Case · 2023–2026
AARO under Kirkpatrick: ignored MFR, missing laser file, Yankee Blue
Director as sole source, office as empty cabinet
Hume's AARO-accountability file. Kirkpatrick ignored questions on discrepancies in Gen. Sheehan's MFR. A WSJ story sourced to Kirkpatrick on a 1989 Russian laser investigation is unmatched by AARO records. Phillips denied Doty as Yankee Blue source (and said Yankee Black). Hume reads this as AARO distancing from its first director.
Findings
Each line is tagged as a FOIA outcome, something someone told Hume, open literature, a leak, or Hume's own reading. Do not treat the last as a document.
- 01Hume's reading
Sheehan MFR discrepancies: no engagement from Kirkpatrick.
- 02FOIA outcome
1989 laser investigation: press yes (Kirkpatrick), FOIA no (AARO).
- 03FOIA outcome
Yankee Blue/Black: AARO FOIA NCND on Doty; Phillips verbally denied an interview and called it Yankee Black.
- 04Hume's reading
Hume's aside on Kirkpatrick's religious worldview is labelled as his opinion, not a document finding.
Files
AARO records — 1989 Russian laser-weapon investigation
AARO claimed no record of any such investigation. Hume: the sole source is Dr K; AARO appears to be distancing from him.
Open record
Gen. Sheehan MFR to AARO — discrepancy notes
Kirkpatrick ignored the points. Hume's working theory: Kirkpatrick's worldview conflicts with NHI, which does not explain the ignore.
Open record
AARO / Phillips on Yankee Blue and Doty
AARO FOIA: neither confirm nor deny (Hume expected this for named-person requests). Separately, Tim Phillips told Hume that Doty was not interviewed and was not the source, and called the program Yankee Black.
Open record
Names
RG Hume
Independent FOIA researcher
UK researcher who files FOI/FOIA against MOD, DSTL, AARO, NNSA, DOE, FBI, CIA-adjacent holdings, EPA, CBP and police. Publishes as @rgh_ufos. Has said his name is on requests, has appeared in BBC and Mail Online, and was cited by Jesse Michels for the NNSA Starfish Prime response.
Tim Phillips
Deputy Director, AARO
Told Hume, in his official AARO capacity, that he had been briefed by the UK on 'mystery drones' and specifically on RAF Lakenheath. Hume's subsequent AARO FOIAs returned no records of those briefings. Phillips also denied to Hume that Richard Doty was interviewed for Yankee Blue.
Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick
Former director, AARO
Hume says Kirkpatrick ignored questions about discrepancies in Gen. Sheehan's MFR to AARO. A WSJ story citing Kirkpatrick on a 1989 Russian laser-weapon investigation is contradicted, Hume says, by AARO's claim of no such investigation records.
Richard Doty
Former AFOSI
Tim Phillips denied to Hume that Doty was interviewed by AARO or was the source of the USAF Yankee Blue (Phillips said 'Yankee Black') program.
Daniel Sheehan
Attorney
Hume joked about the shift from 'loose lips Sheehan' to tight-lipped, and noted a Greer Disclosure Project witness who claimed to remember a young BRI on a Navy vessel during a UFO sighting.
Agencies
Source posts
Public posts by @rgh_ufos. Open may be blocked inside this preview — copy the URL and paste it in a new tab.
- 2026-08-28
Their source for that article is Dr. Kirkpatrick but when I asked AARO about this 1989 Russian laser weapon investigation they claimed they had no record