AARO Historical Record Report Volume 1 was publicly released by the Department of Defense on March 8, 2024 as the first historical-volume deliverable in AARO's congressionally directed review program.123
Origin and Publication Basis
The report identifies the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office as the producing office and places AARO's establishment on July 15, 2022 under the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security.2
Congress required a historical record report from AARO in the FY2023 NDAA, including a public release requirement for the unclassified portion within 540 days of enactment, creating the formal statutory origin for this publication track.3
Attributable Offices and Named Officials
The Department of Defense announced the report through a formal Pentagon statement issued by Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, which characterized Volume 1 as part of a phased historical review and noted that a second volume was planned.1
In official DoD media engagement, then-Acting AARO Director Tim Phillips briefed Volume 1 findings and described the office's interview-based historical reconstruction approach and ongoing witness intake for subsequent work.4
An earlier Senate Armed Services Subcommittee hearing record identified Dr. Sean M. Kirkpatrick, then AARO Director, as the official testifying lead on AARO's mission and methods before Volume 1 publication, documenting the office's public oversight context before the report's release.56
Evolution and Response Context
The Pentagon release and associated briefing positioned Volume 1 as a baseline historical product and explicitly framed Volume 2 as follow-on work, showing an iterative publication model rather than a one-time report event.14
Congress separately enacted a National Archives UAP records collection and review framework in the FY2024 NDAA, establishing a parallel disclosure channel that interacts with the same policy domain addressed by AARO's historical reporting stream.7
AARO's official congressional and press products page now catalogs the Historical Record Report Volume 1 alongside later annual reporting artifacts, showing how the March 2024 historical product became part of a continuing official publication series.8