Last week, George Knapp with KLAS-TV exclusively published the identity of one of the scientists working with the UAP Task Force. Now a disbanded effort to pave the way for a new organization called the “Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group (AOIMSG),” Dr. Travis Taylor was said to be the “chief scientist.” According to LasVegasNow.com, Dr. Taylor played a role in, “…analyzing the 144 incidents, including dozens of bizarre objects that buzzed multiple Navy ships in 2019.”
Immediately after this article was published, The Black Vault reached out to the Pentagon the next morning to confirm some of the claims, but also, attempt to extract additional details about his work.
The Black Vault has decided to publish the entire statements from the Pentagon below, as provided by Susan Gough, Spokesperson for the Department of Defense, to ensure no context is changed and nothing is improperly omitted.
The questions listed are verbatim to what was submitted for comment. The answers have not been edited.
Q1. Based on this story, can it be confirmed that Dr. Travis Taylor was the “chief scientist” for the UAP Task Force? If so, just wanting for clarity reasons to confirm it was an official, and paid, position on the UAPTF? And can it be confirmed Jay Stratton was the one who hired him for the job?
“A1. The Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force (UAPTF) was and is (until the follow-on Department of Defense [DOD] organization is fully operational) a partnership across federal and DOD agencies, with a variety of organizations providing personnel as required. Dr. Taylor was a government employee assigned to the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC). SMDC provided Dr. Taylor on a time-limited basis as part of a larger number of contributing organizations across the DOD, the Intelligence Community (IC), and other parts of the federal government to assist with the stand-up of the UAPTF and its reporting requirements. It was not a full time assignment; he remained an employee of SMDC. In early 2021, following consultations with the UAPTF, SMDC worked to clarify and de-conflict assigned tasks, responsibilities, and outside activities to balance mission priorities.
At the time of Dr. Taylor’s initial work with the UAPTF, former Office of Naval Intelligence senior civilian John Stratton was leading the effort and informally referred to Dr. Taylor as his chief scientist as efforts to assemble a larger team were underway.”
Q2. Are there any details of his role that can be provided? In what capacity did he work; what were his duties as chief scientist; etc.?
A2. “Dr. Taylor worked with the UAPTF as a contributing scientist and engineer, bringing those skills to review the reports of UAP sightings by military personnel and the associated study of any related materials/data in an effort to identify the objects observed and possible approaches to obtaining improved technical data.”
Q3. In the story I linked above, it directly contradicts Scott Bray’s testimony that the triangular/pyramid shaped objects in the videos presented were drones. According to this story, “Dr. Taylor went into much greater detail about why the ‘drone’ scenario falls far short of explaining the 2019 UFO encounters.” It also states that UAP Task Force members “…were stunned to hear a Navy official tell a Congressional hearing last month that all of these were ‘drones, as if the mystery has been solved. Someone had to disregard the work of the task force to make that claim.” Can you comment on the validity of these claims, and why this would contradict Scott Bray’s Congressional testimony under oath? If it is still the position, can it be said if the “drone” conclusion came after the UAPTF was disbanded, and if so, where did that conclusion come from that was given to Congress?
A3. “Dr. Taylor’s work with the UAPTF focused on scientific and technical advice provided as a research scientist, and not on intelligence analysis. The UAPTF stands by the conclusions presented by Director Bray in his briefing.”
Q4. Dr. Taylor is a known television personality on shows like Ancient Aliens, Secrets of Skinwalker Ranch, and many others. Were there concerns by the Navy that his frequenting of shows like the aforementioned would be possible a conflict of interest of any kind; potentially create ethical issues; create concerns about his security clearance talking about UFO related issues on TV; or affect his work with the UAPTF?
A4. “As stated, Dr. Taylor was an employee of the U.S. Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC). His parent organization (SMDC) provided him to assist the UAPTF based on his education and experience as a scientist and engineer. In early 2021, following consultations with the UAPTF, SMDC took steps to clarify and de-conflict assigned tasks, responsibilities, and outside activities to balance mission priorities.”
Immediately following the receipt of the above statements, The Black Vault attempted one follow-up to this statement, “In early 2021, following consultations with the UAPTF, SMDC took steps to clarify and de-conflict assigned tasks, responsibilities, and outside activities to balance mission priorities.”
Gough was asked to clarify what she meant. “I am a bit unclear what you mean here. Clarify and de-conflict in what regard, and what changed thereafter?” was the follow up emailed.
The answer was the following:
“Broadly speaking, it means clarifying and de-conflicting his assigned tasks and responsibilities between SMDC, support to the UAPTF, and his outside activities. I can’t provide further details, as we do not comment on individual personnel matters.”
The Black Vault has reached out to Dr. Travis Taylor. Should any additional information relating to the above become available, it will be posted.
###