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---
aliases:
- John F. Stratton Jr.
- John "Jay" Stratton
category: "UFO & Anomalous Phenomena"
tags:
- Person
- UFO
- UAP
- UAPTaskForce
- AAWSAP
- AATIP
- DefenseIntelligenceAgency
- OfficeOfNavalIntelligence
- RadianceTechnologies
- SkinwalkerRanch
- IntelligenceAndGovernment
- NavalIntelligence
- Elizondo
relations:
- type: employed_by
with: "[[Office of Naval Intelligence]]"
role: "Defense Intelligence Senior Executive post from which he retired, per the Radiance release of May 12, 2022; the Knapp report of February 2023 says the Naval Intelligence leadership loaned him to the Defense Intelligence Agency"
end: 2022
fn: 1
- type: employed_by
with: "[[Defense Intelligence Agency]]"
start: 2009
role: "AAWSAP and AATIP investigator and recruiter of Elizondo; in Elizondo's account helped create AAWSAP, wrote the report on the 2004 Nimitz encounter and the OPLAN Interloper proposal"
fn: 7
role: "AAWSAP and AATIP, per the account of Luis Elizondo; Fravor's 2023 statement places him in the ATIP program in 2009"
fn: 10
- type: director_of
with: "[[UAP Task Force]]"
role: "first director, per Elizondo, after the Secretary of Defense announced the task force"
fn: 10
role: "first director, per the Radiance release of May 12, 2022 and the Elizondo account; the Knapp report of May 23, 2022 says he was transferred out of the job in January 2021"
end: 2021
fn: 20
- type: employed_by
with: "[[Radiance Technologies]]"
start: 2022-05-12
role: "subject matter expert for intelligence strategy, member of the chief executive's strategy team, per the company release of May 12, 2022"
fn: 3
updated: 2026-10-09
summary: "In early 2009, Jay Stratton, along with a colleague, approached Luis Elizondo to recruit him for a highly classified program at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)."
fn: 1
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program]]"
start: 2009
role: "recruiter of Elizondo and author of the AAWSAP report on the 2004 Nimitz encounter, per the Elizondo account"
fn: 10
- type: partner_of
with: "[[Luis Elizondo]]"
start: 2009
role: "colleague in AAWSAP, AATIP and the UAP Task Force, per the Elizondo account and the Fravor statement of 2023"
fn: 10
- type: investigated
with: "[[Tic Tac]]"
role: "lead investigator of the November 2004 Nimitz encounter, per the Elizondo account, which says the investigation preceded his own involvement"
fn: 14
created: 2025-08-20
updated: 2026-10-15
summary: "John F. Stratton Jr., known as Jay, was the first director of the Pentagon's UAP Task Force, according to his 2022 employer release and speaker biography."
---
[[Jay Stratton]] is a former US Navy intelligence officer who played a crucial role in the [[Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program]] (AATIP) and later became the first director of the [[UAP Task Force]]. He was instrumental in recruiting [[Luis Elizondo]] into the UAP investigation effort and was a key investigator and strategist throughout the process.[^1]
John F. Stratton Jr., known as Jay Stratton, is a former [[U.S. Navy|US Navy]] intelligence senior executive (a civilian member of the Senior Executive Service at the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]], previously at the [[Defense Intelligence Agency]]) and a veteran of the [[United States Army]] and [[United States Air Force Reserve]], who was the first director of the [[UAP Task Force]], a Navy-led unit that the [[Pentagon]] set up in 2020 to collect and analyze reports of [[Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena|unidentified aerial phenomena]].[^1] His speaker biography states that he retired in early 2022 after more than 32 years of military and federal service.[^2] He grew up in East Texas and, according to a 2026 interview, joined the Army while still in high school.[^3]
This page is not about [[Julius A. Stratton]], the MIT physicist, provost and president (1901 to 1994) who was known to colleagues as "Jay." The UAP Task Force's Jay Stratton is identified in a 2022 release as "John F. Stratton Jr.," who had "recently retired" from a Defense Intelligence Senior Executive post with the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]].[^2][^3]
This page is not about [[Julius A. Stratton]], the MIT physicist, provost and president (1901 to 1994) who was known to colleagues as "Jay."[^4] The 2022 company release identifies the task force's first director as "John F. Stratton Jr."[^1]
### Recruitment of Luis Elizondo
### Career and titles
In early 2009, Jay Stratton, along with a colleague, approached Luis Elizondo to recruit him for a highly classified program at the [[Defense Intelligence Agency]] (DIA). Stratton, who Elizondo pegged as a fellow special operator, explained that the program, initially known as [[AAWSAP]], was focused on "unconventional technologies" and required a senior intelligence officer to handle counterintelligence and security.[^1]
