DOW-UAP-D079 is a memorandum for record issued by the Office of the Under Secretary of War, Intelligence and Security Division, dated 02 June 2026 and released as part of PURSUE Release 03 on June 12, 2026. It presents a free-form, first-hand narrative provided directly to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) by a witness identified only as Witness 1, a United States federal law enforcement special agent. The incident occurred over two days in October 2023 in a remote valley area of the western United States. 123
Provenance and Chain of Custody
The memorandum originates from the Office of the Under Secretary of War, 5000 Defense Pentagon, Washington, DC 20301-5000. It carries the classification UNCLASSIFIED and was prepared under the authority of Jon T. Kosloski, Director of AARO. The document references VIRIN 260508-D-D0360-1052, dated 08 May 2026, which ties the record to the PURSUE document management chain prior to its public release.
Witness 1 was one of several U.S. federal law enforcement special agents who reported UAP observations to AARO and agreed to provide accounts. This document captures the first of those accounts in narrative form as submitted directly by the witness. The record is assigned document identifier DOW-UAP-D079 within the Department of War UAP disclosure series. Its release on June 12, 2026 marks the first public exposure of the witness's account.
What the Document Contains
The document is a first-person narrative structured chronologically across the two observation nights. It describes five distinct sightings, all occurring on the second night, in a remote, quiet environment where acoustic conditions were favorable for detecting any associated sound. The witness was accompanied by a second team member for most observations, providing limited corroboration.
The account is notable for the specificity of observational detail it offers: estimated distances later verified by range finder, object dimensions, color, apparent internal structure, transparency effects, associated light phenomena, and the absence of sound at close range. The narrative reads as a field account rather than a formal report, which is consistent with AARO's stated practice of accepting free-form witness submissions.
First Night
On the first of the two nights, other teams in the same operational area reported unusual lights moving in groups at distances of several miles. Despite the theoretical visibility from Witness 1's hillside position, the witness was unable to confirm these reports due to line-of-sight constraints at the observation post.
Second Night: Five Sightings
All five sightings documented in the narrative occurred on the second night.
Sighting One (approximately 7:00 PM)
Just before 7 PM, while driving through the valley, the witness observed a large glowing ball approximately 90 degrees to the right of the vehicle's direction of travel. Initial estimation placed the object at 500-600 meters from the vehicle, but subsequent verification with a range finder established it at approximately 1,100 meters from the vehicle to the hillside behind it. The object appeared as a circle of light with a swirling pattern the witness described as resembling bright lava. It was clearly visible in dusk lighting conditions with well-defined edges, and no surrounding structure was visible that could explain how the light source was suspended or supported.
Viewed through binoculars, the witness noted what appeared to be a line or spindle below the object, possibly touching the hillside, though this detail could not be confirmed at that distance. The estimated diameter was 20 feet or more. No ground reflection or glow appeared on the hillside or ground surface beneath the object. After one to two minutes, the object became invisible without fading -- it simply ceased to be visible. No sound was heard at any point. The witness and team member continued driving before stopping and exiting the vehicle.
Sighting Two (approximately 20 minutes after first)
Roughly 20 minutes after the first sighting, the witness observed an orange light that illuminated the sky over the crest of a hillside several miles away. The light was visible for one to two seconds. Simultaneously, three red lights appeared to fly outward from the object, evenly spaced, moving quickly before disappearing. An additional bright flash appeared from over the horizon to the left, briefly illuminating the sky. The general character of the object matched the first sighting.
Sighting Three (approximately 20 minutes after second)
A third sighting occurred approximately 20 minutes after the second, in a direction slightly to the front and left of the witnesses' position. This orange ball was similar in appearance to the previous two but appeared at a different distance. The associated red lights in this event dispersed differently from the second sighting: one flew straight out, one flew horizontally upward, and one flew horizontally downward, suggesting a vertical dispersal pattern. A flash accompanied this event as well. All three aerial sightings shared consistent visual characteristics but occurred at varying distances.
Sighting Four (several hours after third)
Several hours after the third sighting, the witness and team member departed the location to drive to another site. During this drive, the witness observed what initially appeared to be a vehicle ahead on the road -- identified by the appearance of a broken taillight cover, one light red and one white, one round and one square. As the witness's vehicle closed the distance, an oncoming vehicle appeared. The object ahead changed direction and moved off the road to the right in a manner inconsistent with ground vehicle movement: it did not bounce or respond to terrain, it appeared to hover, and it kicked up no dust as it moved. Once positioned beside its original location on the road, the lights faced the same direction as before despite the witnesses' vehicle having moved relative to the object. When the witness stopped, the lights turned off, and a darker object was observed moving upward and away before flying off silently. The witness described the object's shape as reminding him of a Toyota Prius, though he was unable to identify it precisely. The hillside was approximately 200 meters away; when the object stopped, it was less than halfway to the base of that hillside.
Sighting Five (approximately one to two hours after fourth)
While stopped, the witness observed what appeared to be dust and thick, spider web-like material floating in front of the vehicle. The witness assessed this as likely the same object from the fourth sighting, now observed in a more vertical orientation from a different angle. Two light positions were visible -- one round and one square -- though not illuminated. The object's shape and edges were difficult to define. It was approximately 15-20 feet in the air. Most strikingly, the witness described the object as semi-transparent or translucent: he could see a star through the object, as well as the crest of the hill and vegetation behind it. He described the visual effect as "almost like looking at something through water where it was not completely clear." After this observation, the witness and team member continued to their destination without further incident that night.
Notable Observational Patterns
Across all five sightings, several characteristics recur consistently in the witness's account.
The objects were visually characterized as orange or glowing balls with apparent internal structure. Three of the aerial sightings were accompanied by red lights that dispersed outward and by bright flashes. No sound was detected during any event, despite the remote, quiet environment and in one case an apparent close-range approach. Objects demonstrated hovering capability, rapid disappearance without fading, and in one instance apparent directional changes without terrain interaction or dust disturbance. The fourth and fifth sightings, if they involve the same object, suggest a single object capable of appearing as a conventional vehicle at a distance, transitioning to hovering flight, and then presenting as a semi-transparent floating form at close range.
A second team member was present for most of the second night's observations, providing the potential for corroborating testimony not captured in this document.
What The Record Supports
This document establishes that a U.S. federal law enforcement special agent submitted a first-person account to AARO describing five distinct UAP observations during a two-day operation in the western United States in October 2023. The account was formally received by AARO, documented under identifier DOW-UAP-D079, and released through official Department of War channels as part of PURSUE Release 03.
The record supports the existence of the reported observations as a witness statement. It does not establish the physical nature, origin, or identity of the observed objects. The objects remain unidentified. The document does not contain sensor data, imagery, or independent corroborating records. The second team member referenced as present is not identified and has not provided a separate account in this document. Range-finder data for the first sighting is noted in the narrative but the instrument is not formally logged as evidence.
The transparency effect described in the fifth sighting, the absence of sound at close range across all events, the apparent non-terrain-responsive movement in the fourth sighting, and the consistent dispersal of associated red lights in the second and third sightings are the most operationally significant details in the account. All remain unresolved.