“This has gone nuclear!” The Inspector General’s Memorandum
ON 3rd MAY 2021, the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General issued a Memorandum for Distribution entitled “Evaluation of the DoD’s Actions Regarding the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (Project No. D2021-DEV0SN-0116.000)”. This took the UAP/UFO community by complete surprise. Why was it issued and what did it mean for the report due to be submitted to the Senate Intelligence Committee next month?
The Office of Inspector General (IG) plans to bring a subject evaluation of the Department of Defense’s actions with regards to Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon (UAP) this month, May 2021. The IG provides oversight for programs and operations carried out by the Department of Defense (DoD) and has carried out this role since 1982, established by the Inspector General Act of 1978. Its role is as the principal advisor to the Secretary of Defense for potential fraud, waste and abuse of taxpayer’s money occurring within the DoD’s programs, and informs the Secretary of any problems that occur within the DoD. The IG also provides policy direction, supervision, co-ordination of audits, and investigations where necessary, reviews legislation, recommends policy and liaises with federal, state and local government agencies and non-governmental entities in the pursuit of these duties. In essence, the IG is the government’s watchdog for DoD operations. They take their duties very seriously.
There are suggestions that the UAP Task Force (UAPTF) investigators, having reportedly being “stiff-armed” and stymied in their efforts to access pertinent data for use in their forthcoming report to the Senate Intelligence Committee, may have turned to the IG for help. The deadline for the UAPTF report is 30th June 2021 at the latest, and yet if this subject evaluation is only beginning in May, then there is the possibility of either it being rushed, or some form of interim report being issued to allow a more thorough investigation to be carried out. The nightmare scenarios are that the UAPTF have found very little information and therefore the IG audit can be accomplished within a matter of weeks, or that reasons to terminate it may be found.
Relevant to the UAP issue is the amount of access that the IG is afforded:
DoD IG is authorized “to have access to all records, reports, audits, reviews, documents, papers, recommendations, or other material available to [any DoD component] which relate to programs and operations [of the Department of Defense]”. (IG Act 6.a.1). The inspector general may issue subpoenas for the production of documents, reports, answers, records, accounts, papers, and other data or documentary evidence necessary in the performance of the functions assigned to DoD IG by the IG Act (IG Act 6.a.1). Additionally, DoD IG has been given the authority to require testimony from any witness who is not currently a federal employee (IG Act 8.i).
This seems as though the IG’s Office pretty much has carte blanche when it comes to accessing records throughout the DoD and maybe beyond. However, a word of warning should be issued here. If national security considerations override the functions of the IG, then measures can be taken to stop the audit in its tracks.
The current Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, may prohibit the Inspector General from initiating, carrying out, or completing an audit or investigation, or from issuing a subpoena if the secretary determines that each prohibition is necessary to preserve the national security interests of the United States. Exercise of such power requires notification to Congress within thirty days to include a statement of the reasons for the exercise of such power (IG Act 8).
The distribution list is also worth examining. The Office of the IG also reserves the right to identify further agencies it may need to consult during the course of its evaluation, so this list is not set in stone. It includes:
Secretaries Of The Military Departments
Chairman Of The Joint Chiefs Of Staff
Under Secretary Of Defense For Research And Engineering
Under Secretary Of Defense For Intelligence And Security
Commander, U.S. Central Command
Commander, U.S. Northern Command
Commander, U.S. Special Operations
Command Director, Defense Advanced Research Projects
Agency Director, Defense Intelligence Agency
Director, Defense Threat Reduction Agency
Director, Missile Defense Agency
Director, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
Director, National Reconnaissance Office
Director, National Security Agency/Central Security Service
Director, Defense Technology Security Administration
Auditor General, Department Of The Navy
Auditor General, Department Of The Army
Auditor General, Department Of The Air Force
In addition, it’s worth bearing in mind that this is an evaluation, not an investigation or an audit. The IG isn’t going to send a couple of badge-wearing sleuths around to the DoD and have them tear through files and waterboard anyone suspected of stonewalling the UAPTF. According to Tim McMillan, who broke the story on The Debrief website on 4th May 2021, “It’s not an audit, it’s a broad evaluation. How has your public affairs handled it, how have you looked at it, what support have you had?” However, there’s nothing to stop the IG’s office adding other considerations into the mix. Policy, cost, other factors still to be decided – all can be added at a later date.