A Navy senior executive biography (PDF created June 21, 2021) states that Stratton "entered Senior Executive Service in September 2018," had "over thirty-two years of experience" with the United States Army, the United States Air Force Reserve and the federal civil service, and was then "Senior Analyst, Nimitz Operational Intelligence Center" of the Office of Naval Intelligence, "responsible for delivering comprehensive intelligence to Navy leadership." It lists earlier posts as Director of Intelligence (J2) at the Joint Warfare Analysis Center; Deputy Director Executive Support in the office of the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Warfare (N2N6); Director Air Warfare/SPEAR at the Nimitz Operational Intelligence Center; Chief of Air and Space Warfare, Defense Warning Office, Defense Intelligence Agency; Aerospace Engineer at ONI; Aerospace Engineer (Flight Test) at [[Naval Air Systems Command]]; and Senior Weapons Systems Engineer at [[ManTech International]]. Reserve assignments include Senior Intelligence Officer of the 459th Air Refueling Wing, Chief Space Technology at the [[Defense Technology Security Administration]], Detachment Commander with the II Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan, and Military Advisor to the President's Special Advisor for Middle East Regional Security at the US Embassy in Tel Aviv. He holds a Bachelor of Science from [[Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University]] and a master's degree from [[Air University]], and the biography lists the DIA Director's Award, the Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Award, the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] Meritorious Unit Commendation and the ODNI Meritorious Unit Commendation among his awards.[^5]
### Role in AATIP
The 2022 release states that Stratton was "recently retired" from a Defense Intelligence Senior Executive post with the Office of Naval Intelligence and had "over 32 years in the national intelligence community."[^1] The publisher's synopsis of his memoir says he "served the U.S. on the battlefield and as a senior member of the National Intelligence Community" and "specialized in emerging and disruptive aerospace technologies."[^6] His speaker biography calls him "a highly decorated intelligence officer." It lists postings at the [[Office of the Secretary of Defense]], the [[Joint Staff]], [[United States Strategic Command]], Naval Air Systems Command and two U.S. embassies, and service in the United States Army and the United States Air Force Reserve. It states that he was "a Senior Advisor for the White House's [[Office of Science and Technology Policy]]," that he worked on UAP for "over 16 years," and that at retirement he held "the civilian equivalent rank of a 2 star General or Admiral."[^2]
Stratton was a core member of the AATIP team and a key investigator. He was the lead investigator of the 2004 [[Tic Tac]] involving the [[USS Nimitz]] Carrier Strike Group, writing a detailed report on the event that became a cornerstone of the program's research. He was also responsible for drafting OPLAN Interloper, an ambitious plan to use a carrier strike group as bait to lure UAP for observation and data collection.[^1]
[[George Knapp]] of [[KLAS-TV]] wrote in February 2023 that "From 2008 until 2021, nearly everything related to UFO activity came across Jay Stratton's desk," and that Stratton "worked at the highest levels of Naval Intelligence, which loaned him to the Defense Intelligence Agency."[^7] [[The Black Vault]], writing about the 2020 emails discussed below, identifies him as "an Office of Naval Intelligence Senior Analyst from the Nimitz Operational Intelligence Center and former Director of the UAP Task Force."[^8]
When AATIP faced internal opposition and lost its funding, Stratton worked with Elizondo to move the remnants of the program under Elizondo's portfolio of national programs to ensure its survival. He also successfully secured an additional $10 million in funding from Senator [[Harry Reid]], though the funds were later absconded by another DoD program.[^1]
Sources differ on when he left the task force. Knapp reported on May 23, 2022 (posted 9:12 PM Pacific time) that "In January 2021 ... Stratton was surprisingly transferred out of the job," and that Stratton "has never spoken publicly about his work and is not commenting now."[^9] The speaker biography gives early 2022 as the date of his retirement.[^2]
### UAP Task Force
### Recruitment and AAWSAP
After Elizondo's resignation from the Pentagon, Stratton remained in the government and was tasked by Navy intelligence leadership to build a whole-of-government interagency task force to continue the UAP investigation. This effort, which he built from the ground up, became the Pentagon's UAP Task Force, and Stratton was named its first director. In this role, he continued to push the UAP issue forward within the government, briefing members of Congress and the [[White House]] [[National Security Council]], and laying the groundwork for future legislative action.[^1]
[[Luis Elizondo]]'s account places the first contact in early 2009. He describes Stratton as "a serious male in his midthirties," whom Elizondo regarded as a fellow special operator. He writes that Stratton and a colleague, who appears under the pseudonym [[Rosemary Caine]], arrived at his Arlington office wearing blue credentials identifying them as government intelligence officials, and asked for his counterintelligence and security experience for "a highly classified program led out of our office at DIA." Stratton said he had helped create the program under the name [[AAWSAP]], which Elizondo says was focused on "unconventional technologies" and needed a senior intelligence officer to handle counterintelligence and security.[^10]
