Government / Military

Thomas Wilson

1997-04-01what this date marks is not recorded

Vice Admiral and Deputy Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency for the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1997; the subject of the 2002 "Wilson-Davis memo," which describes him privately investigating an alleged crash-retrieval program. Wilson has categorically denied ever meeting Davis or discussing any such program, calling it "pure fiction." After retiring from the Navy in 2002, he served as President of ATK Missile Systems and in several other senior executive roles at defense contractor Alliant Techsystems (ATK) until 2009.

In the UAP recordRuled into the unidentified-phenomena thread on 2 September 2026 from this entity's own name and role text, which contain: "crash-retriev". An editorial classification of what thread this entity belongs to; it rests on no page and does not claim to. Neighbours were not used - see apply-subjects-2026-09-02.mjs for why.

None of this entity's 14 connections has a source you can open. 10 are bound to a document this project holds and quotes but cannot republish, so they do not count above. 1 carries no citation at all. 1 was tested against a document we hold and deliberately not bound.

1 note on how this record was made

Documents1 behind a connection

Documents behind a connection

EWD Notes - Eric Davis meeting with Adm. Wilson, 16 October 2002 2002-10-16

14 connections

ColourWhistleblowersJournalistsContractorsScientistsGovernment

← Eric Davis attached, not counted

EWD Notes - Eric Davis meeting with Adm. Wilson, 16 October 2002

This map says

wrote a memo on their meeting; Wilson denies it happened

The document says

EWD NOTES. 10/16/02. Eric Davis Meeting with Adm. Wilson. ... We sit in his car in back of EG&G building. Talk until 11:20 A.M.

EWD Notes - Eric Davis meeting with Adm. Wilson, 16 October 2002, 2002
printed p. 1 · read off the page footer
rendered and read by eye — the grade this project quotes from

Caveat ADM. THOMAS WILSON DENIES THAT THIS MEETING TOOK PLACE. This link is sourced to what these private notes record, not to anything established. The document is marked support:false and is not counted toward this project's sourcing figure.
→ Wilson-Davis Memo (2002) attached, not counted

same document as the row above

This map says

the retired DIA deputy director whose account the notes record - which he denies

The document says

TW: Hello! The minute I saw your (EWD) resume, US Uniformed Services ID copy, AF orders and physics paper Rich gave, I knew who you were.

EWD Notes - Eric Davis meeting with Adm. Wilson, 16 October 2002, 2002
printed p. 1 · read off the page footer
rendered and read by eye — the grade this project quotes from

Caveat ADM. THOMAS WILSON DENIES THAT THIS MEETING TOOK PLACE. This link is sourced to what these private notes record, not to anything established. The document is marked support:false and is not counted toward this project's sourcing figure. OFFICE CORRECTED 30 August 2026. This read "the retired DIA deputy director". Wilson was DIRECTOR of the Defense Intelligence Agency from July 1999 to July 2002 - Defense Intelligence Agency, "Directors of DIA - VADM Thomas R. Wilson, USN" (dia.mil), read 30 August 2026 - and had retired three months before the October 2002 meeting these notes record. The earlier wording gave him his 1997 standing at a 2002 meeting. HIS DENIAL IS UNCHANGED AND IS THE POINT: Wilson denies the meeting and its contents, and this link asserts only that the notes record an account attributed to him.
→ Patrick Hughes attached, not counted

same document as the row above

This map says

deputy DIA director / J-2 under DIA director Patrick Hughes

The document says

(TW was Deputy Director DIA/Assistant Joint Chief of Staff J-2 at time; boss was Director DIA Gen. Patrick Hughes)

EWD Notes - Eric Davis meeting with Adm. Wilson, 16 October 2002, 2002
printed p. 7 · read off the page footer
rendered and read by eye — the grade this project quotes from

Caveat ADM. THOMAS WILSON DENIES THAT THIS MEETING TOOK PLACE. This link is sourced to what these private notes record, not to anything established. The document is marked support:false and is not counted toward this project's sourcing figure. THE TITLE ON THIS LINK IS NOT SOURCED, AND IS DELIBERATELY LEFT AS IT STANDS. What IS sourced: Patrick Hughes was Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency 1996-99, so in 1997 - the period the Wilson-Davis memo describes - Wilson was junior to him. That relationship is the claim this link makes and it holds. What is NOT sourced: that Wilson's post was "Deputy Director of DIA". No source found establishes he ever held that title; the posts attributable to him below flag rank are Joint Staff posts - Vice Director of Intelligence, and Director of Intelligence (J2) - which is a different organisation, and no dates were found for either. Checked 30 August 2026. Replacing one unsourced title with another would read as a correction and be a guess, so the wording stands and this caveat says why.
→ SAPOC (SAP Oversight Committee) attached, not counted

same document as the row above

This map says

per the memo, was allegedly refused access to a crash-retrieval SAP gated by this oversight committee (Wilson denies the account)

The document says

They told me of a special projects record group not belonging to usual SAP - a special subset of the unacknowledged/carve-outs/waived programs - not belonging to usual SAP divisions as organized in '94 by Perry himself - set apart from rest but buried/covered by conventional SAPs

EWD Notes - Eric Davis meeting with Adm. Wilson, 16 October 2002, 2002
printed p. 7 · read off the page footer
rendered and read by eye — the grade this project quotes from

Caveat the same caveat as above governs this connection
→ Michael Kostelnik attached, not counted

same document as the row above

This map says

the memo says Wilson traced the alleged crash-retrieval SAP to Kostelnik's special-programs office

The document says

TW: Uh, was Paul Kaminski - talked to both Paul and Mike Kostelnik (a Brig. General) ... TW: So found the unusual record group - read the index abstracts.

