Christopher K. Mellon

Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence (1997-2002), 1988–2004 (government); 2017–present (TTSA / advocacy)

Case File

Background

Christopher Mellon served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence under both the Clinton and Bush administrations (1997-2002), and as minority Staff Director of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence before and after that role. He held oversight responsibility for the most sensitive U.S. intelligence programs and possessed the institutional knowledge and access to assess what the government does and does not know about UAP. In 2017 he joined Tom DeLonge's To The Stars Academy alongside Luis Elizondo and Hal Puthoff, and is widely credited with obtaining and facilitating the public release of the Nimitz FLIR1, Gimbal, and GoFast videos through the December 2017 New York Times investigation. Since then, he has been the most credentialed and persistent advocate for UAP transparency legislation in Washington, working directly with Senate and House members to draft what became the UAP Disclosure Act of 2023. Unlike most public UAP figures, his claims are grounded in direct access to government intelligence structures he personally supervised.

Service Period

1988–2004 (government); 2017–present (TTSA / advocacy)

Clearance

Top Secret / SCI (active during government service; held positions overseeing most sensitive U.S. intelligence programs)

Organizations

Office of the Secretary of Defense - Intelligence · Senate Select Committee on Intelligence · To The Stars Academy of Arts and Science · UAP Disclosure Coalition

Roles

Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence (1997-2002)Staff Director, Senate Select Committee on IntelligenceSenior National Security Affairs Advisor, To The Stars AcademyUAP Legislation Advocate

Education

›B.A. - Yale University (1982)
›Graduate of the Carnegie Mellon family background (Mellon Bank / Gulf Oil dynasty)

Career Background

›Senate Select Committee on Intelligence - minority staff and later staff director roles
›Appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence (1997) by Secretary William Cohen
›Served under both Clinton and Bush administrations in the same DASD role
›Oversaw Defense HUMINT Service, DIA, and classified SAP oversight functions
›Returned to Senate Intelligence Committee after Pentagon tenure; advised on intelligence community reform post-9/11

Key Events

1982Graduates Yale University; begins Washington career

1988Joins Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in progressively senior staff roles, including minority staff director (1993-1997)

1997Appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence; oversees Defense intelligence agencies and black programs including DIA, Defense HUMINT Service, and Special Access Programs

2002Concludes DASD role; returns to Congressional intelligence work following 9/11 Commission era restructuring

c. 2015Begins private engagement with military UAP evidence through contacts in the intelligence and defense communities; concludes the U.S. has non-human craft in its possession

2017Joins To The Stars Academy as Senior National Security Affairs Advisor alongside Luis Elizondo and Dr. Hal Puthoff; becomes the organization's primary Washington policy interface

Dec 2017New York Times 'Glowing Auras and Black Money' investigation published; Mellon credited with obtaining and facilitating release of Nimitz FLIR1, Gimbal, and GoFast videos to the Times and TTSA

Jan 2018Writes Washington Post op-ed 'The Military Keeps Encountering UFOs - Why Won't the Pentagon Investigate?' calling for formal government investigation

2019Pentagon formally confirms Nimitz FLIR1, Gimbal, and GoFast videos are authentic Navy recordings; validates Mellon and Elizondo's public disclosure strategy

2020Works with Senators Marco Rubio and Kirsten Gillibrand and House Intelligence Committee staff to embed UAP reporting requirements into NDAA legislation; UAP Task Force provision passes

2022Actively drafts legislative framework with Congressional staff that becomes the foundation of the UAP Disclosure Act; coordinates with David Grusch's attorney on whistleblower protection

Jul 2023Behind-the-scenes coordination for the House Oversight Committee UAP hearing featuring Grusch, Graves, Fravor, and Nell; provides Congressional member briefings

Dec 2023UAP Disclosure Act passes Senate NDAA authorization; subsequently stripped in House-Senate conference committee despite Mellon's advocacy

2024Continues legislative advocacy; publishes analysis on Substack and ChrisMellon.net detailing specific suspected UAP program budget line items and oversight failures

Cross-References

Research Publications

The Invisible Danger: Why UAP Are a National Security Priority

Luis Elizondo, Christopher Mellon · The Hill · 2020