(HorizonPost.com) – Sean Kirkpatrick, the first director of the Pentagon office charged with investigating reports of unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP), reportedly believed that the Defense Department was not keeping the public informed about what the government knew about the unidentified crafts, Politico reported.
Politico reached out to Kirkpatrick in late January to get his response to a report from the Defense Department Office of the Inspector General that concluded that the department’s efforts to identify UAPs had been “uncoordinated” and could have missed threats to the United States.
Kirkpatrick, who served as the head of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office from July 2022 until December 2023, said there had been “strong concern” that the office was not engaging with the public as much as he thought it should.
Kirkpatrick told Politico that while Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks was supportive of the work he did as head of the office, his attempts to connect with the media were always met with internal resistance. Throughout his 18 months heading up the office, Kirkpatrick did just two television interviews, two print interviews, including one with Politico, and two off-camera briefings with reporters.
Pentagon spokesman Eric Pahon disputed Kirkpatrick’s claim that his media requests were denied, telling Politico that it is “standard procedure” for “higher officials” in the Pentagon to approve all media engagement. He said any media engagement Kirkpatrick requested was approved.
Pahon also praised Kirkpatrick’s “commitment to transparency,” both with Congress and the public, saying it left a “legacy the department will carry forward” as the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office continues.
Kirkpatrick told Politico that the Defense Department is reticent to engage with the public on the subject of UAPs out of concern that the Pentagon would get caught in the conspiracy theories that have long surrounded the issue. However, Kirkpatrick argued that the Pentagon’s silence would only feed the conspiracy theories.
He suggested that the Pentagon should take a “more forceful” approach to defend the mission of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office so the public understands that the office is not charged with finding extraterrestrials but investigating UAPs that could pose a threat to national security.
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