The Department of Defense declassified a UFO report about Kona Blue in mid-April 2024, and the report contains fascinating historical information into UAP research. Kona Blue is a proposed Department of Homeland Security (DHS) program that would have given congressional oversight to alleged secret UFO recovery and reverse engineering programs. The proposal was denied, but the report is still quite fascinating and references areas of high anomalous activity, UFO injuries, dematerialization and remote viewing.
There are details in Kona Blue that seem to mirror some of UFO whistleblower David Grusch’s allegations. Grusch came forward with information from more than 40 firsthand witnesses alleging the U.S. had a secret UAP reverse engineering and retrieval program. The Intelligence Community Inspector General (ICIG) found his claims credible and urgent. And when the ICIG presented information about those claims to some members of Congress in a classified setting, Rep. Jared Moskowitz tweeted: “Based on what we heard many of Grusch claims have merit!”
Grusch testified to Congress about his claims in July 2023.
The AARO Historical Report attempted to debunk the idea of a secret UAP program, but many experts have expressed questions about the legitimacy and breadth of that report. For example, former AARO director Sean Kirkpatrick said there were no firsthand witnesses. But Christopher Mellon, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, said he was shocked by that claim, noting that he had brought some firsthand witnesses to AARO himself.
Sen. Marco Rubio has also stated that he’s spoken to firsthand witnesses.
Here’s a look at the Kona Blue report.
Read the Full Kona Blue Report Below
The report was posted on April 16, 2024, on AARO’s website. You can read the full 54-page report in the embed below.
Aaro Dhs Kona Blue by Stephanie Dube Dwilson on Scribd
Kona Blue Proposes Researching People Injured by Anomalous Phenomena
The declassified Kona Blue UFO report contains a proposal for a special access program (SAP) that was later denied. It was proposed to be under the auspices of the DHS because it involved disruptive technologies “that can have a significant impact on homeland security,” the proposal notes on page 3 (technically page 4 of the PDF.)
On page 9 of the PDF, the proposal discusses focuses for research, including a Medical Division that would study “deaths and injuries as a result of interaction with advanced aerospace vehicles,” “medical injuries as a result of other anomalies,” and “collateral injuries/physiological effects to family members.”
Later on page 29, the report mentions evidence of “non-ionizing (EM) radiation-associated injuries.” It notes that because of this, they wanted a medical team to respond rapidly to possible injuries from AAVs, utilizing procedures like MRIs, blood tests, genetic tests, tissue samples, forensic internal medicine procedures, and more. They later note that they want to test family members also.
Areas of Anomalous Activity Took Place at Skinwalker Ranch & Two Other Locations
The proposal repeatedly references known areas of anomalous activity. For most of the report, these areas are only alluded to (including specific notations about an area in Utah.) But there’s a part near the end of the report where the anomalous sites are specifically named.
One of the first references is on Page 8 of 15.
The proposal suggests creating an Experimental Division which “will consist of a well-studied experimental location that has been researched for approximately 15 years. The intent is to locate, calibrate and then subject other sites to the same intensive study as the primary location. Within each location, focus remote sensing capabilities on all known hot spots…”
Later on page 18 of the PDF, they note that they will “Determine geographical locations with the U.S. where anomalous activity occurs on a regular basis.”
This location is brought up again on pages 25-26, where they note that they’ll establish human observers as “biosensors” in their monitoring efforts, along with investigating where “individuals exposed to phenomena at site locations experience continuing effects as they relocate away…” This is a direct reference to the Hitchhiker Effect that some people at Skinwalker Ranch have talked about.
On page 32, they discuss locations for research and note: “a four hundred eighty-acre research property in Utah with a fifteen year history of intensive anomalous activity is owned by [redacted]. The property is under 24/7 armed guard.”
On page 44, when discussing the Project Plan in a memo, the locations are finally named, and one of them is Skinwalker Ranch.
