Luis Elizondo

Luis "Lue" Elizondo is a former U.S. Army and Department of Defense intelligence officer who says he directed the Pentagon's Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) from 2008 to 2017. He resigned from the DoD in 2017, citing resistance to his UAP findings, and has since become one of the most prominent public voices calling for government transparency on the topic. His 2024 memoir debuted at number one on the New York Times Best Seller list, and he testified before Congress that same year.

What did Elizondo do at the Pentagon?

Elizondo enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1995 and was assigned to Military Intelligence. In 1998, he was recruited as a civilian intelligence officer into a sensitive DoD program, eventually rising to Senior Intelligence Officer and Special Agent In-Charge. Starting in 2008, he worked with the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence (OUSDI) at the Pentagon, where he is publicly identified as the director of AATIP, a program created in 2007 to investigate UAPs reported by military personnel.

His career also included supporting Special Operations and General James Mattis during Operation Enduring Freedom, and running anti-terrorist missions against ISIS, al-Qaeda, and Hezbollah.

Is his role at AATIP disputed?

Yes. In 2017, Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White confirmed Elizondo as an AATIP leader to Politico. But in June 2019, Pentagon spokesman Christopher Sherwood confirmed AATIP "did pursue research and investigation into unidentified aerial phenomena" while separately stating Elizondo "had no responsibilities with regard to the AATIP program." Internal DoD emails obtained via FOIA by The Black Vault describe his work as UAP-related coordination, but without formal reference to program leadership, budget, or command authority.

Why did he resign from the DoD?

Elizondo resigned in 2017 after approximately 22 years of government service. He said he was unable to brief then-Secretary of Defense James Mattis on his findings. His resignation letter to Secretary Mattis stated that "despite overwhelming evidence certain individuals in the department remain staunchly opposed to further research on the controversial topic of anomalous aerospace threats." His official congressional bio describes his resignation as a protest of the "bureaucratic challenges and inflexible mindsets" regarding the UAP issue.

What did he do after leaving the government?

After resigning, Elizondo joined To the Stars Academy of Arts and Sciences (TTSA), co-founded by musician Tom DeLonge, CIA veteran Jim Semivan, and Hal Puthoff. He served as TTSA's Director of Global Security and Special Programs and starred in the History Channel series *Unidentified: Inside America's UFO Investigation*. While at TTSA, he was involved in releasing three declassified UAP videos filmed by U.S. Navy pilots from the USS Nimitz and USS Theodore Roosevelt, which were subsequently published by the New York Times. He left TTSA in late 2020 to focus on government lobbying for UAP transparency.

What did he tell Congress in 2024?

On November 13, 2024, Elizondo testified before the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability at a hearing titled "Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth." In his written testimony, he stated: "UAP are real. Advanced technologies not made by our Government - or any other government - are monitoring sensitive military installations around the globe. Furthermore, the U.S. is in possession of UAP technologies." He also testified that a "small cadre" within the federal government has created a culture of suppression and intimidation, and that non-disclosure agreements prevent him from publicly discussing UAP crash retrievals and reverse engineering initiatives.

Did he file any formal complaints?

In May 2021, Elizondo filed a complaint with the DoD Inspector General alleging misconduct, coordinated disinformation, and whistleblower retaliation by senior Pentagon officials, including former Director of Defense Intelligence for Intelligence and Security Garry Reid, Public Affairs Officer Susan Gough, and former Director for Defense Intelligence Neill Tipton. The complaint sought an official inquiry into what he described as "malicious activities, coordinated disinformation, professional misconduct, whistleblower reprisal and explicit threats."