Declassified Briefing Reveals Senior Military Leaders Tracked UFOs and Trump's Tweets in 2018

A recently declassified Department of Defense document, "Morning News of Note – 11 March 2018," offers a rare glimpse into the daily intelligence briefings provided to senior military leadership, including the Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force, General Stephen W. Wilson. While the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request specifically sought UAP-related communications, the released records primarily showcase a routine news aggregation product. This unclassified briefing, prepared by OSD Public Affairs Research and Analysis, compiled major national security and geopolitical news from mainstream media outlets for top defense officials.

The document highlights the breadth of information consumed by senior leaders, ranging from global conflicts and aircraft safety to presidential social media. Notably, it includes a dedicated "Tweets of Note" section, reproducing verbatim posts from President Donald Trump and other cabinet officials on topics such as North Korean diplomacy and trade tensions. This inclusion underscores the normalization of presidential tweets as official signals warranting attention at the highest levels of the Department of Defense. The briefing also covered critical Air Force operational issues, including an "unprecedented spike" in cockpit oxygen incidents affecting T-6A trainer aircraft, reflecting ongoing concerns about aviation safety and training.

Despite the FOIA request's focus on UAPs, the document does not contain internal discussions on the topic from General Wilson. However, it significantly reveals that mainstream media coverage of unidentified aerial phenomena was being monitored and circulated to senior defense officials as early as March 2018. Specifically, a Washington Post opinion piece by Christopher Mellon, titled "The Pentagon isn’t taking UFOs seriously enough," was included in the digest. This demonstrates that UAP-related media commentary was part of the information environment presented to military leadership, even in the absence of internal classified analysis or direct commentary.