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DoD Renames its UFO Office

July 21, 2022 Jason McClellan

The U.S. Department of Defense announced the renaming of its recently established UFO program.

The Department of Defense (DoD) only announced the formation of the Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group (AOIMSG) back in November of 2021. But on July 20, 2022, the DoD issued a press release announcing that AOIMSG has been renamed the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO).

The press release explains that the renaming of this Pentagon UFO office is “due to the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2022, which included a provision to establish an office, in coordination with DNI, with responsibilities that were broader than those originally assigned to the AOIMSG.”

The outlined mission of AARO is to:

“synchronize efforts across the Department of Defense, and with other U.S. federal departments and agencies, to detect, identify and attribute objects of interest in, on or near military installations, operating areas, training areas, special use airspace and other areas of interest, and, as necessary, to mitigate any associated threats to safety of operations and national security. This includes anomalous, unidentified space, airborne, submerged and transmedium objects.”

More details about the establishment of AARO are provided in a July 15, 2022 memo from Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks

The DoD’s recent press release also announced Sean M. Kirkpatrick as the director of AARO. 

Jason McClellan

Jason McClellan is an author, podcaster, TV personality, veteran UFO researcher & journalist, bourbon enthusiast, ska and punk devotee, vegan, and animal lover. You might have seen him on NatGeo, Syfy, History, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Discovery+, the CW, or at conferences and conventions talking about UFOs.