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CHAPTER
EIGHT
A Final Word?
Initially, this chapter was not going to be included in this book.
However, I feel that the information it contains is important and
the American public have a right to know.
Had it not been for the tragic death of my son, Robert Francis
Stone, on August 18, 1995, I would have carried much of this
information to the grave. Instead, I will reveal some of it here,
and more in a forthcoming book about my life and involvement within
the Aerial Phenomena Field.
After my retirement from the United States Army in February, 1990, I
was hired as a consultant to a Roswell, NM, security firm. On Friday
night, August 18, 1995, I was working as Chief of Security at the
Roswell Mall. Shortly after 8:00 RM. we were notified that a
motorcycle accident had occurred at the Mall entrance. I was the
first officer to respond. Lying dead on the road beside his
motorcycle was my son, Robert.
As Roswell Police officer Moore drove me home to inform my wife of
our son's death, I heard an All Points Bulletin going out over the
police radio for a small blue pickup truck in connection with the
accident involving my son. Almost immediately, rumors began
circulating about the accident.
About a week later, the News Manager for the local KBIM-TV News,
David Gonzalez, called me and stated that he had heard there was
more to my son's detail than what was being reported. I informed him
that I did not wish to discuss my son at that time—thus ending the
conversation.
There exist many questions surrounding my son's death, and many
reasons why I believe the police may have covered up various
mechanical and medical facts about the incident. The police seem to
have been acting on orders from higher up, and the whole cycle of
denials and contradictions sounded all too familiar from my lifetime
of chasing down evasive government sources. However, I will continue
to search for the answers to those painful questions without the
harsh glare of the media, until I am satisfied that I have the full
truth.
I continue to ask myself each day if my involvement in this field
had anything to do with the circumstances of my son's death. If foul
play was involved, the two missions I have uncovered in my research
that are revealed in this chapter might well be the reason why I was
punished so severely. That said, I will continue to risk whatever
repercussions may lie ahead by telling you what the U.S. Air Force
does not wish you to know. This information has taken me more than
thirty-five years to uncover.
Most, if not all, of the documents appearing in this chapter are
being offered to the public for the first time. Many of these
documents have not appeared in print in any other publication. And
many of the governmental agencies involved were not even aware that
I gained possession of the documents.
But, I can assure you, they
were all legally obtained.
To this very day the United States Air Force maintains that was the
only agency of the federal government that had anything to do with
UFOs. Furthermore, the Air Force maintains that its investigations
of UFOs were carried out through
Project Sign and Project Grudge,
and ended with Project Blue Book.
This is a blatant lie and the Air
Force knows it. (See doc. 8-1.)
The facts that I have uncovered are that the United States Army
started its investigation of UFOs back during the Second World War.
The Army's Counter Intelligence Corps (CIC) was charged with the
responsibility of finding out what the "foo-fighters" being reported
by the Allied aircrews were. After the war, this mission continued.
The CIC was very quietly investigating reports of unusual things
being reported in the skies over America before the start of Project
Sign (January 22, 1948). With the Kenneth Arnold sighting of June
24, 1947, in Roswell, NM, and the press picking up on it, more and
more people started to report sightings of strange objects in our
skies. With the outcry from the American public for answers, and in
order to protect the secrecy of the real military investigations,
Project Sign was established. However, the CIC quietly continued its
own secret investigation—whose Findings were not to be released to
ordinary citizens.
The United States Air Force became a separate branch of the Armed
Services in September 1947, as a result of the passing of the
National Security Act by Congress. Those CIC individuals who
remained in the Air Force after it separated from the U.S. Army
became members of the Air Force's Office of Special Investigations (OSI),
but were still working counterintelligence for the Air Force.
Furthermore, they cooperated with the Army's CIC.
Further evidence of OSI involvement with UFO Investigations is
provided in an FBI document dated October 9, 1950.
This document
states:
Bureau liaison determined on the
morning of October 9, 1950, from OSI Headquarters that the
investigation of these aerial phenomena are being handled by OSI,
Wright Field, Ohio. Their investigation of these phenomena fails
to indicate that the sightings involved space ships or missiles
from any other planet or country.
The reason given for the OSI failure
to determine the origin of the phenomena was that the complaints
received by them have failed to indicate any definite pattern of
activity. (See doc. 8-3.)