### Charter and the 2021 briefing title
[[Dave Fravor]]'s written statement to the House Oversight subcommittee on July 26, 2023 says: "It was not until 2009, until Jay Stratton had contacted me to investigate. Unbeknownst to all, he was part of the ATIP program in the Pentagon led by Lue Elizondo."[^11]
The charter of the task force, dated September 1, 2020 and issued by the [[Naval Intelligence Activity]], states that "Leadership of the Task Force will be designated by the Director of the Naval Intelligence Activity."[^4] The title slide of a briefing for the [[House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence]] dated May 17, 2021 carries the title Director, UAP Task Force, Naval Intelligence Activity, without printing a name.[^5]
The [[All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office]] historical record report of March 2024 describes the program's funding and origin. It states that "At the direction of Senate Majority Leader [[Harry Reid]] (D-NV), the Defense Appropriations Acts of Fiscal Years 2008 and 2010 appropriated $22 million for the DIA," and that "DIA established AAWSAP in 2009, which was also known AATIP."[^12] The report says that the contract went to a private sector organization, that "a DIA employee set up and managed the contract," and that "AAWSAP/AATIP was terminated in 2012 upon the completion of its deliverables due to DIA and DoD concerns about the project."[^12] It states that "Unlike AAWSAP, AATIP was never an official DoD program," and that after the program ended the AATIP name was used by "some individuals associated with an informal, unofficial UAP community of interest within DoD."[^12] The report also records a letter of June 24, 2009, in which "Senator Reid sent a letter to then Deputy Secretary of Defense William Lynn III requesting that AAWSAP/AATIP be made a DoD Special Access Program." Lynn declined "based on the recommendation of then-Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, James R. Clapper, Jr., that such a designation was not justified."[^12]
Elizondo also writes that Stratton secured an additional $10 million for the program from Reid, and that the money was later taken by another Defense Department program.[^13] He writes that when the program lost its funding and faced internal opposition, Stratton worked with him to move its remnants under Elizondo's portfolio of national programs.[^13]
### The Nimitz encounter and Interloper
Elizondo writes that Stratton "investigated the incident before I joined the team" and "had written a detailed AAWSAP/AATIP report" on the November 2004 encounter involving the [[USS Nimitz]] that became known as the [[Tic Tac]]. He writes that pilots later told Stratton they had been debriefed by intelligence officers and saw no follow-up.[^14]
Fravor's 2023 statement addresses the same incident: "What is shocking to us is that the incident was never investigated. None of my crew were ever questioned. The tapes were never taken and after a couple days it turned into a great story with friends."[^11]
Elizondo writes that Stratton drafted the operation plan "Interloper," an ambitious plan to use a carrier strike group as bait to lure UAP for observation and data collection, which he calls "a classic 'honey pot,'" with dates, call signs, ship names and radar data, and that the Joint Staff declined to give it a compartment designation in 2016. He also credits Stratton with proposing the term "unidentified aerial phenomena" in place of UFO.[^15] Knapp's February 2023 report makes the same attribution, saying that Stratton "decided to abandon the acronym UFO in favor of UAP."[^7]
### Leadership of the UAP Task Force
On August 14, 2020 the [[Department of Defense]] announced that [[David L. Norquist]], the Deputy Secretary of Defense, had approved the task force on August 4. The release states that "The Department of the Navy, under the cognizance of the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security, will lead the UAPTF."[^16] The charter, dated September 1, 2020, states that "Leadership of the Task Force will be designated by the Director of the [[Naval Intelligence Activity]]."[^17]
A briefing for the [[House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence]] dated May 17, 2021 carries the title slide "Director; UAP Task Force Naval Intelligence Activity."[^18] The [[Office of the Director of National Intelligence]] assessment of June 25, 2021 states that "The Director, UAPTF, is the accountable official for ensuring the timely collection and consolidation of data on UAP."[^19]
Elizondo writes that after Navy intelligence leadership tasked Stratton with building a whole-of-government interagency task force, which he built from the ground up, with members from the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]], the [[National Reconnaissance Office]], [[NASA]] and the [[Federal Aviation Administration]], the Secretary of Defense announced the task force "after a couple of years" and named Stratton its first director. He writes that Stratton continued to push the UAP issue forward, briefing members of Congress and the [[White House]] [[National Security Council]] and laying the groundwork for future legislative action, and that the [[Legacy Program]] "started quietly pushing back on Jay."[^20]