They write: “Material has also been acquired through various sources since the DIA program ended in December 2010. For example, on-going observations and recording of anomalies observed at sites at the Bigelow Ranch in Utah, the San Juan Valley in Colorado, and Marley’s Woods in Missouri.” (Bigelow Ranch is the former name of Skinwalker Ranch.)
They talk a little more about the Ranch on page 46 in a memo from November 28, 2011. Here, they discuss how Bigelow Aerospace conducted research on “numerous investigative cases of observed anomalies,” noting that when the two-year program ended in 2010, “the research data was put into contractor-secured storage.” (Perhaps this is why Bigelow has not released any research to Brandon Fugal, the current Skinwalker Ranch owner.)
Remote Sensing & ‘De/Re-Materialization’ Featured in Proposal
Remote sensing is brought up repeatedly on the document, and there’s even a strange mention of “de/re-materialization.”
In addition to page 9 (discussed above,) the topic comes up again on page 10 of the PDF in relation to a Consciousness Center. It notes that they will “collect critical data utilizing remote sensing in order to determine the activity and purpose of the advanced technology…” The report then goes on to say that remote sensing “may present an invaluable aid in countering illicit activities against the U.S.”
Remote viewing is brought up again on page 18 in relation to the Consciousness Center. In it, they say they will “expand on remote viewing and remote communication to communicate, retrieve data and transport across dimensional/space-time barrier.” They’ll also work on developing “countermeasures” to remote viewing.
But it gets even more intense later on the same page, when they note that there are “de/re-materialization techniques” that can “transfer matter across dimensional and space-time barriers” will be of interest to “adversarial intelligence/security services.”
On pages 28-29, they discuss the Consciousness Center and their proposals for it in-depth.
Kona Blue Was Proposed as a Way to Give Congressional Oversight to UAP Retrieval
AARO’s Historical Record Report (Volume 1), released on March 6, 2024, attempted to debunk UFO whistleblower David Grusch’s claims that the U.S. has a secret UAP reverse engineering and retrieval program. AARO wrote that all the proposed programs either didn’t exist or were misidentified. AARO went on, however, to note that none of the people they interviewed had any firsthand knowledge (unlike Grusch, who had more than 40 firsthand witnesses in his classified report.)
As an example of a misunderstood program, AARO cited “Kona Blue” and wrote: “One named program was a UAP-related Prospective Special Access Program (PSAP) called KONA BLUE that was proposed to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and supported by individuals who believed the USG was hiding off-world technology. The program was never approved by DHS and its supporters never provided empirical evidence to support their claims.”
Interestingly, the Kona Blue report itself, on page 10, proposes the creation of an Advanced Technology Center that will “access recovered advanced technology and any earlier assessments to determine threat capability and any potential countermeasures…” And it also proposes collecting oral histories from retired personnel who can help located more.
Page 17 of the Kona Blue report includes a Key Objectives page that lists an Advancted Technology Threat Program (Kona Blue) which will have seven operational centers. Among these is Data Collection Center that will “develop Internet-based site(s) for advanced aerospace vehicle reporting” and “expand existing data warehouse (20,000 reports),” along with coordinating with local law enforcement.
It also discusses the Advanced Technology Center more and notes that it will “analyze recovered technology in collaboration with major aerospace and electronics Companies” and “set up protocols for obtaining access to materials newly acquired.”
On pages 18-19, the report asserts that UAP have been retrieved when it lists justifications for giving the program a SAP construct (a special classification.)
On page 20, the proposal also notes how it will use investigators to look into eyewitness cases involving “AAV technology” that were “less than 600 feet from witness” and left physical traces, electromagnetic effects, and physiological/pathological effects.
There’s also an interesting note on page 22 where they talk about collecting and analyzing records that include “all data from Low Earth Orbit (LEO), Lunar and Mars associated data (both historical and contemporary.)”
Then later on the same page, they note again that the Advanced Technology Center will establish a program to “gain access to and inventory all existing caches of Advanced Aerospace Vehicle (AAV) materials and documentation…”
Then on pages 25-26, they note that some people who had access to information about these programs before include “very senior individuals in the Executive Branch.”
