The question is, if UFO/UAP reports are just easily explained phenomena (like Chinese balloons), why has the military always refused to deal with the issue. In fact, the USAF has ruined careers and lives in an effort to prevent and quash reports.
“Now, due to new protections for whistleblowers,”
Whistle blowers are people that reveal illegal or immoral behavior.
If you reveal classified military information that is not well understood in violation of your non-disclosure agreement, I think its called something else.
Unless the Gov’t tells/pays you to come forward...
Public might lose confidence in the military if they admit there are potential threats out there that they are helpless to address.
The Pentagon interest is presuming for whatever reason UFOs are hovering around/transiting over or gravitating to air force bases which seems a simple enough question. Are they more often seen and reported in sensitive or restricted airspace or just more likely to be spotted by military pilots ?