In October 2017, something pretty wild was unfolding in Washington DC’s buzz-filled corridors. Luis Elizondo, after stepping down from his post with the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP), started sharing some jaw-dropping insights that were about to rock the Pentagon. He unveiled three declassified videos that had everyone’s eyebrows shooting up, recorded by Navy pilots, and these clips quickly found an audience with his new pals at To The Stars Academy.
The first of these bizarre sightings involves an encounter with an object dubbed the “Tic Tac.” Picture this: the year is 2004, and the USS Nimitz, a big deal in naval terms, has a run-in off the coast. High up in the sky, cruising at 80,000 feet, the unidentified object suddenly decides to plummet to the ocean, almost like a daredevil, clocking speeds that are futuristic even for us today. We’re talking about an altitude drop in a blink-and-you-miss-it kind of speed, plowing through at Mach 20—a speed that continues to give our existing aircraft technologies a serious complex. Retired Naval Aviator Lieutenant Chad Underwood was right there, in the thick of it, chasing the Tic Tac in his F-18. Armed with a top-of-the-line FLIR video system, what he saw looked, well, just like a Tic Tac—no wings, no visible propulsion, just this sleek, featureless capsule. Underwood’s instruments were scrambling to keep up with the object’s erratic behaviors, like trying to grasp a shadow. Just when he thought it couldn’t get any stranger, this Tic Tac pulled a Houdini and zipped off at lightning speed, leaving Underwood gobsmacked.
But wait, there’s more. Elizondo didn’t stop there; he brought in two more mind-boggling videos—nicknamed “Gimbal” and “Go Fast.” Taken in 2015 near the Florida coast, these clips captured UFOs doing acrobatics that left even the best physicists scratching their heads. Whether zipping through the sky at brain-melting speeds or making hairpin turns, these objects seemed to be writing their own physics textbook. Picture an aircraft that can dart around like a bumblebee, but on steroids, while flaunting gravity’s rules like it’s some kind of cosmic rebel.
Despite all the mystery and tech wizardry, a big question looms: what exactly are these things? Odd flight patterns, baffling speeds, and propulsion methods that would probably make our greatest minds click their tongues—it’s hard to fathom. Could it be the work of super-secrets from foreign powers like China or Russia? Feels a bit far-fetched given that such details hadn’t sneaked out prior. Elizondo, while at AATIP, had a hand in declassifying these videos. They were kept under wraps, a little secret tucked away until To The Stars Academy gave Elizondo a stage to let the cat out of the bag.
To The Stars Academy, spearheaded by some pretty serious minds, set out with a mission to splash some cold truth onto the mysteries buzzing above us. The collective drive? To blow the lid off what the government knows about these UFO sightings that seem to stem from tech not native to human invention. It was this mission that brought Elizondo to rub shoulders with Chris Mellon, a former Department of Defense bigwig and seasoned Senate insider. Together, with a story that was nothing short of a blockbuster, they approached The New York Times.
Chris Mellon had a plan and reached out to Leslie Kean, a best-selling author with a knack for bringing UFO discourse to mainstream media. In their secretive meeting, they revealed to Leslie the clandestine AATIP program, offering her a golden ticket to these mysterious videos—if she succeeded in getting the story front and center at The New York Times. Leslie Kean came with an impressive network of her own. Her uncle, Thomas Kean, was the former Governor of New Jersey and had chaired the 9/11 Commission, pointing to her deep political roots. Armed with this clout, she teamed up with veteran reporters Ralph Blumenthal and Helene Cooper from The Times.
Ralph Blumenthal was no stranger to Leslie; he had become acquainted with her while delving into his book “The Believer,” focused on John Mack, a renowned alien abductions researcher. With a keen ear for phenomenal stories, Blumenthal was all in when he heard about the government’s hush-hush AATIP program. Together, these journalists pitched what was undeniable dynamite for The Times—a story that promised to reveal a Secret Pentagon unit still engrossed in UFO investigations despite claims to have buried that curiosity years ago.
Everything came to a head on December 16, 2017. Thanks to Leslie Kean’s connections, alongside Ralph Blumenthal’s investigative prowess and Helene Cooper’s reporting skill, what was previously confined to conspiratorial whispers made a bold appearance on The New York Times’ digital front page. The report didn’t just open doors; it threw them wide open, prompting people everywhere to reevaluate their perceptions of what’s out there.
And so, what Luis Elizondo and his friends at To The Stars Academy managed to do was nothing short of revolutionary. These revelations didn’t just spotlight a few mysterious videos; they propelled UFO discourse into everyday conversations and news cycles, charting a path for wider acknowledgment of the unknown. While there remains a lot that teeters firmly in ‘we just don’t know’ territory, this enigmatic piece of the puzzle has rekindled humanity’s age-old curiosity about what lies beyond our earthly borders.
