Did the Navy Just Admit that UFOs are Real?

Well, Tom DeLonge says that they did!

In the past few days there has been quite a storm over the Navy's announced "new guidelines" for reporting unidentified objects. A story by Bryan Bender in Politico on April 23 says,

The U.S. Navy is drafting new guidelines for pilots and other personnel to report encounters with "unidentified aircraft," a significant new step in creating a formal process to collect and analyze the unexplained sightings — and destigmatize them.

The previously unreported move is in response to a series of sightings of unknown, highly advanced aircraft intruding on Navy strike groups and other sensitive military formations and facilities.

Analysis of "Go Fast" IR video from To The Stars Academy

 And our old friend Tom DeLonge is giving full credit for this change to lobbying by his To The Stars Academy. He wrote on his Facebook page on April 23,

This is a DIRECT RESULT of @tothestarsacademy’s quiet efforts coordinating briefings to the Legislative and Executive Branch, working with the Navy and others at the highest levels to help create an architecture for dealing with the reality of UFOs. Chris Mellon, Chairman of the TTSA ADVISORY BOARD, worked for the greater part of the year on this breakthrough National Security Policy—- And yes, this is an admission that these Unidentified Aerial Vehicles are real, and @tothestarsacademy organized this entire effort. Thank you to everyone for believing in us... But, there is much more to come.

And there were many breathless stories gushing on about the supposed significance of this. In one, Thomas Gnau asked in the Dayton Daily News (for which the Air Force's Project Blue Book was a local story),

The U.S. Navy is updating guidelines for pilots who encounter unexplained aerial phenomena or unidentified flying objects — known everywhere as “UFOs.” Can the U.S. Air Force be far behind?

But not everyone was swept up by the excitement. John Greenewald asks in the Black Vault, "What Does That Mean?". He notes that Navy and CIA documents seem to be concerned with "unidentified aircraft," rather than "flying saucers" or UFOs. Greenewald has been scrutinizing statements made by Luis Elizondo and other TTSA officials, and has found them to be hopelessly confused and inconsistent. His candor has apparently made him quite unpopular in certain UFO circles. Of course, those are the people who aren't interested in facts, they want to defend certain irrational beliefs.

We have a sober analysis of the question from Mick West over on the excellent Metabunk:

there's a rush of media stories about this. The problem is they all seem to be conflating two things:

A) The statement from the Navy
B) The spin from TTSA

And then presenting B (the spin) as if it's something official. It's not. All we have that is official is a very reasonable statement about

1) Planned (but undescribed) new guidelines for reporting unauthorized and/or unidentified airspace incursions.
2) Some briefings on the dangers of these incursions by the Navy to some congressmen and/or their staff.

Note the first thing there: "unauthorized airspace incursions." That basically means a plane flies into a region that it should not be in. The Navy Document OPNAVINST 3770.2L calls it a "spill-in". Note in this new press release they say: "the Navy and the USAF take these reports very seriously and investigate each and every report." So clearly the reports they talk about are not considered "career enders" (as some have suggested). These are reports that are already being made, and are being taken seriously, and investigated. All that seems to be happening now is an improvement to the way in which such incursions can be reported.

For better or for worse, we will be hearing a lot more about Tom DeLonge and TTSA in the months to come. The "History" Channel recently announced,

HISTORY® GREENLIGHTS NEW GROUNDBREAKING LIMITED NON-FICTION SERIES ‘UNIDENTIFIED: INSIDE AMERICA’S UFO INVESTIGATION™’ EXPOSING NEW EVIDENCE ON UFOs LEAD BY THE FORMER SPECIAL AGENT IN-CHARGE AND DIRECTOR OF THE GOVERNMENT’S TOP SECRET PROGRAM AND EXECUTIVE PRODUCED BY TOM DELONGE

Former Government Officials disclose new information in an effort to change Government Policy about the potential threats UFOs pose to U.S. National Security

We find this information on the TTSA website:

 Now, as a part of HISTORY’s groundbreaking new six-part, one-hour limited series “Unidentified: Inside America’s UFO Investigation™,” Elizondo is speaking out for the first time with Tom DeLonge, co-founder and President of To The Stars Academy of Arts & Science and Chris Mellon, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense and Intelligence, to expose a series of startling encounters and embark on fascinating new investigations that will urge the public to ask questions and look for answers. From A+E Originals, DeLonge serves as executive producer.

Says DeLonge, “With this show, the real conversation can finally begin. I’m thankful to HISTORY for giving the To The Stars Academy team of world-class scientists, engineers and intelligence experts the opportunity to tell the story in a comprehensive and compelling way.  I think everyone that watches the show will walk away with questions answered and a feeling of, “wow, I get it now.”’

 The first episode is set to run on May 31. Expect to hear nonsense piled high and deep when that happens.