EWD Notes - Eric Davis meeting with Adm. Wilson, 16 October 2002, 2002
printed p. 7 · read off the page footer
rendered and read by eye — the grade this project quotes from

Caveat the same caveat as above governs this connection
→ William Perry attached, not counted

same document as the row above

This map says

the memo claims Perry wanted the program's unusually high security budget investigated and was himself told to drop it

The document says

Talked to Mike who said it was like 2-3 times the program budget, but there were times when it went as high as 6-7 times core budget, thought it was absurdly high, said Perry wanted investigation on that but was told to drop it.

EWD Notes - Eric Davis meeting with Adm. Wilson, 16 October 2002, 2002
printed p. 7 · read off the page footer
rendered and read by eye — the grade this project quotes from

Caveat the same caveat as above governs this connection
← Will Miller attached, not counted

same document as the row above

This map says

per the memo, allegedly first told Wilson about the crash-retrieval program (1997)

The document says

After group broke up, Miller/Wilson talked (privately) 2 hours on UFOs, MJ-12, Roswell, crashed UFOs/alien bodies, etc. ... TW: Yes, Miller asked the question on MJ-12/UFO cabal - crashed UFO.

EWD Notes - Eric Davis meeting with Adm. Wilson, 16 October 2002, 2002
printed p. 1 · read off the page footer
rendered and read by eye — the grade this project quotes from

Caveat the same caveat as above governs this connection
← Oke Shannon attached, not counted

same document as the row above

This map says

per the memo, allegedly vouched for Davis to Adm. Wilson

The document says

TW: Gave deep serious thought - recalled Oke's call in '99. Oke really supported me (EWD) - had good arguments.

EWD Notes - Eric Davis meeting with Adm. Wilson, 16 October 2002, 2002
printed p. 5 · read off the page footer

Caveat the same caveat as above governs this connection
← H. Marshal Ward attached, not counted

same document as the row above

This map says

the Wilson-Davis memo says Ward allegedly advised Wilson to search the OUSDAT reference-group files (1997)

The document says

Suggestion came from Ward (Gen. M. Ward) to go through the records groups files (like an index system) in OUSDAT (Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology)

EWD Notes - Eric Davis meeting with Adm. Wilson, 16 October 2002, 2002
printed p. 7 · read off the page footer
rendered and read by eye — the grade this project quotes from

Caveat the same caveat as above governs this connection
← Mary Elizabeth Elliot attached, not counted

same document as the row above

This map says

the memo records Wilson's feedback that she sounds like the real deal

The document says

TW: Feedback - Mary Elliot sounds like real deal based on her info and behavior with attorney (Jeffrey W. Griffith) - Probably will only come totally clean on her deathbed 30 years from now.

EWD Notes - Eric Davis meeting with Adm. Wilson, 16 October 2002, 2002
printed p. 15 · read off the page footer
rendered and read by eye — the grade this project quotes from

Caveat the same caveat as above governs this connection
→ Christopher Mellon not bound, on purpose

tested against EWD Notes - Eric Davis meeting with Adm. Wilson, 16 October 2002

The claim we tested

Mellon publicly confirmed Eric Davis's authorship of the Wilson-Davis memo

What the document actually says

- Christopher Mellon is not named anywhere in the pages read.

EWD Notes - Eric Davis meeting with Adm. Wilson, 16 October 2002, 2002
printed p. 1 · read off the page footer

Why we refused it. A 2019-and-later public confirmation cannot be in a 2002 document. This needs Mellon's own statement as its source.
→ Alliant Techsystems (ATK) names a source we do not hold

became President of its Missile Systems division after retiring from DIA

Official government / corporate service records
← Defense Intelligence Agency names a source we do not hold

he served as its Vice Admiral and a director

Wikipedia: Thomas Wilson (admiral)
→ Edgar Mitchell nothing behind it

the memo describing him was found in Mitchell's estate after his death

2 corrections to this record

Generated from the record, not written by hand. Every change keeps what the map used to say, because a correction nobody can see is indistinguishable from never having been wrong.

Thomas Wilson → Wilson-Davis Memo (2002)

the retired DIA deputy director whose account the notes record - which he denies

the retired Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency whose account the notes record - which he denies

Thomas Wilson → William Perry

the memo claims Perry told him to drop an inquiry into the program's unusually high security budget

the memo claims Perry wanted the program's unusually high security budget investigated and was himself told to drop it

THE MAP HAD THE ARROW POINTING THE WRONG WAY. It said Perry told Wilson to drop the inquiry. The memo says Perry WANTED the investigation and Perry "was told to drop it". That is close to the opposite: it puts Perry among those pushing and someone above him closing it down. Corrected against the page.

Notes on this record

This description, checked against the record

OFFICE CHECKED 30 August 2026. What IS sourced: Wilson was DIRECTOR of the Defense Intelligence Agency from July 1999 to July 2002. Defense Intelligence Agency, "Directors of DIA - VADM Thomas R. Wilson, USN" (dia.mil), read 30 August 2026: tenure "July 1999 - July 2002". Corroborated by an independent encyclopaedia entry giving 27 July 1999 to July 2002 and service years 1969-2002. What is NOT sourced: the title "Deputy Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency for the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1997", which this record has carried since it was written. No source found establishes that Wilson was ever Deputy Director of DIA. The posts that can be attributed to him below flag rank are JOINT STAFF posts - Vice Director of Intelligence, and Director of Intelligence (J2) - which are a different organisation from DIA, and no dates were found for either. The 1997 description is LEFT AS IT STANDS rather than replaced, because replacing one unsourced title with another would look like a correction and be a guess. What is not in doubt is the shape: in 1997 the Director of DIA was Patrick Hughes and Wilson was junior to him.