entity

Alex Dietrich

Also known as: Dietrich, Lieutenant Junior Grade Dietrich

Facts (16)

Sources

How the Pentagon learned to start worrying and investigate UFOs nationalgeographic.com National Geographic Jun 25, 2021 16 facts

accountLieutenant Junior Grade Dietrich's weapons systems operator (WSO) also observed the unidentified object on November 14, 2004, and communicated the sighting over the radio.

quoteAlex Dietrich, a former Navy pilot who observed a UAP in 2004, stated: "We were ridiculed and mocked by so many, so now it feels nice to have people ask good questions and to have them really be interested in getting to the bottom of it."

accountCmdr. David Fravor, Lt. Cmdr. Jim Slaight, Lt. Cmdr. Chad Underwood, and an unidentified aviator launched Super Hornets to investigate the airspace where Lieutenant Junior Grade Dietrich had encountered an unidentified object.

claimSince 2004, retired U.S. Navy lieutenant commander and former F/A-18 pilot Alex Dietrich has been requested to deliver briefings on UAP/UFO sightings to government officials at least once a year.

claimDuring presidential turnovers, Pentagon officials requested that Alex Dietrich brief new administrations, including senior-level naval intelligence officials.

measurementThe unidentified object observed by Lieutenant Junior Grade Dietrich on November 14, 2004, moved at approximately 500 knots (575 mph) while skimming 500 to 1,000 feet above the waves.

claimAlex Dietrich noted that there is no official checklist box for UFOs within the Pentagon's briefing procedures.

accountIn 2004, the personal and professional stigma associated with reporting UFOs prevented the U.S. Navy from gathering more evidence on a specific UAP encounter, according to Dietrich.

quoteAlex Dietrich stated, "It was a total pain in the ass," regarding the frequency of requests to brief government officials on UAP/UFO sightings.

perspectiveDietrich aims to end the stigma associated with pilots reporting strange aerial phenomena.

accountDietrich identified herself as a UAP witness on the record for the first time shortly before her retirement in May 2021.

accountOn November 14, 2004, Lieutenant Junior Grade Dietrich, a pilot, observed an oblong object hovering over the water while flying an F/A-18 Super Hornet off the coast of California near Catalina Island.

accountDietrich retired from the United States Navy as a lieutenant commander in May 2021.

quoteDietrich stated regarding a 2004 UAP encounter: 'I get pissed because if it wasn’t ours, then why didn’t we take advantage of the fact that we had eyeballs on? We had FLIR [forward looking infrared cameras] on it. We knew we could intercept it in multiple ways. Why didn't we … redirect our attention and our assets and our sensors into that airspace and get more evidence?'

accountDietrich served as an ethics professor at the United States Naval Academy in Maryland for more than six years prior to her retirement in May 2021.

quoteDietrich stated: "I think that is one of the underpinning serious questions. If we know it’s out there, and it’s not ours, we are not left with a lot of options that are positive."