But if these objects are interplanetary,
would we have any idea as to what type of "pattern of activity" to
really look for?
On January 22, 1948, Project Sign was established as a result of Air
Force Letter (AFL) 200-5. Project Sign was assigned an A-2 priority
at a Secret level, meaning that the project would not be totally
inaccessible, as were Top Secret or security-sensitive information.
However, we shall see that other directives placed other agencies
with the responsibility for any information classified higher than
Secret.
Obviously, the Directorate of Air Intelligence was
maintaining those files. Furthermore, as we have seen in Chapter
One, those cases that could affect national security were not to
become part of Project Sign, Project Grudge, or even the Project
Blue Book system.
A letter from Headquarters, Air Defense Command, dated February 4,
1948, states:
CIC personnel attached to the
numbered air forces of this command may be utilized to prosecute
the investigation of subject incidents (UFOs).
Here we have both the Air Defense Command and CIC being
involved. (See doc. 8-2.)
The Directorate of Intelligence of the
United States Air Force issued "Air Intelligence Requirements
Memorandum Number 4," dated February 19, 1949. (See doc. 8-4.) The
purpose of this memorandum was twofold:
To enunciate continuing Air Force
requirements for information pertaining to sightings of
unconventional aircraft and unidentified flying objects,
including the so-called "flying discs."
To establish procedures for reporting
such information.
The investigation of UFOs, according to this document, was to
include those reports from overseas commands and Air Attaches, as
well as those reported in the United States. This is strange when
one considers that, according to the Air Force at that time, the
phenomenon was only being reported in the U.S. Also, officially we
were not to investigate reports from overseas areas unless they were
reported by military personnel.
This, according to AFL 200-5.
On September 8, 1950, the Director of Air Force Intelligence issued
a letter entitled "Reporting of Information on Unconventional
Aircraft." (See doc. 8-5.) This letter stated:
The United States Air Force has a
continuing requirement for the reporting and technical analysis
of observations of unconventional aircraft which might indicate
an advance in progress of a foreign power. An unconventional
aircraft, within the meaning of this directive, is defined as
any aircraft or airborne object which by performance,
aerodynamic characteristics, or unusual features, does not
conform to any presently known aircraft type.
Please note the definition for
unconventional aircraft given in this directive. Is it just
coincidence that this is the same definition given for UFOs?
By mid-1953, the Air Defense Command (ADC) had taken over all field
investigations of UFOs. The reasons for this are simple. First, if
UFOs proved hostile, it would be the Air Defense Command that would
have to deal with the situation.
Second, in January 1953 the Air Defense Command activated the unit
best suited to carry out investigations of Unidentified Flying
Objects: the 4602d Air Intelligence Service Squadron (AISS).
A CIA document, dated December 17, 1953, states:
Of particular interest is the fact
that ATIC [Air Technical Intelligence Center] is in the progress
of transferring Project Bluebook to Hq., Air Defense Command.
According to Lt. Col. Harry Johnston, Chief, Electronic Branch,
the reason for the transfer was that ADC had been doing most of
the investigative work of the project and "if it turns out that
those things (UFOs) are space ships or long range aircraft from
another country, ADC is the [Air Force] Command that would have
to take action." (See doc. 8-6.)
On January 3, 1953, Air Defense Command
Regulation 24-4 created the 4602d Air Intelligence Service Squadron.
This special unit was given a wartime mission of exploiting downed
enemy people, papers, and hardware. Outside of participating in
simulated training problems, this unit had no peacetime mission. By
March 1953, the decision was made to use the 4602d AISS in UFO
investigations, and by the end of December 1953, a working agreement
existed between the Air Technical Intelligence Center and the 4602d
AISS. (See docs. 8-7 and 8-8.)
The members of the 4602d AISS who were to be involved in UFO
investigations were given twenty hours of specialized training to
better accomplish their assigned task. (See doc. 8-9.)
Since all UFO reports were to be forwarded to ATIC at
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, thus giving the impression that
everything was going to Project Blue Book, it was extremely
important to have in place at ATIC the means by which the truly good
cases could be pulled and kept from the Project Blue Book Files.
This would enable quick-response recovery teams to be dispatched.
This was accomplished by the use of another secret military group
organized under the name Operation Blue Fly, which is explained
below.
