For decades, humans have observed bright, flying phenomena in the air and have wondered about the possibility of extraterrestrial life. Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) sightings took off during World War Two. Pilots in both the European and Pacific theaters claimed to see dazzling lights or objects airborne during the war. After a report of “flying saucers” by a businessman flying his plane in 1947, the U.S. government, to address this national security problem, started a program called “Project Blue Book,” which operated from 1952 to 1969. Project Blue Book analyzed and cataloged over 12,000 UFO sighting reports. More of the American population started to believe in the existence of aliens and UFOs.
Tessa Lewis (9) thinks that extraterrestrials are real, and that the government should not withhold information about them.
“I believe that aliens do exist, and that the government should not hide their information from the public,” Lewis said. “They are losing their chance to get other’s opinions and expand their knowledge on other’s discoveries.”
After the conclusion of Project Blue Book, aliens and UFOs were pushed to the backburner of American interest. But in 2004, several Navy pilots reported sightings of bizarre aircraft that exceeded all limits of known technology, while on their patrols. Because of these experiences, the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) was created by the U.S. government in 2007 and lasted until 2012 when it lost funding. A couple of years later from 2013 to 2014, more Navy pilots reported similar experiences to the pilots in 2004. Surprisingly, the Navy pilots from 2004 and 2013, because of advanced military targeting technology, were able to get video footage of these mysterious aircraft. After circulating through the Department of Defense (DOD) for years, these three videos were finally released to the public in 2020. The names of the videos are Gimbal, GOFAST and FLIR, and can be viewed on YouTube.
In the summer of 2020, the Pentagon released information that they were making another space defense program and the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force (UAPTF) was born. During previous years, the term UFO had been rebranded into the term UAP, which stands for “Unidentified Aerial Phenomena.” This was until the end of last year when the government again changed the acronym to “unidentified anomalous phenomena” so that it would now include submerged and trans-medium objects as well as flying ones.
Symir Nelson (12) thinks that the government should be clearer on topics concerning alien life and UAPs.
“I think that aliens probably do exist, and that we would be aliens to other life in the universe. The government isn’t wrong to hide information if it’s to protect people, but transparency is almost always appreciated,” Nelson said.
Two months ago, the U.S. government held a hearing on UFOs and UAPs. Former Navy pilots David Fravor and Ryan Graves, along with former UAP task force member David Grusch, testified in front of Congress telling of their experiences with UAPs during their service. Fravor and Graves told Congress first-hand eyewitness accounts of interactions with UAPs while flying patrols and military exercises in their jets. Grusch on the other hand told an account that accused the Government of withholding information on extraterrestrial remnants found in crashed UAPs. While the Pentagon has denied this claim, officials are still skeptical of both sides of the story. Nevertheless, the hearing has once again brought aliens and alien life to the forefront of American interests. According to a study done by Pew Research Center, 65% of Americans think intelligent life exists outside of Earth.
Jay Blanton (11) thinks that the Pentagon is right, and Grusch’s claims are false.
“I think that the files are fake. The government is using the prospect of aliens to distract people who are interested more in aliens than in political problems,” Blanton said.
