Former Director of U.S. Government UFO Office Departs from Consultant Role as Successor is Named
Dr Sean Kirkpatrick - above
Written by Christopher Sharp - 27 August 2024
The Department of Defense (DoD) has confirmed to Liberation Times that the former director of the U.S. government’s Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) office - the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) - Dr Sean Kirkpatrick, has stepped down from his role as an unpaid consultant to the office.
The news comes as the AARO confirmed Dr. Jon T. Kosloski as its new director, nine months following Dr Kirkpatrick’s departure.
In a statement to Liberation Times, DoD spokesperson, Sue Gough, stated:
‘Dr. Kirkpatrick is no longer affiliated with AARO or the Department of Defense. Similar to many departing senior DoD officials, he had previously made himself available to the Department in an unpaid capacity for a period of time to enable continuity and a smooth transition following his departure.’
Dr Kirkpatrick’s complete departure from the AARO will be welcomed by those who criticised his approach and apparent lack of impartiality to the UAP topic.
In an article written earlier this year, Dr Kirkpatrick even seemed to discourage members of Congress from investigating serious whistleblower allegations relating to UAP, writing:
‘The result of this whirlwind of tall tales, fabrication and secondhand or thirdhand retellings of the same, was a social media frenzy and a significant amount of congressional and executive time and energy spent on investigating these so-called claims—as if we didn’t have anything better to do.’
Furthermore, there were serious concerns that Dr Kirkpatrick’s team had mishandled investigations into UAP incursions over sensitive nuclear bases.
For example, after military veterans provided testimony about alarming UAP events relating to nuclear weapons to the AARO, there were no follow-up requests for other witnesses to corroborate the events—an essential investigative step.
The AARO’s credibility is now under serious pressure, following the reintroduction of the full UAP Disclosure Act (UAPDA) by Senator Mike Rounds and Senate Leader Chuck Schumer, following its gutting in last year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
If the UAPDA is passed in full, the President would appoint nine impartial citizens, with Senate consent, to a newly established UAP Records Review Board.
This board would oversee the collection, review, and public disclosure of UAP records and has the authority to examine materials, solicit testimonies, and gather additional witnesses and whistleblowers.
The establishment of the Review Board would prevent government agencies and individuals accused of involvement with illegal UAP programs from investigating and exonerating themselves.
This board would eliminate their direct influence over the government's current UAP office, the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), a practice multiple sources have reported to Liberation Times.
The President would also make final decisions regarding the disclosure or postponement of records related to UAP, provide written justifications for any postponements, and ensure the periodic review and declassification of postponed records.
The reintroduction of the Act, intended to be included within the NDAA for fiscal year 2025, could be considered a major rebuke to the AARO, which concluded in February this year that it had ‘found no empirical evidence for claims that the USG and private companies have been reverse-engineering extraterrestrial technology.’
It is hoped that Dr. Jon T. Kosloski’s new leadership can represent a clean break from Dr Kirkpatrick’s legacy at the AARO.
Before joining the AARO, Dr. Kosloski held technical and leadership positions within the Research Directorate of the National Security Agency.
Sources inform Liberation Times that Dr. Kosloski is showing promising signs of adopting a new approach to the UAP topic, particularly in investigations related to allegations of retrieval and reverse engineering programs involving materials and biologics of non-human intelligence or unknown origin.
However, it is still too early to predict the direction Dr. Kosloski will take.
Liberation Times also inquired with the DoD whether AARO would oppose any provisions in the latest UAPDA, following Dr. Kirkpatrick's admission that he successfully lobbied against the UAP Records Review Board included in last year's UAPDA.
In response, DoD spokesperson Sue Gough stated:
‘We do not comment on pending legislation.’