Operation Blue Fly was established for the quick recovery of downed
foreign equipment, papers, and personnel. Please keep in mind that
this was a peacetime mission. Since there existed a belief that the
flying discs might be some new device of the Soviet Union, they were
included as an item of interest to Operation Blue Fly, the 4602d AISS being the operation's arms, legs, ears, and eyes.
Reports of UFOs were to be given to the 4602d AISS Detachment
closest to the reported sighting. Then the detachment would
determine if the case warranted follow-up investigation. The 4602d
AISS was required to file a report to the Air Technical Intelligence
Center within three days of receiving a report.
The reports did not go directly to the Project Blue Book office.
First, a report was to go through the Operation Blue Fly Project
Monitor Officer. A summary of the history of the Air Technical
Intelligence Center for the period of July 1, 1954, through December
31, 1954, shows that problems with this quick-reaction program had
been worked out and In order to insure constant availability of
qualified personnel for "Blue Fly," four ATIC officers were assigned
duty as assistant project monitors. This assignment takes priority
over other Operations Section projects when "Blue Fly" is alerted
for travel. (See doc. 8-10.)
Those cases that were easily solved would be passed to the Project
Blue Book office for proper filing. However, if the case was an
unknown or difficult in solving, a different course of action came
into play.
If the case was truly a compelling unknown and the media had not
become aware of it, it would be analyzed by Technical Intelligence
(T-2) and the Electronics Division (T-3) of ATIC, while at the same
time keeping it out of the Project Blue Book Files. These were the
cases that could have some bearing on national security and "were
never meant to be part of the Project Blue Book system."
In order to aid the 4602d AISS in their investigations of UFOS, ATIC
provided them with a document, dated January 14, 1955, entitled "UFOB
Guide." (See doc. 8-11.)
The intent of this document was to aid in
the identification of known objects and phenomena, thus ruling out
any confusion of experimental airborne materials with truely
unidentified flying objects. The 4602d AISS was so impressed with
this document, they created their own guide for use by the Ground
Observer Corps: "Guide to UFO Identification." (See doc. 8-12.)
In 1957, the 4602d AISS was renamed the 1006th AISS and placed under
Headquarters, U.S. Air Force, Directorate of Air Intelligence. With
fewer personnel being assigned to the 1006th AISS than its older
counterpart, the 1006th was granted the authority to investigate
only those UFO cases appearing to have some intelligence value. (See
doc. 8-13.)
Under Headquarters, U.S. Air Force Message #54322, dated December
23,1957, a new Project was created called Project Moon Dust.
The
mission of Project Moon Dust was,
"to collect and analyze raw
intelligence reports from the field on fallen space debris and
objects of unknown origin."
This Project also gave the Air Force the
means to monitor the UFO investigation efforts of other nations.
Some examples of how this activity was carried out are given in the
history of the 39th Air Division, dated July 1, 1960, through
December 31, 1960, and an OSI document dated August 16, 1962. (See
docs. 8-14 and 8-15.)
In the early 1970s this project came under the control of the
Department of State with monitor-ship responsibilities given to the
Defense Intelligence Agency. However, well into the late 1980s the
U.S. Air Force maintained its own Project Moon Dust.
Some excellent examples of how the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)
carried out its responsibilities under Project Moon Dust are given
in
-
a DIA Message dated July 16, 1965, entitled "Unidentified Flying
Objects Sighted in Antarctica"
-
a DIA Message dated August 26, 1966,
entitled "Unidentified Flying Objects Over Taiwan"
-
a DIA Message
dated April 3, 1967, entitled "Reported Sightings of Flying Saucers
in Brazil"
-
a DIA Message dated January 19,1968, entitled
"Unidentified Flying Objects" and dealing with a Russian commission
to study UFOs
-
a DIA Message dated August 9,1968, entitled "UFO
Newspaper Clippings" and dealing with reported UFO sightings in
Argentina
-
a DIA Message dated August 24,1974, entitled "Spanish' UFO
Sightings"
Please note that the Defense
Intelligence Agency considers all its records dealing with Project
Moon Dust to still be classified in the interests of national
security to this very day. The only records they have released to
date are those that had already been released by the Department of
State. (See docs. 8-16, 8-17, 848, 8-19, 8-20, and 8-21.)