AARO Insisted There Is No Firsthand Evidence of UAP Retrieval, But Other Officials Disagree
AARO’s Historical Records report went on to assert that the idea of a reverse-engineering program was “inaccurate” and consisted of “circular reporting from a group of individuals who believe this to be the case, despite the lack of any evidence. AARO notes that although claims that the USG has recovered and hidden spacecraft date back to the 1940s and 1950s, more modern instances of these claims largely stem from a consistent group of individuals who have been involved in various UAP-related endeavors since at least 2009.”
However, the report does not name Grusch or his 40+ firsthand witnesses. The Inspector General of the Intelligence Community found Grusch’s claims to be “credible and urgent.” And when the ICIG later presented some of those edetails to a classified congressional meeting in January 2024, the House members’ reactions were telling. Rep. Jared Moskowitz said: “Based on what we heard many of Grusch claims have merit!”
On page 24 of the historical record report, AARO noted that Kona was an attempt to support a DHS version of AAWSAP/AATIP after those programs were discontinued due to “lack of merit.” On page 34, the report notes that AAWSAP/AATIP was established to research 12 areas of cutting-edge science, but it also conducted paranormal research at a “property owned by the private sector organization.” Kona Blue was ultimately rejected.
AARO has been the subject of a lot of controversy recently. The former director, Sean Kirkpatrick, released scathing op/eds calling out members of the UFO community and openly questioning the claims of whistleblower David Grusch (without mentioning him by name.) In response, other officials and experts fired back at the op/eds with their own rebuttals. AARO’s Historical Records Report (Volume 1) also generated significant controversy, with many officials and experts claiming the report was incomplete and ignored some alarming UAP sightings and trends.
For example, Christopher Mellon, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, said he was astonished by Kirkpatrick’s claims that no firsthand whistleblowers had come to AARO.
I was astonished by one of the central claims made by Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick in his recent article in Scientific American blasting UAP 'conspiracists.' Specifically, his claim that: "As of the time of my departure, none, let me repeat, none of the conspiracy-minded 'whistleblowers'…
— Christopher K. Mellon (@ChrisKMellon) January 24, 2024
He wrote: “I’m baffled because, to assist his investigation, I introduced Dr. Kirkpatrick to the former Director of the AATIP program, Lue Elizondo, as well as Dr. Eric Davis and Dr. Hal Puthoff. Each of these prominent voices associated with the AATIP program spent hours briefing Dr. Kirkpatrick in a classified setting. None have received any feedback. Hopefully, the pending report to Congress on the alleged UAP recovery program will describe the specific claims made by these and dozens of other witnesses and what AARO did to evaluate them.”
In addition, Grusch himself said he went to the ICIG (Intelligence Community Inspector General) with more than 40 firsthand witnesses who had accountings of a secret retrieval program. And Sen. Marco Rubio has stated that he has spoken to firsthand witnesses himself who corroborated Grusch but feared for their own safety.
He told News Nation: “I will say there are people who have come forward to share information with our committee over the last couple of years. I would imagine some of them are potentially some of the same people that perhaps he’s (Grusch’s) referring to. I want to be very protective of these people…”
He added: “[They] have firsthand knowledge or firsthand claims of certain things. Some are public figures, you know, and we’ve heard from them in the past. Others, umm, you know, have not shared publicly… Some of these people still work in the government. And frankly a lot of them are very fearful: fearful of their jobs, fearful of their clearances, fearful of their career, and some frankly are fearful of harm coming to them.”
The unanswered questions left by the Kona Blue proposal still continue to haunt us to this day. And while AARO has said the case is closed, many experts who have access to firsthand witnesses believe there is much, much more to learn.
This work by Stephanie Dwilson is licensed under CC BY-ND 4.0
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Stephanie Dwilson is a licensed attorney and has a master's in science in science and technology journalism. She's known for her thorough, accurate reporting and commitment to journalistic integrity in all her work. You can reach her at writerdube@gmail.com.
