Person

Luis Elizondo

Former Army counterintelligence officer who says he led AATIP at the Pentagon until resigning in protest in 2017. He co-founded To The Stars Academy, starred in History's Unidentified (2019–2020), wrote Imminent (2024), testified to Congress in November 2024 and is the central voice of The Age of Disclosure. What he has said: UAP are real and are not ours or any adversary's. They show five observables: anti-gravity lift, sudden acceleration, hypersonic speed without sonic booms, low observability, and trans-medium travel. The U.S. runs crash-retrieval and reverse-engineering programs. UAP take an interest in nuclear sites. Some people have been physically harmed by encounters. And he and his family faced retaliation for speaking.

Witness profile

Army counterintelligence officer who says he led AATIP until resigning in protest in 2017. The Pentagon has disputed his role; he has published documents in support.

Describes the witness from the record, their own retellings and how they come across. No score for the person; the factors at the end belong to the cases.

From the record service · posting · clearance · testimony

Service	Army counterintelligence officerService record	documented
Posting	Contracting officer's representative at CIFA, 2002-08His account	own account
Posting	Director, National Programs Special Management Staff, 2013-17His account; he has published supporting documents	partly documented
UAP role	Led AATIPThe Pentagon has disputed the role; he has published documents	disputed
Exit	Resignation letter, October 2017Letter on record	documented
Book	Imminent (2024), cleared by prepublication review2024	documented
Testimony	House Oversight hearing, 13 November 2024, under oathcongress.gov	documented

Retellings over time from the transcript library and records

Following: AATIP, and what he is not allowed to say

2017-10 Resignation letter · recordResigns in protest over how the subject was handled.
2017-12 New York Times; To The Stars launch · first tellingAATIP goes public. Not in the transcript library.
2024-05 Imminent · heldSame AATIP account, plus crash retrievals and harm to witnesses.
2024-11-13 House hearing, under oath · clarifiedSays he signed papers restricting him from discussing crash retrievals.
2025 The Age of Disclosure · heldThe central voice; five observables, crash retrievals.
2026-10 Cristina Gomez, "The UFO secret he cannot share" · heldStill names a limit he won't cross.

first tellingheldclarifieddetail addeddetail shiftedrecord

On camera demeanour notes, timestamped

How they look and speak: hesitations, self-corrections, emotion. Dashed slots still need the video.

House hearing, November 2024

Where he stops himself; how often he cites the restriction.Needs the video on Igor's PC

The Age of Disclosure, 2025

An edited film. Note only unedited stretches.Needs the video on Igor's PC

Feeds case plausibility consistency · restraint · character

Current factor values from the case ratings. The arrow shows which part of this profile backs each one.

Elizondo resigns; To The Stars launchesplausibility Moderate

Character record1His AATIP role was disputed. ← The "disputed" row in the record table.

Elizondo back in government, under a crash-retrieval oathplausibility High

Restraint1Won't name the agency or role. ← The 2024 hearing and 2026 retellings.Character record1Career counterintelligence officer; his AATIP role was disputed. ← The record table.

Profile updated 2026-10-23

On the record

Resignation letter (2017) and sworn testimony (2024).
Imminent was cleared by Pentagon prepublication review.

Open questions

Whether he holds a White House disclosure post, and what he did in 2008.

Claims (14)

His exact role running AATIP has been disputed by the Pentagon; he has published documents supporting it.AAWSAP / AATIPfirsthandSourced, unconfirmedLuis Elizondo

He was director of the National Programs Special Management Staff (NPMS) in 2013-17.firsthandSourced, unconfirmedpublic bios and records (cited by UAP Gerb)

The NPMS director is usually the most cleared person in DoD after the Secretary.Special Access Required - the Secrecy of UFO Crash Retrieval Programs [VOL.2]speculationLeadUAP Gerb (Sam)

He was a contracting officer's representative at CIFA (2002-08), whose top contractors were Northrop and Lockheed.Lockheed Martin - UFO Reverse Engineering, Material Exploitation, & Legacy ProgramsfirsthandSourced, unconfirmedpublic bios and records (cited by UAP Gerb)

