James Mattis

James Mattis, also known by his nickname "Mad Dog," is a retired United States Marine Corps general who served as the 26th Secretary of Defense. During his tenure, Luis Elizondo and Christopher Mellon made a concerted effort to brief him on the findings of the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) and the national security implications of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP).¹

Relationship with Luis Elizondo

Elizondo first met General Mattis in 2001 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, where Elizondo was serving as the counterintelligence coordinating authority. Elizondo became one of Mattis's off-the-books intelligence advisors, and he developed a deep respect for Mattis's leadership and character. He describes Mattis as a "warrior monk" who was both a battle-hardened commander and a thoughtful scholar.¹

Attempts to Brief on UAP

In 2017, after Christopher Mellon was briefed on the AATIP program, he and Luis Elizondo made it a top priority to get the information to Secretary Mattis. They believed that if Mattis was aware of the facts, he would take the UAP issue seriously. However, their efforts were repeatedly stonewalled by the Pentagon bureaucracy and the gatekeepers in the Secretary's office. These individuals were hesitant to bring such a controversial topic to the new Secretary of Defense, fearing it would create a political firestorm.¹

This inability to penetrate the bureaucratic wall and brief Secretary Mattis was a major factor in Elizondo's decision to resign from the Pentagon. In his resignation letter, he directly addressed Mattis, hoping to spur him to action. According to Elizondo, Mattis was not made aware of the UAP issue or Elizondo's resignation until the New York Times was about to publish its story on AATIP in December 2017.¹