Document · D-012

Garry Reid's memorandum on AATIP and on Elizondo (December 2017)

Memorandum for Record – (U) Update on Media Reporting Related to the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) and Actions of Former DoD Employee Luis Elizondo

Garry Reid, Director for Defense Intelligence – OUSD(I), Department of Defense · Dec 2017 · USA · Memorandum

What it contains

Reid writes that Elizondo “aggrandized his role” in the program: he was at OUSD(I) from September 28, 2008 to October 4, 2017, first as an action officer and then as section chief for classified information in support of the Office of Military Commissions, and, as far as Reid knew, had no duties related to AATIP, which closed in 2012. It reconstructs the resignation, the second letter of uncertain provenance and the October 5 phone call in which Elizondo said he had been secretly tasked for years by the Secretary of Defense, something Reid was unable to confirm. It then lists the TTSA video of October 12, the classified email of August 2017 in which Elizondo asked a Navy civilian for help declassifying videos, and the opening, on December 21, of a formal AFOSI investigation.

What it shows and what it does not

It is the main source of the Pentagon's position on Elizondo's role and shows that doubts about his account go back to 2017. It is, however, the reconstruction of an official (“to the best of my knowledge”), not the outcome of an investigation: in April 2018 AFOSI concluded that the videos were not classified, while noting that the release authority would not have approved their release to the media. In response 18-F-0324, an info memo from Reid to the Secretary lists three different explanations of the resignation given by Elizondo and concludes that his statements “were not credible.”

How it came to light

Released without redactions through FOIA request 22-F-1322 (final response of April 2, 2024, via the DoD Office of Inspector General); the same text, with redacted parts, was already in response 18-F-0324 of August 2022.

The document

Open the document (theblackvault.com)

Sources

1. DoD, FOIA response 18-F-0324 (August 17, 2022), with Reid's memorandum and info memo (primary source)
2. The Black Vault, June 23, 2023 – the Pentagon memos on Elizondo's claims (analysis)

On this site

People 2

• Garry Reid
• Luis Elizondo

Claims 6

• Luis Elizondo: According to Reid's memorandum, Elizondo told him on the phone that for many years he had been secretly… Unverifiable
• Luis Elizondo: Claims to have directed for almost a decade a sensitive aerospace threat identification program (AATIP)… Disputed
• Luis Elizondo: Says that in his personal opinion there is very compelling evidence that we may not be alone; the Garry Reid… Hypothesis or opinion
• Luis Elizondo: Says he was very surprised to learn that To The Stars Academy had the Navy videos and that he did not know… Contradicted
• Luis Elizondo: Reconstructs his career under oath: studies in microbiology and immunology, service in the Army with a brief… Partly verified
• Luis Elizondo: Claims under oath that a small group within the government created a culture of repression and intimidation… Partly verified

Inconsistencies 4

• Luis Elizondo: Title in AATIP: “director” or no formal role?
• Luis Elizondo: Did he know TTSA would publish the videos?
• Luis Elizondo: Why he resigned
• Luis Elizondo: “Secretly tasked by the Secretary of Defense”

Official positions 2

• Pentagon – Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence (internal memorandum) (2017): In a memorandum for the record of late December 2017, later made public through FOIA…
• AFOSI (Air Force Office of Special Investigations) (2018): The formal investigation opened in December 2017 into Elizondo's possible improper use…

Timeline 1

• Apr 13, 2018: The AFOSI closes the investigation into the videos: they were not classified

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UAPgrade's entries are compiled with artificial intelligence (three verifiers with opposing roles) and checked against the sources listed above: how we work. Have a document that changes this entry? Bring it to the Investigations Unit.