In October 2017, Luis Elizondo left his career as an officer with the Defense Intelligence Agency and took a new job as Chief of Global Security for To the Stars Academy of Arts and Science, a company that launched Oct. 11, 2017.
The timeline of his job change means that Elizondo and TTS Academy must have been in talks prior to his resignation from the DOD. (It also means he waited five years to resign after funding for his program was reportedly cut off.)
Just eight weeks after his departure from government service, Elizondo was featured in a New York Times article that kicked off the public’s fascination with so-called Tic-Tac UFOs. And within a month of the story, he’d been interviewed about UFOs by CNN, CBS, NPR, HLN, and Glenn Beck, among others.
TTS Academy’s mission, according to its website, was to be “a powerful vehicle for change by creating a consortium among science, aerospace and entertainment that will work collectively to allow gifted researchers the freedom to explore exotic science and technologies with the infrastructure and resources to rapidly transition them to products that can change the world.”
In other words, it would promote the idea that ETs exist and are here to help in the “transformation” of humanity — whatever that means.
Maybe Elizondo just wanted the world to know that “the truth is out there,” to borrow a phrase. He told CNN’s Erin Burnett, “There is very compelling evidence that we may not be alone.”
On the other hand, Elizondo might have been trying to use a compelling piece of UFO video as a marketing hook to attract investors to the new company.
Still, why would one man get this kind of attention for a topic the mainstream media usually plays for laughs? A look at some of Elizondo’s colleagues is revealing.
There was a very large intelligence community presence at To the Stars Academy. Other than the president and interim CEO, Tom DeLonge, former guitarist and lead singer of the rock band Blink-182, most of the visible members of the team had long careers with American intelligence agencies or defense contractors.
For example:
Dr. Hal Puthoff (VP Science & Technology): Directed the Stanford Research Institute’s experiments in remote viewing in the 1970s and ‘80s, part of the Stargate Project for the CIA and DIA.
Jim Semivan (VP Operations): Retired in 2007 from the CIA; since retirement, consults for CIA on tradecraft training (teaching spies how to spy).
Steve Justice (Aerospace Division Director): Recently retired after 31 years as program director for advanced systems from Lockheed Martin Advanced Development Programs, the “Skunk Works” that developed secret aircraft like the U-2 and the stealth fighter.
Chris Mellon (National Security Affairs Advisor): Deputy assistant secretary of Defense for Intelligence in the Clinton and Bush administrations.
Dr. Paul Rapp (Brain Function & Consciousness Consultant): “Past honors include a Certificate of Commendation from the Central Intelligence Agency for ‘significant contributions to the mission of the Office of Research and Development.’”
Dr. Norm Kahn (National Security & Program Management Consultant): 30-year career with the Central Intelligence Agency, culminating in development and direction of the Intelligence Community’s Counter-Biological Weapons Program.
You get the picture. From the media’s viewpoint, these men are credible sources. UFO stories coming from them carry weight. From our perspective, however, their backgrounds raise additional questions. The American intelligence community has been embedded in the modern UFO phenomenon since the end of World War II.
To be fair, we should point out that in 2022, the company rebranded as To the Stars, Inc., “an award-winning, vertically integrated entertainment company,” which may be better suited to the talents of CEO Tom DeLonge — although CIA veteran Jim Semivan is still on the board of directors.
Now, there are a couple of plausible explanations for loading up the company with professionals from the intelligence community.
They may have experience that makes them uniquely qualified to analyze the UFO phenomenon. Maybe these people are leveraging that experience to launch an exciting new private venture. We can’t blame them for that; the private sector probably pays better than government service.
Maybe these people are true believers who feel the time is now to share the “truth” about UFOs. And, for some reason, these career professionals, with decades of experience at the highest levels of the intelligence and defense industries, decided that partnering with the former guitarist and lead singer for a popular rock band was the best way to do it. (Wait — what?)
But there’s another explanation. People like this have been connected to encounters with unidentified objects since before the famous Roswell UFO crash in July of 1947 — to shape what the public thinks about UFOs and the potential existence of ETIs (extraterrestrial intelligences).
Why? That’s a very good question. We can only speculate.
Next time, some concluding thoughts on how Christians process the overheated headlines and breathless YouTube videos about imminent UFO disclosure.
The views expressed in this opinion article are those of their author and are not necessarily either shared or endorsed by the owners of this website. If you are interested in contributing an Op-Ed to The Western Journal, you can learn about our submission guidelines and process here.
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