Jay Stratton

Jay Stratton is a retired U.S. Navy senior intelligence officer who led the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force (UAPTF) and participated in nearly every government UAP effort of the modern era, from AAWSAP-era investigations through AATIP's informal years to the Task Force's creation. In 2025 he surfaced as chief investigator of Skywatcher, the private venture fronted by Jake Barber.

Stratton served in naval intelligence and at the Defense Intelligence Agency, with the Nimitz-era casework and Skinwalker-adjacent investigations threading his career, per the accounts in Skinwalkers at the Pentagon, where he appears under the pseudonym "Axelrod."

He visited Skinwalker Ranch during the AAWSAP years and, per the book, experienced anomalies there; worked UAP analysis in the 2010s alongside Luis Elizondo's circle; and led the UAPTF from its 2020 establishment, overseeing the collection behind the 2021 ODNI assessment and briefing Congress. After retiring, he joined Radiance Technologies, then emerged with Skywatcher in January 2025, saying the team could detect and interact with UAP using proprietary methods, and lending the venture his official credibility.

Stratton has said publicly that he has seen things he cannot explain and that the phenomenon is real; his Task Force role makes him one of the few named officials with full-spectrum access across the modern record. His contribution is that record. The Skywatcher claims, summoning included, remain undemonstrated publicly, and the venture went quiet through 2025-26.

Skeptics ask why career insiders' post-government ventures monetize mysteries they could not resolve with classified resources, and Skywatcher's undelivered promises sharpen the question. Supporters answer that insiders leaving to speak is what disclosure looks like, and that Stratton's reputation among colleagues remains strong.

Stratton's public profile runs through Skywatcher's uncertain status as of 2026; he remains a sought witness for congressional efforts.