So whilst the public affairs side of the issue may be looked at by this evaluation, U.S. Department of Defense spokeswoman, Susan Gough’s job is probably safe for the time being, which will come as a disappointment to anyone who had their hopes built up about a new straight talking spokesperson being appointed. Gough is renowned for deflecting any comments regarding the UAP subject and more specifically any role that Luis Elizondo had whilst part of the Pentagon’s Advanced Aerial threat Identification Program (AATIP). However, it might be interesting to see if there’s a softening in her messaging whilst the IG is taking a close look at what is happening on the UAP issue. Gough may not wish to give those charged with oversight any further ammunition than they may have already to criticise the Pentagon’s handling of communications on UAP matters.
Whilst bean-counting is not the obvious priority here, the evaluation process could see it being added at a later date. If the IG does decide to see what money has been spent, and how, then the question may arise regarding has it been spent wisely, and for what result? If the IG goes down this road, it is remotely possible that we may see echoes of the infamous Bolender memo that recommended the termination of Project Blue Book back in 1969, although the current evaluation is still in its infancy and obviously no recommendations can be made at this stage. Let’s hope one particular comment on Twitter doesn’t prove correct: “Was this investigation launched because a senator didn’t get funding for a nature trail?”
Commentators have already suggested that it is strange for such a memo to be publicly available within the day it was issued. The mystery was soon solved by Tim McMillan, who stated that a copy of the memo was made available to The Debrief and then publicly released thereafter. Tim’s piece also stated that sources suggested it was representatives of the Senate Armed Services Committee who “prodded” the IG into action. Tim McMillan believes that the “silent ‘Big Brother’ in this whole thing”, the Armed Services Committee, which oversees the DoD, are more interested in UAPs than the Intelligence Committee. In fact, Tim suggested they are very interested in the issue. “They have been briefed, are being well informed and I think they have been closely watching this.”
Complaints may have been issued, forcing the current course of action. The recent barrage of letters, emails and phone calls may indeed have added to the pressure which led to this evaluation being announced. Whilst Tim doesn’t know how much the likes of The Big Phone Home has directly contributed to the debate, he thinks that officials have taken notice of their constituents’ frustration regarding the Pentagon not giving straight answers on the UAP issue. Speaking with Michael Mataluni on the evening the memo was released, he also suggested elected officials have taken a dim view of the Pentagon telling The Debrief and other media outlets to effectively “F*** off“ and are now asking their own questions. According to Tim, “This has gone nuclear.”
An official told The Debrief that DoD IG Public Affairs won’t speculate on whether or not the final evaluation report will be publicly released and we should be definitely managing our expectations in this regard. Has a precedent been set with the issuing of this memo? Not really, but there’s no harm in hoping one has. As with most aspects of this issue, we’ll simply have to wait and see. Let’s hope the memo announcing the final evaluation doesn’t resemble the Bolender memo in tone or content. Creating the UAPTF has built the hopes up for a new generation of UFO enthusiasts, commentators and researchers – it would be a cruel blow to see them dashed at the eleventh hour. One thing is for sure. We cannot predict what will come next!
UPDATE: Earlier today Fmr. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a long time proponent of the campaign for more transparency regarding the UAP subject spoke with Mystery Wire’s award-winning investigative journalist George Knapp regarding the release of this memo:
“I think this is great. The Inspector General’s office has almost unlimited power to get to the bottom of things. They have far more resources than the UAP Task Force to find out who knows what within DOD.”