According to the U.S. Air Force, none of the documents mentioned in
this chapter exist. The Air Force states they were destroyed long
ago. (See docs. 8-22 and 8-23.) To be sure, when a U.S. Senator
asked the U.S. Air Force about these missions, the response was:
"These missions never existed." (See Report to Congress in Appendix
below.)
Unfortunately for those seeking to cover up the truth, the documents
attached to this chapter were all obtained legally from the U.S. Air
Force, Defense Intelligence Agency, the FBI, and the Department of
State—to name but a few. These missions, identified in this chapter,
continue to this day. However, with the U.S. Air Force having no
knowledge of what other government agencies had released to me, it
was impossible for them to maintain any consistency in their
evasive, untruthful responses to my inquiries.
In a letter from the Air Force dated May 3, 1990, concerning a
request from me on Moon Dust and Blue Fly, I was told:
We have two records responsive to
your request. However, they are exempt from disclosure because
the information contained in them is currently and properly
classified.
Upon my appeal of this decision, the Air
Force responded under a letter dated July 25, 1990:
The information responsive to your
request that is being withheld is currently properly classified
pursuant to Executive Order and is exempt from disclosure....
Release of the information could cause identifiable damage to
the national security. Thus, a significant and legitimate
governmental purpose is served by its withholding, and
discretionary release is not appropriate. (See Report to
Congress in Appendix below.)
In March 1991, the Department of State
surfaced eleven documents pertaining to Project Moon Dust and
Operation Blue Fly belonging to the U.S. Air Force. The Air Force
responded, concerning these documents, with a letter dated June
5,1991, stating:
We can neither confirm nor deny the
existence or nonexistence of records responsive to your request
regarding "Projects or Operations known as BLUE FLY, MOON DUST,
AFCIN SOP, and ICGL#4," as any other response could reveal
operations under section 1.3(a)(1) of Executive Order 12356, "National
Security Information".
Once I started asking for congressional
assistance, these documents known to exist disappeared. The Air
Force could no longer locate them.
On September 29, 1994,1 asked for the assistance of Senator
Domenici's Office in getting the release of the above-mentioned
documents. The Air Force responded with a letter dated December 7,
1994, stating:
The projects as such no longer
exist, nor do their files. Classified reports that existed, if
any, presumably were destroyed.
Considering the Air Force's responses of
May 3, 1990 July 25,1990, and June 5,1991, the above comment can
only be considered as a statement made in a further attempt to cover
up these missions.
On September 27, 1994,1 requested that the Air Force do a "Mandatory
Declassification Review" (MDR) of the Moon Dust and Blue Fly
records. Once again, with a letter dated February 23,1995, the Air
Force denied the existence of any records. However, this time they
sent me several records stating that they
[were] previously provided to the Air Force by individuals seeking
information on records relating to Projects MOONDUST and BLUEFLY.
An interesting point to this is that the records they sent me were
taken directly from my previous book,
UFOs - Let the Evidence Speak for Itself.
Finally, under a letter dated April 4, 1997, the Air Force admitted
that Operation Blue Fly was, in fact, involved with the
investigation of UFOs by stating:
Its mission had been enlarged to include space objects and UFOs if
any were reported available for recovery. No Soviet Bloc planes or
personnel were ever downed in the United States, and no UFOs were
ever reported downed or recovered in the United States or anywhere
else. Operation Blue Fly was terminated because of the lack of
activity. (See doc. 8-24.)
Once again, documents were attached to this letter—all taken from my
previous book, along with its special reports. It was clear that the
U.S. Air Force was one of my biggest fans, having purchased and
repeatedly quoted from my book.
The Air Force statement,
"No Soviet Bloc planes or personnel were
ever downed in the United States, and no UFOs were ever reported
downed or recovered in the United States or anywhere else" is
totally false.
On March 20, 1964, a Soviet-built Cuban HOUND Helicopter landed in
Key West, Florida. The Air Force's Operation Blue Fly was assigned
the primary responsibility for the intelligence exploitation of that
helicopter. This case is taken directly from the official Air Force
Intelligence files. (See doc. 8-25.)
On December 9, 1965, an object fell to earth in Acme, Pennsylvania.
There exists in the official Project Blue Book file on this case, a
hand-written note stating:
A three man team has been dispatched to Acme, Pa. to investigate and
pick up an object that started a fire.