He worked for Clapper; his 'entrée' was through the NSC, for SAPs he ran, 'an established channel of communication'.firsthandSourced, unconfirmedLuis Elizondo

At the November 2024 hearing he said he had signed papers restricting him from discussing crash retrievals.Hearing, 2024 Special Access Required - the Secrecy of UFO Crash Retrieval Programs [VOL.2]firsthandOn the recordHouse hearing record, 13 Nov 2024

AATIP was an informal working group, not the 'sub-SAP to AAWSAP' Elizondo now calls it; and Elizondo was likely the source of DeLonge's 'episodic visits'.speculationLeadUAP Gerb (Sam)

'There's videos out there in government that the public haven't seen yet. There's one that's 23 minutes long, there's another one where this thing is 50 ft away from the cockpit.'firsthandSourced, unconfirmedLuis Elizondo

The legacy program's chart puts CIA DS&T at the top, over the Air Force, the contractors and DOE.David Grusch Fox Interview, Age of Disclosure, Sandia, Current Research, & QnA - UAP Gerb Live The Age of DisclosurefirsthandSourced, unconfirmedLuis Elizondo

The chart is misdirection: it leaves out the Navy, NRO, NURO, the FFRDCs and MITRE.David Grusch Fox Interview, Age of Disclosure, Sandia, Current Research, & QnA - UAP Gerb LivespeculationLeadUAP Gerb (Sam)

A deputy at AARO told podcasters off the record that AARO had been in contact with the Vatican, echoing his Vatican claim.David Grusch Fox Interview, Age of Disclosure, Sandia, Current Research, & QnA - UAP Gerb Live AAROanonymousLeadUAP Gerb (Sam)

He and Grusch were targeted, as he says; Gerb's sources confirm the targeting, not the number 27.David Grusch Fox Interview, Age of Disclosure, Sandia, Current Research, & QnA - UAP Gerb Live The 'committee of 27'anonymousLeadUAP Gerb (Sam)

The 2027 incoming-object rumour came from his time with the Space Force.Air Force Hidden Wing, Admin & the UFO Files, "It's Probably Nothing" tour, & QnA - UAP Gerb LivefirsthandSourced, unconfirmedLuis Elizondo

He is being hired for a senior White House post to lead the disclosure effort.The State of Disclosure, Hanging with Ross Coulthart, Current Events & QnA - UAP Gerb Live Elizondo returnssecondhandSourced, unconfirmedRoss Coulthart

What Luis Elizondo said (54 claims)

On the record 1Witness testimony 20Alleged 23

“A Legacy Program has retrieved and reverse-engineered craft, with non-human bodies, since at least 1947, hidden from presidents and Congress.”AllegedThe Age of Disclosure

Grusch said it under oath (secondhand); ICIG found his complaint credible and urgent; AARO's 2024 history denies it.

“Roswell was a boot-heel craft with glyphs; four bodies went to Wright Field.”AllegedThe Age of Disclosure

Wright Field shipment of debris is on the record; bodies are not.

“Lockheed Martin told colleagues of his directly ('Jim Ryder and his big guys') that 'we don't want this material anymore': it had become a liability, expensive to keep, and they had gone as far as they could. He submitted this to Congress for the record.”AllegedLuis Elizondo: 'the deepest secret in human history'

Compare the Lockheed divestment plan in the 2024 hearing packet and Kona Blue. [56:38-58:09]

“Industry lobbied the members of Congress it donates to and killed the UAP Disclosure Act provisions that would have forced contractors to hand over the material.”Witness testimonyLuis Elizondo: 'the deepest secret in human history'

Agreeing with Michaels' summary of the documentary. [1:01:54]

“AATIP and OSAP scientists thought some crashes were 'dumb luck': the craft's bubble is very susceptible to EMP, 'like a needle to a balloon', and the speculation was that the original Roswell crash came from atomic testing knocking down UAP that were watching it.”AllegedLuis Elizondo: 'the deepest secret in human history'

'As it was explained to me.' [25:41-26:45]

“Elements of the government first used 'administrative terrorism' against his clearance, then intimidation: one colleague had drones flown over his house and then a forced entry. He keeps five German shepherds and is heavily armed.”Witness testimonyLuis Elizondo: 'the deepest secret in human history'