Knapp's June 2022 report on [[Travis Taylor]] quotes Taylor saying that "Jay Stratton, the director of the UAP Task Force asked me if I would be interested in being the chief scientist." The report adds that Stratton "worked with AAWSAP, then its successor program AATIP. Later, he took charge of a third effort, the UAP Task Force, long before Congress formally created that team."[^21]
In his written statement of July 26, 2023, [[David Grusch]] said that "In 2019, the UAP Task Force Director asked me to identify all special access programs and controlled access programs," and that he was "a member of the UAP Task Force from 2019 to 2021."[^22]
The AARO report describes the task force's record in one paragraph. It says the task force "helped standardize, destigmatize, and increase the volume of UAP reporting," and that its "methods and processes directly led to the identification of the People's Republic of China's (PRC) high altitude balloons." The report attributes the balloon claim to "AARO discussions with UAPTF leadership."[^23]
At the May 17, 2022 hearing of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, [[Ronald Moultrie]] was asked about AATIP and said: "I am familiar with Blue Book. I am familiar with AATIP. I haven't seen other documented studies that have been done by DOD in that regard."[^24]
### The triangular photograph
In December 2020 [[The Debrief]] reported a photograph of a triangular object rising from the ocean, attributed to an F/A-18 pilot. Emails of December 3 and 4, 2020, released under FOIA case 21-F-0299, include a message from the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations office to [[Susan Gough]] that reads "Jay [Stratton] tells me the photo is part of the active investigation, so it would probably be withheld from release for that reason."[^6]
In December 2020 [[The Debrief]] reported a photograph of a triangular object rising from the ocean, attributed to an F/A-18 pilot. Emails of December 3 and 4, 2020, released under FOIA case 21-F-0299, include a message from the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations office to [[Susan Gough]] that reads "Jay [Stratton] tells me the photo is part of the active investigation, so it would probably be withheld from release for that reason."[^8] The Black Vault wrote that the message "appeared to confirm the existence of the triangle UAP photograph."[^8]
In a statement to [[The Black Vault]], Stratton said: "At the time of this email exchange, the story in The Debrief, and the claim that an F/A-18 pilot had provided a photograph of a triangle emerging from the ocean, I was handling multiple cases." He added: "We had photographs from F/A-18 pilots, instances of UAP that appeared triangular/pyramidal, and other unrelated cases." The Black Vault reported that no such photograph "was ever received by the UAPTF." Asked why he did not correct the record, Stratton said: "Keep in mind that's an email on an unclassified system. I don't recall if I corrected it on a separate system at the time, but generally, there was no formal process for publicly addressing inaccuracies related to potentially classified reporting."[^6]
### Stratton in Elizondo's account
Elizondo described Stratton in early 2009 as "a serious male in his midthirties," who "helped create something called the AAWSAP," and who with a colleague he calls "[[Rosemary Caine]]" arrived at his Arlington office wearing blue credentials identifying them as government intelligence officials.[^7] He wrote that Stratton "investigated the incident before I joined the team" and "had written a detailed AAWSAP/AATIP report" on the Nimitz encounter of November 2004, and that pilots later told Stratton they had been debriefed by intelligence officers and saw no follow-up.[^8] He wrote that Stratton drafted the operation plan "Interloper," "a classic 'honey pot,'" with dates, call signs, ship names and radar data, which the Joint Staff declined to give a compartment designation in late 2016, and that Stratton proposed the term unidentified aerial phenomena in place of UFO.[^9] After the resignation, Elizondo wrote, Stratton fielded briefing requests from members of Congress, Navy intelligence leadership tasked him with building a whole-of-government task force with members from the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]], the [[National Reconnaissance Office]], [[NASA]] and the Federal Aviation Administration, the Secretary of Defense announced the UAP Task Force "after a couple of years" and named Stratton its first director, and the [[Legacy Program]] then "started quietly pushing back on Jay."[^10]
In a statement to The Black Vault, Stratton said that at the time "I was handling multiple cases," and that "We had photographs from F/A-18 pilots, instances of UAP that appeared triangular/pyramidal, and other unrelated cases." He added: "No such photo was ever provided to us by an F/A-18 pilot showing a triangle emerging from the water." Asked why he had not corrected the record, he said: "Keep in mind that's an email on an unclassified system. I don't recall if I corrected it on a separate system at the time, but generally, there was no formal process for publicly addressing inaccuracies related to potentially classified reporting."[^8] The Black Vault reported that no such photograph "was ever received by the UAPTF."[^8] The article's author, [[Tim McMillan]], told the same outlet: "I remain confident in the accuracy of the information shared."[^8]
