaign for their job gets to tell you to go pound sand. The nerve! 

The real lesson here is that there is not just one US government. It is not a monolithic entity but rather a fluid one made up of a wide variety of individuals and many layers. Much of it is rotten, and whether or not it can be salvaged is in question, but this hearing is, by all appearances, an attempt by Congress to wrestle back some power.

Note that the House of Representatives can defund programs or fire specific non-elected officials via the Holman Rule — an old rule from the 19th century that was reinstated in 2017. So, the House does indeed have some teeth here should they continue to get stonewalled in their investigation. 

Consider also the question of genuine-ness. I’ve listened to many recent interviews with Rep. Tim Burchett, who essentially led the charge on this hearing. He was repeatedly stymied in his attempts to get UAP information from the Pentagon, including having witnesses back out. I do not doubt Rep. Burchett’s honesty and interest in the subject of UAPs, especially considering the immense legwork he’s put in on this project. If you have time, I recommend listening to this podcast in full at some point. I’ll put it at the bottom of this post.

Burchett is far from alone in feeling frustrated. Rep. Matt Gaetz, for example, noted that he’d received a protected disclosure from Eglin Air Force Base, which is in his Congressional district in Florida. There was a UAP incident that needed his attention. He asked to see the evidence taken by the flight crew as well as the radar signature, and to meet the flight crew. He was initially disallowed access to all of the flight crew as well as the images or radar sequence. After pushing, Gaetz received access, and claimed he saw an image he’s certain was not human, in addition to witnessing the radar signature of the UAPs. 

The Pentagon is not alone in the crosshairs, as Grusch was also questioned about the Department of Energy retaining UAP information. Imagine the final scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark. It might look like that, but in a highly secure lab. 

In another case of Congress tangling with UAPs, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has drafted an amendment to the 2023 defense funding bill. It’s simply called, “The UAP Disclosure Act of 2023.” It appears to be fast tracked to potentially pass as early as August, and would require disclosure of any and all info regarding UAPs held by the government or its contractors. 

In my own disclosure, I’ll say that Schumer makes my skin crawl, but I’m very curious to see how this goes. 

As The Hill noted, 

The proposed amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act would direct the National Archives and Records Administration to create a collection of records on UAPs and UFOs to be disclosed to the public immediately unless a review board provides reasons to keep them classified.

That the bill is based on the Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992, which required the public disclosure of documents 25 years after its enactment is disheartening since, well…it’s been more than 25 years, and no records have been released. 

I have to admit, I’m left with more questions than answers from Schumer’s maneuver. Is it legit? Is it designed to bury research like the Kennedy investigation? I’d be happy to hear from any readers who have insight here. 

Watch This Space 

Anyone who’s been paying attention to the US government the last few decades, especially since 9/11, has seen our military budget explode as well as the powers of the alphabet agencies. The Executive branch has arrogated to itself far more power than is likely constitutional, and it’s about damn time someone in Congress did something about it. That the US has been in numerous wars since the Second World War without actually declaring war demonstrates both the overreach of the Executive branch and the spinelessness of Congress. There are many such examples.  

Even if this hearing was a timid step forward to curtail the lies, coverups, wastefulness, and excess of the Pentagon, its contractors, and the three-letter agencies, it’s a good step. At least, that’s the way it looks right now. 

I’m not at all ready to jump to conclusions here. It’s entirely possible the claims Grusch has made are true, and he is indeed acting out of a sense of duty. It’s also entirely possible we’re being bamboozled (again), or this is all being done for ulterior motives. My guard is up, but my curiosity is thoroughly piqued. What do you think?