(NewsNation) — The Pentagon office in charge of investigating reports of unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAP, has appointed a new director following a leadership shake-up late last year.
Dr. Jon T. Kosloski will be the next leader of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), which investigates sightings of UAPs, more commonly referred to as UFOs. Kosloski has a background that includes quantum optics and crypto-mathematics.
“Jon possesses the unique set of scientific and technical skills, policy knowledge, and proven leadership experience required to enhance AARO’s efforts to research and explain unidentified anomalous phenomena to the Department, Congress, and the American people,” Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks said in a statement announcing the appointment.
AARO’s previous director, Sean Kirkpatrick, departed not long after whistleblower David Grusch alleged the Pentagon was operating a secret crash-retrieval program. Grusch’s allegations sparked a congressional hearing and renewed interest in UFOs.
The Pentagon and Kirkpatrick denied Grusch’s claims and have said there is no evidence that UAPs are extraterrestrial in nature. A report from AARO found no reason to believe UAPs originate from other beings and while it did acknowledge the existence of Kona Blue, a program designed to reverse-engineer UAP technology, it noted that Kona Blue never came to be because no such technology was ever recovered.
Still, former government officials have come forward with claims similar to Grusch’s, which echo longstanding UFO conspiracy theories.
Recently, former Pentagon employee Luis Elizondo spoke to NewsNation, claiming the government recovered a UFO following the famed 1947 Roswell, New Mexico, incident. Elizondo also said the Pentagon has recovered nonhuman remains and that strange implants have been found in human specimens.
Elizondo said he worked in the Pentagon’s Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP), a precursor to AARO. The Pentagon has denied that he ever worked on UAPs.
“As we have stated previously, Luis Elizondo had no assigned responsibilities for the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) while assigned to the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security,” spokesperson Sue Gough said.
“The department is fully committed to openness and accountability to Congress and the American people, which it must balance with its obligation to protect sensitive information, sources, and methods. As we have said many times before, the department and AARO will follow the data wherever it leads; however, to date we have not found any credible evidence of extraterrestrial activity,” Gough added.
UAP believers have pushed back on the denial, pointing to evidence they believe proves that Elizondo was involved with AATIP and say the Pentagon is running a disinformation campaign.
Kosloski will now head AARO’s efforts to investigate UAP reports and determine the source of those objects, which the Pentagon says are mostly cases of mistaken identity, and whether they pose a national security risk.
He will also be charged with efforts to declassify and release UAP records at the behest of lawmakers who have been pushing for more transparency since Grusch’s claims surfaced.