### Radiance Technologies
[[Radiance Technologies]] announced on May 12, 2022 the hiring of Stratton, as "John F. Stratton Jr.," for the position of subject matter expert for intelligence strategy. The release states that he was "recently retired" from his role as Defense Intelligence Senior Executive with the Office of Naval Intelligence, with more than 32 years in the national intelligence community, that as a member of the chief executive's strategy team he would lead and develop efforts in scientific and technical intelligence, and that "Most recently, he was the first Director of the Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon Task Force (UAPTF)." It quotes Radiance president [[Tim Tinsley]] and quotes Stratton: "I am very excited to join Radiance Technologies."[^3]
[[Radiance Technologies]] announced on May 12, 2022 that Stratton had joined as "SME for Intel Strategy," as a member of the chief executive's strategy team, where he would lead and develop efforts in scientific and technical intelligence. The release quotes the company president, [[Tim Tinsley]]: "Jay's extensive experience in the Intelligence Community will be valuable in identifying and cultivating new strategic teaming opportunities within both industry and government." It quotes Stratton: "I am very excited to join Radiance Technologies."[^1]
[[George Knapp]] of [[KLAS-TV]] reported on May 23, 2022 (posted 9:12 PM Pacific time) that "In January 2021 ... Stratton was surprisingly transferred out of the job" at the Task Force, and that Stratton "has never spoken publicly about his work and is not commenting now."[^11] In a report posted October 13, 2022, Knapp wrote that Stratton urged Radiance to hire [[Travis Taylor]], and quoted Taylor: "Jay and I are working on growing the capabilities, doing reverse engineering of foreign materials."[^12] [[Liberation Times]] reported on December 3, 2023, in an article in which the attorney [[Daniel Sheehan]] alleged that the CIA supplies Radiance with non-human materials, that "multiple sources" had told it the allegation was untrue and that Stratton and Taylor "are long-time advocates for more transparency on this topic and are in no way involved in any coverup." Details are on Radiance Technologies.[^13]
In an October 13, 2022 report, Knapp wrote that Stratton urged Radiance to hire Taylor, and quoted Taylor: "Jay and I are working on growing the capabilities, doing reverse engineering of foreign materials."[^25]
In a December 2022 article in Reason, [[Mick West]] wrote that "In 2022, government contractor Radiance Technologies hired both the task force's director, John F. Stratton Jr., and its informal chief scientist, Travis S. Taylor, presumably for something at least speculatively government- and UAP-related."[^26]
On December 3, 2023, [[Liberation Times]] published an article in which the attorney [[Daniel Sheehan]] alleged that the Central Intelligence Agency supplies Radiance with non-human materials. The article reported that "multiple sources" had told it the allegation was untrue, and that Stratton and Taylor "are long-time advocates for more transparency on this topic and are in no way involved in any coverup."[^27]
### Skinwalker Ranch
George Knapp wrote in February 2023 that Stratton and his colleague [[James Lacatski]], a DIA rocket scientist, "set out to create an office" to analyze reports of unknown craft, that Lacatski, "reading about a UFO hotspot named 'Skinwalker Ranch,'" visited the property and pitched a formal investigation of it, and that "Reid agreed to fund it, and Bigelow landed the contract."[^7] The All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office report records that the contract went to a private sector organization.[^12]
Elizondo credits Stratton with coining the term "hitchhiker effect" for the tendency of phenomena at [[Skinwalker Ranch]] to follow investigators home and disturb them and their families long after they leave the property.[^28]
In a 2026 KLAS report on his memoir, Knapp wrote that Stratton "spent a lot of time at Skinwalker Ranch in Utah and said he took home devious 'hitchhikers.'" The report continues: "According to Stratton, these hitchhikers never left him and continue to bother him in his own home almost two decades later."[^29]
### Memoir and public statements
The publisher's synopsis states that Stratton, "presented with a video of a mysterious advanced aerospace vehicle over a sensitive nuclear weapon site," cofounded AAWSAP, that he "learned that there is a deeply hidden UAP crash retrieval and reverse engineering program that has been covering up the existence of non-human intelligent life for eighty years," and that the book describes "close encounters that profoundly altered his understanding of humanity's place in the universe and took a disturbing toll on him and his family." The audiobook is read by Stratton and [[Hal Puthoff]].[^6]