[44:04-45:20]

“He was told very specifically that he can never talk about crash retrievals; Pentagon review redacted Imminent and he left the redactions visible.”Witness testimonyLuis Elizondo: 'the deepest secret in human history'

[47:01-47:25]

“A Daily Mail video that morning showed a triangular craft near Area 51 filmed by a hiker who heard call signs used to obscure it; it was not a B-2 or a Valkyrie, and members of Congress would not be briefed on it.”AllegedLuis Elizondo: 'the deepest secret in human history'

His commentary on a news item. [52:40-53:10]

“A member of Congress told him that while fishing with his son on a lake, an object came out of the middle of the lake, hovered for a minute and left 'like a bat out of hell'.”AllegedLuis Elizondo: 'the deepest secret in human history'

He won't say who. [1:23:07]

“The Pentagon paid for a study reconsidering the Drake equation and for studies of wormholes at renowned institutions.”Witness testimonyLuis Elizondo: 'the deepest secret in human history'

The AAWSAP DIRDs. [7:21, 11:15]

“The government spent a lot of money ridiculing the topic so it would have latitude to research it.”Witness testimonyLuis Elizondo: 'the deepest secret in human history'

[1:06:11, 1:08:56]

“Burchett is right about what Congress has been told; some of the people who briefed those members were colleagues of his.”Witness testimonyLuis Elizondo on MILABs, the missing scientists and Stargate

[6:33-6:47]

“What Gaetz describes is what the UFO community calls 'MILABs': a long-standing agreement under which we work cooperatively with 'our friends from out of town', and in exchange they 'would have access to certain human specimens biologically in order to test'. If true, it began 'sometime in the 1950s' and has continued.”AllegedLuis Elizondo on MILABs, the missing scientists and Stargate

'I heard about that while I was at the Pentagon. I was not privy to the specifics.' [7:24-8:13]

“Several former Air Force and other intelligence officers swear by the arrangement; they say they saw UAP with military personnel around the vehicles, 'very nonchalant, as if it was supposed to be'.”AllegedLuis Elizondo on MILABs, the missing scientists and Stargate

[8:13-8:38]

“There are cases in which UAP were apparently escorted by American and allied fighter jets, suggesting cooperation.”AllegedLuis Elizondo on MILABs, the missing scientists and Stargate

'I can't tell you for certain because I wasn't privy to that.' [9:11]

“Military and intelligence officials who 'have never lied to me' have told him about hybridization, but he has no firsthand knowledge of it or of forced hybridization.”AllegedLuis Elizondo on MILABs, the missing scientists and Stargate

[10:53-11:01]

“Information Burchett, Luna and Burlison have had access to shows the US may have been 'a little bit more complicit' than stated.”AllegedLuis Elizondo on MILABs, the missing scientists and Stargate

[11:48-11:57]

“In 2018 he had dinner in Huntsville with Amy Eskridge, her father and a group that included AATIP members; they said they had built an anti-gravity device and could demonstrate it, and he was due to see a demonstration the following month. She said she feared for her safety and was being harassed.”Witness testimonyLuis Elizondo on MILABs, the missing scientists and Stargate

'2018, I believe'; he says he cannot speak to her mental health. [26:13-27:01, 34:47]

“Last year the first Havana syndrome fatality died, an intelligence officer from the first embassy cohort; a former Pentagon colleague of his is a government-labelled Havana syndrome patient.”Witness testimonyLuis Elizondo on MILABs, the missing scientists and Stargate

[31:45-32:19]

“As Stargate was ending he was recruited in the Army by Eugene Lessmann, one of its best remote viewers; Congress pulled the funding and he became an operations officer, but he was there long enough to know the program was real. An Army SOP handbook on remote viewing exists.”Witness testimonyLuis Elizondo on MILABs, the missing scientists and Stargate

[55:51-56:26]

“Stargate 'absolutely worked' by the Pentagon's data; members of Congress privately told Gen. Stubblebine it was 'demonic', and remote viewers found the coordinates of a crashed Russian supersonic test aircraft in Africa that satellites could not locate.”AllegedLuis Elizondo on MILABs, the missing scientists and Stargate

