Former Naval commander agrees to testify with others at upcoming UAP hearing

Retired Navy Rear Adm. Timothy Gallaudet is one of multiple witnesses set to testify at a congressional hearing next week about government transparency concerns and reports of unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) that could endanger U.S. national security. 

Two sources familiar with the plans, who requested anonymity to discuss the hearing before it’s held, told DefenseScoop on Wednesday that it will be led by Republicans on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee on Nov. 13.

Without sharing more information about who is testifying and why the hearing is being hosted now, a spokesperson from that committee separately confirmed in an email that it is scheduled for next Wednesday.

“The Cyber Subcommittee and National Security Subcommittee will hold a joint hearing on UAPs on November 13. Cyber Subcommittee Chairwoman Nancy Mace (R-SC) and National Security Subcommittee Chairman Glenn Grothman (R-WI) will co-chair the hearing,” the spokesperson told DefenseScoop.

They said the lawmakers hope to provide more information to the public “in the coming days.”

The Pentagon has a complicated history with UAP, or the modern term for UFOs that accounts for transmedium objects. 

The upcoming hearing will follow several that lawmakers have convened in recent years, which came largely in response to mounting public pressure and alerts raised by former defense officials about seemingly unexplainable objects increasingly threatening America’s military assets and personnel in the modern era.

One of the officials DefenseScoop spoke to suggested that some of the topics that will be raised in this next meeting will likely include transparency issues associated with the Pentagon’s and Intelligence Community’s handling of UAP reports and ongoing investigations; calls for more congressional oversight of the executive branch on UAP; and examples of how such phenomena have presented challenges to flight safety in real-world military operations.

Defense Department spokespersons declined to answer DefenseScoop’s questions on Wednesday regarding whether any current officials — particularly from the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) — were asked to or will serve as witnesses. They directed the inquiries to congressional spokespersons, who also declined to identify those tapped to testify.

Gallaudet previously led Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command and served as Oceanographer of the Navy. He also deployed on multiple tours afloat during his career in uniform, and later served for about a year-and-a-half as the Senate-confirmed assistant secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere after retiring from the military in 2017.

In his retirement, Gallaudet has been candid about his experiences while on active duty observing now-verified video footage of UAP and unidentified submerged objects (USO) captured by colleagues — and his aims to help de-stigmatize discussion of this previously taboo topic across the military.