Luis Elizondo

Luis "Lue" Elizondo served as a career intelligence officer in the Department of Defense, running counterintelligence operations in Afghanistan, Latin America, and the Middle East before being assigned to the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) in 2008. He became the programme's director, overseeing investigations into military UAP encounters including the USS Nimitz Tic Tac incident.

Elizondo resigned from the DoD in October 2017, writing a letter to Secretary of Defense James Mattis warning that the phenomenon represented a genuine national security concern and that bureaucratic resistance was preventing adequate investigation. Two months later, the New York Times published its landmark story revealing AATIP's existence, featuring Elizondo as the programme's former head. The story, accompanied by the release of three Navy UAP videos, transformed the public conversation about UFOs overnight.

Since his resignation, Elizondo has become the most prominent public advocate for UAP disclosure from within the defence establishment. He served as a consultant to To The Stars Academy of Arts & Science and has testified before multiple congressional committees. His memoir, Imminent, published in 2024, detailed his work within AATIP and his claims about the scope of government knowledge regarding non-human intelligence.

The Pentagon's relationship with Elizondo has been complicated. AARO initially denied his role in AATIP, a claim that was contradicted by the DoD Inspector General's own findings.