Service Period
2009–2023
Clearance
Top Secret / SCI with Special Access Program (SAP) access
David Grusch is a former Air Force intelligence officer and NRO veteran who served as the NRO's representative to the DoD UAP Task Force from 2019 to 2021. In May 2022 he filed a Disclosure of Urgent Concern with the Intelligence Community Inspector General, alleging the U.S. government operates a multi-decade crash retrieval and reverse engineering program concealed from Congress. The ICIG deemed his complaint 'credible and urgent.' He testified under oath before the House Oversight Committee on July 26, 2023, alongside Ryan Graves and David Fravor - the most significant public UAP congressional hearing in decades.
Education
- ›B.S. Physics - University of Pittsburgh (2009)
- ›M.A. Intelligence Studies - American Military University (2012)
- ›Air Force Intelligence Officer training - Goodfellow AFB
- ›Advanced coursework in orbital mechanics and space operations
Organizations
Career Timeline
Graduates University of Pittsburgh with B.S. in Physics; begins Air Force career
Completes M.A. in Intelligence Studies at American Military University
Joins National Reconnaissance Office; leads Intelligence Integration Division for Space Security and Defense Program
Promoted to senior intelligence officer on NRO Director's briefing team; manages SAP portfolios; coordinates presidential-level intelligence products
Detailed to DoD UAP Task Force as NRO representative; begins identifying relevant SAP and CAP compartments related to UAP programs
Moves to National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA) as Senior Technical Advisor; serves as agency co-lead for UAP and trans-medium object analysis; liaisons with AARO
Files Disclosure of Urgent Concern and Complaint of Reprisal with IC Inspector General Thomas Monheim; complaint deemed 'credible and urgent'; congressional intelligence committees notified
DoD Office of Prepublication and Security Review clears his public statements for publication
Departs government service; joins Sol Foundation as Chief Operating Officer
The Debrief publishes Leslie Kean and Ralph Blumenthal investigation featuring Grusch on the record - first public identification by name
NewsNation airs first televised interview with journalist Ross Coulthart
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Mike Rounds introduce UAP Disclosure Act as NDAA amendment, directly in response to Grusch's disclosures
Testifies under oath before House Oversight Subcommittee on National Security, Border, and Foreign Affairs alongside Ryan Graves and David Fravor
House members request detailed ICIG briefing on Grusch's allegations
ICIG Thomas Monheim conducts closed-door House briefing on UAP reporting transparency
Pentagon's AARO releases Historical Record Report Vol. 1 - formally disputes Grusch's claims; concludes no verified evidence of off-world craft or recovered remains
National Archives publishes agency guidance for UAP records collection and review, a direct result of legislative provisions tied to Grusch's testimony
PURSUE Release 2 includes ODNI-UAP-D001 — a first-person account from a currently serving senior USIC official describing direct UAP encounters near a sensitive U.S. military facility in late 2025 (glowing orbs, a high-speed object that split in two and accelerated in separate directions, orbs approaching within 10 feet of a helicopter). The document follows the USPER (U.S. Person Report) institutional pathway that Grusch helped establish through his ICIG disclosures and is the first ODNI-sourced UAP primary account in the public domain.
Cross-References
Related Documented Cases
PANTEX Plant UAP Incident (Date Unknown)
Tier 2Date unknown (incident date fully redacted in source document) · Pantex Plant, Amarillo, Texas
Malmstrom AFB ICBM Shutdown Incidents
Tier 2March 16 and March 24, 1967 · Echo and Oscar Flight Launch Control Facilities, 341st Strategic Missile Wing, Malmstrom AFB, Montana
Magenta UFO Crash - Italy 1933
Tier 2June 1933 · Magenta, Lombardy, Italy - approximately 30 km west of Milan
2023 Western U.S. Orbs Launching Orbs
Tier 22023-2025 · Western United States (multiple classified test sites and federal law enforcement jurisdictions)
DOW-UAP-D14: Iraq UAP Mission Report
Tier 2May 2022 · Iraq (specific coordinates not publicly released)
DOW-UAP-PR051: Syrian UAP Instant Acceleration (2021)
Tier 12021 · Syria, USCENTCOM Area of Responsibility
ODNI-UAP-D001: Western U.S. Range USIC Encounter (Late 2025)
Tier 2Late 2025 · Western U.S. weapons testing range (specific facility redacted)
Fifth-Generation Aircraft UAP — NORTHCOM — January 20, 2023
Tier 2January 20, 2023 · NORTHCOM area of operations — United States
Related Primary Documents
Wilson-Davis Memo
October 16, 2002 · intelligence report
UAP Task Force Preliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena
June 25, 2021 · government report
AARO Historical Record Report Volume 1
March 8, 2024 · government report
National Defense Authorization Act FY2023 - UAP Provisions (Sections 1671-1683)
December 23, 2022 · legislation
Robertson Panel Report: Scientific Advisory Panel on Unidentified Flying Objects (1953)
January 14-18, 1953 · intelligence report
AARO Historical Record Report Volume 2