In a PEOPLE interview published October 13, 2026, Stratton said that on an autumn day in 2005 a colleague brought him a classified-system video, recorded by security forces near a nuclear missile silo, of a black triangular craft with lights at each corner that accelerated out of view, and that this "was the moment that changed my world." The article says a representative of Stratton stated that the memoir was vetted by 21 agencies and departments before release. Stratton said that from 2010 his wife and sons were visited at their home by glowing orbs and "shadowy figures," and that "Once I retired, it pretty much stopped." PEOPLE reported that the book describes a nuclear submarine used to lure a craft for monitoring, and that military contractors hold at least a dozen recovered craft, and it quotes the book on a source's account: "there was indeed a crash in Roswell, New Mexico in 1947," with "everything" recovered, "the crash and non-human bodies." The article notes that the Pentagon publicly denied a multi-decade UAP cover-up in 2024. Stratton appears in the 2025 documentary *The Age of Disclosure*, produced by [[Dan Farah]].[^30]
The [[Hollywood Reporter]] reported on June 3, 2026 that Stratton's memoir, *Out of the Shadows: Revealing the Truth About Non-Human Intelligent Life*, will be published by the HarperCollins imprint [[William Morrow]] on October 13, and that his book deal was first announced in 2024. The publisher's synopsis, as quoted in the report, says that "While serving at the Defense Intelligence Agency, Stratton learned of UAP incursions over nuclear weapon sites, leading him to co-found the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program (AAWSAP)." It also says that Stratton "discovered an 80-year coverup of the existence of non-human intelligent life."[^31]
[[Deadline]] reported the same month that "For over 16 years, Stratton investigated UAP and non-human intelligent life on behalf of the federal government," and that the film and television rights are held by Dan Farah. A related Deadline report says that [[Terence Winter]] is adapting the memoir for television.[^32]
A [[NewsNation]] report on the memoir described Stratton as "a former director of the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force, a predecessor to the current All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office," and stated that "There's no indication what Stratton plans to reveal."[^33]
A KLAS report by George Knapp and John Forest, posted before the release, says that Knapp interviewed Stratton "at a UAP conference in Alabama," and gives the release date as mid-October.[^29]
Stratton was the guest on the February 7, 2023 episode of [[Weaponized]], hosted by [[Jeremy Corbell]] and George Knapp, titled "The Pentagon's Top UFO Hunter." The episode runs 1 hour 37 minutes.[^34]
[[Garry Nolan]] of [[Stanford University]] told Stanford magazine in 2023 that Stratton gave pilots who feared exposure to UAP propulsion systems Nolan's name, and the article quotes Stratton: "He has just been one of the guys in my Rolodex."[^35]
### Press and critics
The Black Vault, citing a New York Post report, quoted an anonymous former Defense Department official who described the task force as "a complete and utter waste of money" and its former director, Jay Stratton, as "a complete nutjob."[^36]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Elizondo, Luis. *Imminent*. William Morrow, 2024.
[^2]: Paul E. Gray, "Julius Adams Stratton, 1901 to 1994," Biographical Memoirs, National Academy of Sciences, opening paragraph ("Jay, as he was known by nearly all who worked with him"); and MIT News, "President Emeritus Julius Adams Stratton dies at 93," June 29, 1994 (death June 22, 1994). https://www.nasonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/stratton-julius.pdf ; https://news.mit.edu/1994/stratton-0629
[^3]: "John F. Stratton Jr. Joins Radiance Technologies as SME for Intel Strategy," Radiance Technologies, PR Newswire, May 12, 2022, read in the Internet Archive capture of the same date. https://web.archive.org/web/20220512145721/https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/john-f-stratton-jr-joins-radiance-technologies-as-sme-for-intel-strategy-301546258.html
[^4]: Naval Intelligence Activity, "Charter for Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon Task Force," Ser NW20S0068, September 1, 2020, in the Department of the Navy final response in FOIA case DON-2021-003140, April 22, 2025. https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/navy/DON-2021-003140.pdf
[^5]: Naval Intelligence Activity, "Unidentified Aerial Phenomena" briefing for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, May 17, 2021, title slide. https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/ufos/UAPTFHPSCIBriefRedacted.pdf
[^6]: The Black Vault, "FOIA-Released Emails Mention Alleged Triangular UAP Photo; Former UAP Task Force Director Speaks Out," FOIA case 21-F-0299. https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/foia-released-emails-mention-alleged-triangular-uap-photo-former-uap-task-force-director-speaks-out/
[^7]: Luis Elizondo, *Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs* (New York: William Morrow, 2024), pp. 5 to 14.
[^8]: Luis Elizondo, *Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs* (New York: William Morrow, 2024), pp. 71 to 73.
[^9]: Luis Elizondo, *Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs* (New York: William Morrow, 2024), pp. 143, 147 and 186 (Interloper at pp. 143 and 186; the term UAP at p. 186).
[^10]: Luis Elizondo, *Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs* (New York: William Morrow, 2024), pp. 211 and 223 (task force and first director at p. 223).
