Luis Elizondo spent more than 20 years as a counterintelligence officer in the Pentagon, culminating in running AATIP — the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program — from within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence. His October 2017 resignation and subsequent public advocacy have made him the most visible UAP whistleblower in the world. This is his complete timeline.
Career Before AATIP
Elizondo served in US Army counterintelligence before transitioning to civilian intelligence roles in the Pentagon. He worked on counterterrorism operations in Afghanistan and Latin America. His work involved running sensitive programs that required interaction with classified technology programs across multiple agencies — giving him the access structure and security clearances that would later allow him to manage AATIP.
Running AATIP (2010-2017)
Elizondo took over management of AATIP — then named “Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program” (AAWSAP) in its full form — as it was transitioning from its original DIA contract structure. Under his management the program analyzed the three Navy encounter videos (Nimitz, GoFast, Gimbal), reviewed classified UAP encounter reports from military pilots, and attempted to build an institutional case for treating UAP as a genuine national security matter.
The Resignation, TTSA, and Public Advocacy
Elizondo resigned in October 2017, writing directly to Defense Secretary Mattis that the UAP problem was real and being ignored. He joined Tom DeLonge’s To The Stars Academy alongside Chris Mellon, and coordinated the December 2017 New York Times exposé. He has since testified to multiple Congressional committees, published “Imminent” (2024), and filed legal actions against the DoD over its handling of his post-separation security review — which prevented him from speaking freely about his AATIP work.
Liberation Times confirmed in 2024 that Elizondo continues to hold security clearances and that his public statements have been reviewed and cleared through the DoD’s prepublication review process — meaning the DoD has implicitly confirmed the accuracy of what he is permitted to say.
Source: Liberation Times, The Debrief, Congressional record. Lue Elizondo, “Imminent” (2024). NYT December 16, 2017.