His account nonetheless contributes to a growing body of military-observed UAP incidents in the Southern California Operating Area (SCOA), which has been the locus of anomalous aerial activity in recent years.
Not the first incident
This is not Wiggins’s first encounter in high-interest maritime airspace.
He previously served aboard the USS Omaha, one of ten Navy warships that reported being swarmed by unidentified aerial contacts in 2019.
That series of incidents produced radar and thermal imaging evidence of multiple large, spherical objects maneuvering around the vessel for over an hour, one of which was observed submerging into the sea.
While Wiggins said he is not a whistleblower, he believes the continued public minimization of UAP incidents undermines operational transparency.
“I’m not trying to make waves,” he said. “I served with pride. But this happened, and it’s operationally significant.”