[^11]: George Knapp, "More UFO hearings? Congress might consider hearing from these 2 men," 8 News Now (KLAS), posted May 23, 2022, 9:12 PM Pacific time, https://www.8newsnow.com/news/local-news/more-ufo-hearings-congress-might-consider-hearing-from-these-2-men/
[^12]: George Knapp, "Is this company working with alien technology in Nevada?" KLAS 8 News Now, posted October 13, 2022 (Pacific time). https://www.8newsnow.com/news/local-news/is-this-company-working-with-alien-technology-in-nevada/
[^13]: Christopher Sharp, "Daniel Sheehan Exposes Five Powerful Republicans Blocking UFO Disclosure Act, As The Clock Ticks Down," Liberation Times, December 3, 2023. https://www.liberationtimes.com/home/daniel-sheehan-exposes-five-powerful-republicans-blocking-ufo-disclosure-act-as-the-clock-ticks-down
[^1]: "John F. Stratton Jr. Joins Radiance Technologies as SME for Intel Strategy," Radiance Technologies release, PR Newswire, May 12, 2022, read in the Internet Archive capture of the same date. https://web.archive.org/web/20220512145721/https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/john-f-stratton-jr-joins-radiance-technologies-as-sme-for-intel-strategy-301546258.html
[^2]: Speaker biography of John F. "Jay" Stratton Jr., FanCons, reproduced in the Anomaly Archives file for Stratton, John F. https://fancons.com/guests/bio/7662/jay-stratton ; https://anomalyarchives.org/collections/file/stratton-john-f
[^3]: Johnny Dodd, "Pentagon's UFO Hunter Reveals Himself and What He Learned, Including the Video He Can't Forget (Exclusive)," *PEOPLE*, October 13, 2026. https://people.com/confessions-of-the-governments-top-alien-hunter-12171214
[^4]: Paul E. Gray, "Julius Adams Stratton, 1901 to 1994," *Biographical Memoirs*, National Academy of Sciences, opening paragraph ("Jay, as he was known by nearly all who worked with him"); and MIT News, "President Emeritus Julius Adams Stratton dies at 93," June 29, 1994 (death June 22, 1994). https://www.nasonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/stratton-julius.pdf ; https://news.mit.edu/1994/stratton-0629
[^5]: Department of the Navy Senior Executive biography, "John F. Stratton Jr," Office of Naval Intelligence, PDF created June 21, 2021, in the Internet Archive capture of June 23, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240623122451id_/https://www.secnav.navy.mil/donhr/About/Senior-Executives/Biographies/Stratton%2C%20J.pdf
[^6]: William Morrow (HarperCollins), product page for *Out of the Shadows: Revealing the Truth About Non-Human Intelligent Life* by Jay Stratton, publisher synopsis and contributor credits. https://www.harpercollins.com/products/out-of-the-shadows-jay-stratton
[^7]: George Knapp, "Former intelligence official breaks silence on gov't UFO investigations," KLAS-TV (8 News Now), February 2023, as quoted in the Anomaly Archives file for Stratton. https://anomalyarchives.org/collections/file/stratton-john-f
[^8]: The Black Vault, "FOIA-Released Emails Mention Alleged Triangular UAP Photo; Former UAP Task Force Director Speaks Out," FOIA case 21-F-0299, reproducing emails of December 3 and 4, 2020 and Stratton's statement. https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/foia-released-emails-mention-alleged-triangular-uap-photo-former-uap-task-force-director-speaks-out/
[^9]: George Knapp, "More UFO hearings? Congress might consider hearing from these 2 men," 8 News Now (KLAS), posted May 23, 2022, 9:12 PM Pacific time. https://www.8newsnow.com/news/local-news/more-ufo-hearings-congress-might-consider-hearing-from-these-2-men/
[^10]: Luis Elizondo, *Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs* (New York: William Morrow, 2024), pp. 5 to 14.
[^11]: House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs, hearing "Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Implications on National Security, Public Safety, and Government Transparency," July 26, 2023, Serial No. 118-53, statement of Commander David Fravor and questioning. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-118hhrg53022/html/CHRG-118hhrg53022.htm
[^12]: All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, "Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), Volume I," cleared for open publication March 6, 2024, pp. 22 to 23. https://media.defense.gov/2024/Mar/08/2003409233/-1/-1/0/DOPSR-2024-0263-AARO-HISTORICAL-RECORD-REPORT-VOLUME-1-2024.PDF
[^13]: Luis Elizondo, *Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs* (New York: William Morrow, 2024).
[^14]: Luis Elizondo, *Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs* (New York: William Morrow, 2024), pp. 71 to 73.
