Pentagon inspector general to audit department's actions on UFOs
The Pentagon's watchdog announced this week it would evaluate actions the Defense Department has taken regarding Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs.)
The office of the inspector general for the Defense Department said in a memo that it would audit how the offices of the secretary of defense, combatant commands, and other offices have responded to what the military calls "Unidentified Aerial Phenomena" (UAP).
Randolph Stone, the assistant inspector general for evaluations, sent the memo throughout the department, including to the secretaries of the military departments, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Central and Northern Commands and the Defense Intelligence Agency.
"The objective of this evaluation is to determine the extent to which the DoD has taken actions regarding Unidentified Aerial Phenomena," the memo states. Stone added, "We may revise the objective as the evaluation proceeds, and we will consider suggestions from management for additional or revised objectives."
The memo follows the Pentagon's confirmation in April of the authenticity of Navy videos showing objects described as a "sphere," "acorn," "pyramid" and "metallic blimp." A spokesperson said the videos showing these objects were taken by U.S. Navy personnel.
The Pentagon created an Unidentified Aerial Phenomena task force last year to study these occurrences, and the recent videos are included in the task force's analysis.
The intelligence community is expected to publicly brief Congress on some of these sightings this summer after the Senate Intelligence Committee, in its intelligence authorization report last year, asked for more information on UFOs. The committee expressed concern that "there is no unified, comprehensive process within the Federal Government for collecting and analyzing intelligence on unidentified aerial phenomena, despite the potential threat."