July 2024 · government assessment
National Defense Authorization Act FY2024 - UAP Provisions
December 22, 2023 · legislation
2024 Annual Report on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena
March 2024 · government report
Grusch IC Inspector General Complaint
April 2023 · whistleblower complaint
CRS Report: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (2022)
2021-2022 · government report
Grusch ICIG Whistleblower Determination
April 2023 (transmitted to Congress July 2023) · whistleblower complaint
UAP Disclosure Act of 2023
July 13, 2023 · legislation
PURSUE Release 1 — UAP Declassified Files Corpus (May 2026)
May 8, 2026 · government report
DOW-UAP-D14: Mission Report — Iraq, May 2022
May 2022 · government report
NASA-UAP-D5: Apollo 17 Crew Debriefing for Science (1973)
January 8, 1973 · mission debriefing
NASA-UAP-D6: Apollo 17 Technical Crew Debriefing (1973)
January 4, 1973 · mission debriefing
State Dept Cable: UFOs Over Georgia - Strange Encounters of an MFA Kind (2001)
October 30, 2001 · diplomatic cable
State Dept Cable: Turkmenistan, Civil Society and UFOs (2004)
November 12, 2004 · diplomatic cable
State Dept Cable: Mexico Weekly Political Blotter - Mexican Congress Hears Testimony on Alien Life (2023)
September 16, 2023 · diplomatic cable
NARA RG255: Gemini 7 UFO Sighting by Borman - Tape T-00763 Transcript (1965)
December 1965 · mission transcript
NARA RG38: Navy UAP Incident Summaries 1-100 (1947-1948)
July 1947 - early 1948 · government investigation report
NARA RG38: Navy UAP Incident Summaries 101-172 (1946-1948)
February 1946 - late 1948 · government investigation report
NARA RG38: Navy UAP Incident Summaries 173-233 with Photographic Attachments (1947-1950)
July 1947 - early 1950 · government investigation report
NARA RG18: Army Air Forces Flying Disc Investigation - Twining Letter and Project Sign Genesis (1947)
August - December 1947 · government investigation report
NARA RG18: Army Air Forces Flying Disc Investigation - 1948 Operations (Hobson Ohio, Horten Brothers, Fighter Alert)
February - June 1948 · government investigation report
NARA RG341: USAFE TOP SECRET - Swedish Air Intelligence on Flying Saucers (1948)
November 4, 1948 · intelligence report
NARA RG59: Gen. Samford - Credible Observers Reporting the Incredible (1952)
July 28, 1952 · policy memorandum
NARA RG59: NASA - Thoughts on the Space Alien Race Question (1963)
July 18, 1963 · policy memorandum
DOW-UAP-PR20: USCENTCOM MDR Recommendation to AARO (October 2025)
October 8, 2025 · government recommendation
NARA RG331: SHAEF Foo Fighter Reports - 415th Night Fighter Squadron (1944-1945)
December 1944 - March 1945 · military incident report
DOW-UAP-D3: Mission Report — Arabian Gulf, 2020
2020 · government report
DOW-UAP-D4: Mission Report — Arabian Gulf, 2020
2020 · government report
DOW-UAP-D5: Mission Report — Arabian Gulf, 2020
2020 · government report
DOW-UAP-D6: Mission Report — Arabian Gulf, 2020
2020 · government report
DOW-UAP-D7: Mission Report — Arabian Gulf, 2020
2020 · government report
DOW-UAP-D10: Mission Report — Middle East, May 2022
May 2022 · government report
DOW-UAP-D12: Mission Report — Iraq, May 2022
May 2022 · government report
DOW-UAP-D16: Mission Report — Syria, July 2022
July 2022 · government report
DOW-UAP-D18: Mission Report — Iraq, December 2022
December 2022 · government report
DOW-UAP-D19: Mission Report — Syria, February 2023
February 2023 · government report
DOW-UAP-D20: Mission Report — Iraq, 2023
2023 · government report
DOW-UAP-D23: Mission Report — United Arab Emirates, October 2023
October 2023 · government report
DOW-UAP-D33: Mission Report — Greece, October 2023
October 2023 · government report
DOW-UAP-D35: Mission Report — Greece, October 2023
October 2023 · government report
DOW-UAP-D74: Mission Report — Syria, November 2023
November 2023 · government report
DOW-UAP-D32: Mission Report — Syria, October 2024
October 2024 · government report
DOW-UAP-D54: Mission Report — Mediterranean Sea
Undated · government report
DOW-UAP-D56: Range Fouler Debrief — Arabian Sea, August 2020
August 2020 · government report
DOW-UAP-D58: Range Fouler Debrief — October 2020
October 2020 · government report
DOW-UAP-D57: Mission Report — Gulf of Aden, September 2020
September 2020 · government report
DOW-UAP-D75: Mission Report — Gulf of Aden, July 2024
July 2024 · government report
DOW-UAP-D60: Mission Report — Persian Gulf, August 2020
August 2020 · government report
DOW-UAP-D61: Mission Report — Persian Gulf, August 2020
August 2020 · government report
DOW-UAP-D65: Mission Report — Persian Gulf, July 2020
July 2020 · government report
DOW-UAP-D62: Mission Report — Strait of Hormuz, September 2020
September 2020 · government report
DOW-UAP-D63: Mission Report — Strait of Hormuz, October 2020
October 2020 · government report
PURSUE Release 2 — CIA, DOE, ODNI UAP Files Corpus (May 2026)
May 22, 2026 · government report
ODNI-UAP-D001: USPER Narrative — Senior U.S. Intelligence Community Member
Late 2025 (incident); May 22, 2026 (release) · government report
Western U.S. Event: AARO Summary of Seven Federal Witness Statements (2023)
2023 (incident); May 8, 2026 (release) · government report
DOW-UAP-PR051: Syrian UAP Instant Acceleration (2021)
2021 · video