Explained to him by founders of the program. [54:05-55:05]

“Puthoff's team once made $2 million on the stock market in a month with remote viewing before it backfired.”AllegedLuis Elizondo on MILABs, the missing scientists and Stargate

'That's not my story to tell.' [58:59, 1:00:21]

“'You don't ever get rid of something because it works. You might get rid of something publicly.'”AllegedLuis Elizondo on MILABs, the missing scientists and Stargate

A hint that remote viewing continued. [58:01]

“When he was at AATIP, neither the president nor the then Secretary of Defense was briefed; only a few members of Congress were.”Witness testimonyLuis Elizondo on MILABs, the missing scientists and Stargate

[1:04:38-1:04:55]

“Greer is right that a shadow government has existed since the late 1940s or early 1950s: a cooperation between elements inside and outside the government, making decisions it had no authority to make.”AllegedLuis Elizondo on MILABs, the missing scientists and Stargate

[1:06:48-1:07:31]

“Years ago he was warned to be careful what he says; some of the people he worked with or knew are now missing or dead, and there is an ongoing FBI full-field investigation.”Witness testimonyLuis Elizondo on MILABs, the missing scientists and Stargate

[2:32-2:55]

“While he and David Grusch worked together at the US Space Force after he left the Pentagon, both were 'threatened very, very specifically to shut our mouths, otherwise we would have our mouths shut for us'.”Witness testimonyLuis Elizondo on MILABs, the missing scientists and Stargate

Year not given. [1:20:44]

“Some of the scientists' deaths were probably natural, 'but I also know that some of them may not be'.”AllegedLuis Elizondo on MILABs, the missing scientists and Stargate

[1:20:36]

“About two months before the interview he survived a near-fatal motorcycle crash: flown to shock trauma, a punctured lung, spleen removed, a traumatic brain injury with 32 or 35 skull fractures, and a detached retina.”Witness testimonyLuis Elizondo on MILABs, the missing scientists and Stargate

He does not claim foul play. [1:58-2:18]

“A former Air Force security policeman who guarded a nuclear missile site and had UAP experiences in service later had night episodes around 3:33 am ('a silver room'). One night his wife found him gone, then back in bed; his iPhone telemetry, analysed through the carrier, shows the phone by the bed until 3:30, then 60 ft above the house for six or eight minutes with no transit, then back.”AllegedLuis Elizondo on MILABs, the missing scientists and Stargate

He has the carrier data and his wife confirms; Elizondo allows the phone may have malfunctioned. [1:22:47-1:25:07]

“A very senior CIA officer, a friend of his, and his wife, a CIA psychologist, panicked one night in their Virginia home and woke lying on their back lawn. Agency doctors found a puncture in the back of his neck, and when she sneezed a metal chip that looked technological came out. 'There's people at the agency that are witting.'”AllegedLuis Elizondo on MILABs, the missing scientists and Stargate

He won't name the officer, who 'has already come out a little bit'. [1:25:15-1:26:27]

“In 2004 the White House sponsored a week-long meeting of top scientists on whether to disclose; they 'unanimously decided' the public was not ready. Participants can tell it themselves.”AllegedLuis Elizondo on MILABs, the missing scientists and Stargate

'This is well before my time.' [1:35:50-1:36:45]

“Think tanks such as the RAND Corporation studied what disclosure would do and said 'you absolutely cannot do this' because of fear and panic.”AllegedLuis Elizondo on MILABs, the missing scientists and Stargate

[1:35:26]

“Elizondo told Jillian Michaels that Burchett is 'absolutely correct' about access to very sensitive information, and that some of the people who briefed Burchett and his colleagues were colleagues of his.”Witness testimonyRoss Coulthart: 'What the f— is going on?' Hybrids, Tim Taylor and the Tall Whites (Q&A)

Coulthart reading from the May 2026 Keeping It Real interview; his reading is that Elizondo was 'backing up' Burchett.

“What Gaetz describes is known as 'MILABs': a longstanding agreement since the 1950s with 'our friends from out of town' to work together, in exchange for which 'they would have access to certain human specimens biologically in order to test'.”AllegedRoss Coulthart: 'What the f— is going on?' Hybrids, Tim Taylor and the Tall Whites (Q&A)

Elizondo: 'I heard about that while I was at the Pentagon. I was not privy to the specifics', 'if it is true'. Read out by Coulthart from the Michaels interview.

