Jay Stratton

Background

John F. Stratton Jr., known publicly as Jay Stratton, grew up in a working-class East Texas oil town. He joined the U.S. Army at age 17 while still in high school and later served in the Air Force Reserve. His early military career included deployments and progressed through enlisted and commissioned roles across Army and Air Force units. These steps established a foundation in operational environments before he shifted focus toward technical and intelligence functions. Public records place his initial service period in the late stages of the Cold War era, though exact enlistment and discharge dates remain limited to personnel summaries. The transition from active duty to reserve status allowed continuity in skills that later aligned with aerospace and defense analysis positions.

Stratton transitioned to federal civil service and held technical positions including aerospace engineer at Naval Air Systems Command and flight test roles. He worked at ManTech International as a senior weapons systems engineer before advancing into intelligence analysis positions supporting the Office of the Secretary of Defense and Joint Staff. These assignments emphasized systems evaluation and engineering support rather than direct operational command. Documentation from Navy and defense contractor listings confirms progression through these technical billets without reference to specialized anomaly programs at that stage. The roles provided exposure to sensor data handling and platform performance metrics that proved relevant in subsequent intelligence work.

By the mid-2000s Stratton had moved to the Defense Intelligence Agency where he served as Chief of Air and Space Warfare in the Defense Warning Office. In this role he reviewed classified footage from the 2004 Nimitz carrier strike group encounters, later known as the Tic Tac incident, marking his initial documented involvement with UAP reporting. Official Navy videos and sensor logs formed the basis of that review, separate from any origin conclusions. The footage itself underwent standard intelligence assessment protocols focused on threat identification rather than identification of non-human sources. No public release of Stratton's specific analytical notes from this period has occurred.

Stratton contributed to the Defense Intelligence Agency's AAWSAP program starting around 2009, which evolved into AATIP. He maintained continuity across these efforts while rising through intelligence ranks and serving as a senior advisor to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy on related technical matters. Program records list him among participants in contract oversight and data collection coordination. These activities centered on aerospace threat characterization drawn from existing reporting channels. Public statements later distinguished the administrative and analytical functions from any physical evidence handling.

In September 2018 Stratton entered the Senior Executive Service at the Office of Naval Intelligence. He held positions including Director of Intelligence at the Joint Warfare Analysis Center and senior analyst roles at the Nimitz Operational Intelligence Center, delivering intelligence products to Navy leadership. These billets involved standard operational intelligence production and analytic support to fleet commands. Service announcements and personnel directories record the SES appointment and subsequent assignments without linkage to public UAP announcements at the time.

Following the August 2020 Department of Defense announcement establishing the UAP Task Force under Navy cognizance, Stratton was designated its first director. He built the interagency team, standardized reporting protocols across services, and coordinated collection efforts involving agencies such as the FBI, NASA, and FAA. Task force outputs consisted of classified briefings and data aggregation procedures rather than resolved case determinations. Congressional and Pentagon records confirm the establishment date and leadership designation but contain no declassified findings attributed directly to his tenure.

Stratton led the task force through 2021 and into 2022, overseeing production of classified briefings for Pentagon and congressional audiences. The unit received a National Intelligence Meritorious Unit Citation in late 2024 for its coordination work, though Stratton had already retired by then. Retirement occurred in early 2022 after more than 32 years of combined service. Official announcements note the length of service but provide no further detail on specific UAP task force products beyond the existence of the unit itself.

Stratton retired from government service in early 2022. In May 2022 Radiance Technologies announced his hiring as an intelligence strategy subject matter expert, a role he continues to hold as of November 2026. He published the memoir Out of the Shadows on October 13, 2026, and gave interviews promoting its claims. The book states personal observation of non-human craft and beings alongside an account from an unnamed source describing a 1947 Roswell recovery. These statements remain separate from the sensor data reviews conducted during government service, with no accompanying official documentation released to substantiate the 2026 assertions.

Where They Are Now

Stratton retired from government service in early 2022. In May 2022 Radiance Technologies announced his hiring as an intelligence strategy subject matter expert, a role he continues to hold as of November 2026.

He published the memoir Out of the Shadows on October 13, 2026, and gave interviews promoting its claims. No further government or official UAP program positions have been documented since retirement.

Last updated 7 November 2026

Sources

• Pentagon’s UFO Hunter Reveals Himself and What He Learned (People.com)

  Supports retirement in 2022, UAPTF directorship, memoir publication October 2026, and personal claims about sightings and Roswell account.

• Jay Stratton profile (The Info Web)

  Supports detailed career timeline, SES role at ONI, DIA positions, and UAPTF leadership with primary references to Navy biographies and DoD announcements.

• Former Pentagon UAP Chief Jay Stratton Says the U.S. Holds Non-Human Craft (The Ancient Sky)

  Supports distinction between firsthand video reviews and secondhand claims, lack of released documents, and post-retirement private sector status.