[^15]: Luis Elizondo, *Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs* (New York: William Morrow, 2024), pp. 143, 147 and 186 (Interloper at pp. 143 and 186; the term UAP at p. 186).
[^16]: Department of Defense, "Establishment of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force," press release, August 14, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/2021/https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/2314065/establishment-of-unidentified-aerial-phenomena-task-force/
[^17]: Naval Intelligence Activity, "Charter for Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon Task Force," Ser NW20S0068, September 1, 2020, in the Department of the Navy final response in FOIA case DON-2021-003140, April 22, 2025. https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/navy/DON-2021-003140.pdf
[^18]: Naval Intelligence Activity, "Unidentified Aerial Phenomena" briefing for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, May 17, 2021, title slide. https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/ufos/UAPTFHPSCIBriefRedacted.pdf
[^19]: Office of the Director of National Intelligence, "Preliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena," June 25, 2021, p. 2. https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/Prelimary-Assessment-UAP-20210625.pdf
[^20]: Luis Elizondo, *Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs* (New York: William Morrow, 2024), pp. 211 and 223 (task force and first director at p. 223).
[^21]: George Knapp, "I-Team: Physicist reveals he's a UFO hunter for the Pentagon," KLAS-TV (8 News Now), posted June 21, 2022 according to The Black Vault's account of the report. https://www.8newsnow.com/investigators/i-team-ufo-scientist-speaks-publicly-for-the-first-time-on-decades-of-work/amp
[^22]: David Grusch, statement, House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs, hearing of July 26, 2023 (Serial No. 118-53). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-118hhrg53022/html/CHRG-118hhrg53022.htm
[^23]: All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, "Report on the Historical Record ... Volume I," March 2024, p. 24 and note 70. https://media.defense.gov/2024/Mar/08/2003409233/-1/-1/0/DOPSR-2024-0263-AARO-HISTORICAL-RECORD-REPORT-VOLUME-1-2024.PDF
[^24]: House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and Counterproliferation, hearing "Unidentified Aerial Phenomena," May 17, 2022, transcript, remarks of Ronald S. Moultrie. https://www.congress.gov/117/meeting/house/114761/documents/HHRG-117-IG05-Transcript-20220517.pdf
[^25]: George Knapp, "Is this company working with alien technology in Nevada?" 8 News Now (KLAS), posted October 13, 2022 (Pacific time). https://www.8newsnow.com/news/local-news/is-this-company-working-with-alien-technology-in-nevada/
[^26]: Mick West, "The Military-UFO Complex," Reason, December 2022, as quoted in the Anomaly Archives file for Stratton. https://anomalyarchives.org/collections/file/stratton-john-f
[^27]: Christopher Sharp, "Daniel Sheehan Exposes Five Powerful Republicans Blocking UFO Disclosure Act, As The Clock Ticks Down," Liberation Times, December 3, 2023. https://www.liberationtimes.com/home/daniel-sheehan-exposes-five-powerful-republicans-blocking-ufo-disclosure-act-as-the-clock-ticks-down
[^28]: Luis Elizondo, *Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs* (New York: William Morrow, 2024).
[^29]: George Knapp and John Forest, "Jay Stratton to release new book on non-human intelligent life Oct. 13," KLAS-TV (8 News Now), 2026, undated copy. https://www.8newsnow.com/mystery-wire/jay-stratton-uap-book-release/amp/
[^30]: Johnny Dodd, *PEOPLE*, October 13, 2026 (see note 32).
[^31]: Lexy Perez, "Jay Stratton Memoir to Reveal UAP Secrets and Non-Human Life Truths," *The Hollywood Reporter*, June 3, 2026. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/arts/jay-stratton-memoir-out-of-the-shadows-release-1236612113/
[^32]: Matt Grobar, "Jay Stratton Memoir: Release Date, Title Unveiled," *Deadline*, June 3, 2026. https://deadline.com/2026/06/jay-stratton-memoir-release/
[^33]: "High-ranking Pentagon insider to release UFO memoir," NewsNation, undated copy. https://www.newsnationnow.com/space/ufo/pentagon-insider-ufo-memoir/amp
[^34]: "The Pentagon's Top UFO Hunter - Guest: John 'Jay' Stratton," *Weaponized with Jeremy Corbell & George Knapp*, episode of February 7, 2023, 1 hour 37 minutes, episode listing. https://podwise.ai/episodes/1312011
[^35]: Sam Scott, "First Contact," *Stanford* magazine, July 2023. https://stanfordmag.org/contents/first-contact
[^36]: The Black Vault, "FOIA Release Reveals Secret Charter Behind Creation of Pentagon's UAP Task Force," citing a New York Post report. https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/foia-release-reveals-secret-charter-behind-creation-of-pentagons-uap-task-force/