“Elizondo came back to hybrids unprompted: military and intelligence officials have told him of it and he has 'no reason to question their credibility', but he has no firsthand knowledge of hybridization or forced hybridization.”AllegedRoss Coulthart: 'What the f— is going on?' Hybrids, Tim Taylor and the Tall Whites (Q&A)

Quoted by Coulthart from the same interview.

“'There's another one where this thing is 50 ft away from the cockpit... it ain't ours.'”Witness testimonyIncredible UFO Footage - FLYBY

GQ interview, 2021; he called the three Navy videos among the least compelling.

“Many people Elizondo knows personally spoke to AARO and gave Kirkpatrick's office detailed information.”Witness testimonyThe Modern Day UFO Disinformation Agent - Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick's Lies

Elizondo's post on X.

“The legacy program's chart puts CIA DS&T at the top, over the Air Force, the contractors and DOE.”Witness testimonyDavid Grusch Fox Interview, Age of Disclosure, Sandia, Current Research, & QnA - UAP Gerb Live

“'In 2008 I was asked to apply those same skill sets into the UFO community.'”Witness testimonyThe State of Disclosure, Hanging with Ross Coulthart, Current Events & QnA - UAP Gerb Live

Calling All Humans, ep. 33 (2023).

“He has seen documentation, validated as authentic, "from Mussolini himself" about the recovery of a vehicle whose parts were later brought to the United States.”Witness testimonyThe 1933 Magenta, Italy UFO Crash

Interview clip at 22:39-23:02.

“Elizondo directed NPMS from 2013 to 2017, worked for Clapper and had an entrée through the NSC for SAPs he ran.”Witness testimonySpecial Access Required - the Secrecy of UFO Crash Retrieval Programs [VOL.2]

Elizondo on Matt Ford; NPMS role on record.

“Elizondo testified in November 2024 that he signed papers restricting him from discussing crash retrievals.”On the recordSpecial Access Required - the Secrecy of UFO Crash Retrieval Programs [VOL.2]

Hearing record.

“During a Caribbean cruise-missile recovery a dark round object "the size of a small island" rose beneath the missile twice and the second time pulled it under.”AllegedUSO - Unidentified Submerged Objects

To Terry Virts, 2022; crew unnamed.

“A decades-long crash-retrieval program.”secondhandSourced, unconfirmedImminent

“UAP showing interest in nuclear sites and in people.”analysisSourced, unconfirmedImminent

“A luring plan existed earlier: 'Operation Interloper', a nuclear honeypot at sea, killed at the highest levels before it ran.”firsthandSourced, unconfirmedWhite Sands lure

“He works for the US government again, holds his clearance and supports government efforts; he won't name the agency or role.”firsthandSourced, unconfirmedElizondo returns

“A lifelong agreement with no end date bars him from discussing crash retrievals; the signed copy is held in Colorado Springs.”firsthandSourced, unconfirmedElizondo returns

“'Some technologies and capabilities we have that we're willing to lose a war for.'”secondhandSourced, unconfirmedElizondo returns

“Release is held up by coordination: the CIA, FBI, DOE and White House must all agree.”firsthandSourced, unconfirmedElizondo returns

“Other agencies are watching the public reaction to the Apollo 12 and 17 release before releasing more.”firsthandSourced, unconfirmedElizondo returns

“A 23-minute UAP video exists and hasn't been released; other encounters came within 15 ft of a cockpit.”firsthandSourced, unconfirmedElizondo returns

“Objects were tracked at more than 10,000 mph with no sonic boom, late 1940s to 1960s.”firsthandLeadElizondo returns

Cases (11)

Connected

National Programs Special Management Staff (NPMS) org Amy Catherine Eskridge person Christopher Mellon person Eric W. Davis person Jay Stratton person Sean Kirkpatrick person Elizondo's Liberation Times interview on Moon structures document NewsNation, Elizabeth Vargas Reports: black-triangle UFOs and PURSUE Release 07 document