This case is known within UFO circles as the Kecksburg Case. The
"three man team" was not further identified and the object was never
brought to Project Blue Book. This three-man team was, in fact, an
Operation Blue Fly Team. (See doc. 8-26.)
The above examples present only two cases. To be sure, there exist
many more. The Air Force insists these events never happened—even
though they are taken from the Air Force's own official files. One
can only guess how much more is being kept from the American people
and their duly elected representatives.
If a nation of angry readers can help me launch a Congressional
investigation of Air Force impropriety (we could call it UFOgate), a
primary question to pose to the Air Force would be: How do known and
classified documents allegedly "disappear?"
I am of the opinion that we are not encountering bureaucratic
incompetence, but purposeful deceit, cover up and obstruction.
(Table
of Documents for Chapter 8)
Back to Contents
Conclusion
Like a crooked accountant preparing two sets of books, the United
States Air Force maintained two separate UFO investigation programs.
Operation Blue Book was the only program publicly known to exist,
and is was conceived and prepared solely to mislead the public. The
other program was given a higher classification, and its existence
was kept
secret from not only the general public but even from the
congressional leaders of this country, who have a vital need to
know.
Operation Blue Book's purpose was all public relations.
It was a
clearinghouse for UFO reports, and provided answers to questions
from the general public. The highest classification ever given to
Operation Blue Book (known in 1948 as Project Sign) was Secret, with
an A-2 Priority. Operation Blue Book was never meant to be involved
in the investigation of UFO reports that could have any possible
effect on national security. Operation Blue Book was an officially
sanctioned deception program to cover up the existence of the more
highly classified UFO program that did investigate UFO cases with
some bearing on national security.
The more highly classified program was the one with substance,
concentrating on evidence of encounters with beings of vastly
superior technical capabilities.
The unit assigned to these "hot" UFO
cases was a particular Air Intelligence Service Squadron that seemed
to enjoy an unfair monopoly on UFO data, especially that which came
in from Air Force pilots and NASA astronauts. This book, by the way,
does not pretend to cover the NASA side of the UFO story, but one
can find several books with compelling testimony from our
astronauts.
Relevant books coming out during this 50th anniversary
of the 1947 Roswell Incident include William J. Birnes and Philip J. Corso's
The Day After Roswell, Jim Marrs'
Alien Agenda, and Bill
Fawcett's Making Contact.
Even though I have described it as a prop, Operation Blue Book
itself was terminated on December 17, 1969. This gave the public the
impression that the U.S. Government was out of the business of
investigating UFOs and no longer had any interest in the subject.
However, the more highly classified program continued to investigate
those cases considered to have vital technical intelligence data,
and continues to do so to this day.
Do I have any flying saucers to show you at the UFO Enigma Museum in
Roswell? No, but I'd be pleased to show you a good deal more than
the best collection of government documents on the topic that you
now hold in your hands. Without a doubt, much debris from and some
intact specimens of unidentified aerial objects are being stored and
examined at restricted government facilities.
The Air Force, among
other agencies, is actively gathering information on these objects
from around the world. Even if the intelligence on these objects is
relevant to industry, science, and medicine, the data still remain
closed to the nation and the world "in the interests of national
security."
The more highly classified UFO investigation program had been able
to conceal its activities by hiding behind the Cold War. It used to
be claimed that the program was looking for technical intelligence
data on new types of Soviet aircraft and, later, on the Soviet space
program. Many UFOs of the 1940s and 1950s were thus referred to as
possible "unconventional aircraft" of the Soviet Union. Military
budgets and secrecy were the fruits of this easy lie. A negligible
amount of the material gathered in these investigations has yet to
be explained as space junk from the USSR.
It is instructive here, in the conclusion, to review the U.S. Air
Force's three officially held conclusions about UFOs:
(1) UFOs are
not a threat to national security
(2) UFOs do not represent
technological developments or principles beyond the range of
present-day scientific knowledge
(3) there has been no evidence
indicating that UFOs are of extraterrestrial origin
My book is a direct counterattack on this fusillade of falsehood.
Documentation released under the Freedom of Information Act by the
Air Force and other government agencies clearly indicates that the
first two of these conclusions are false by definition alone. While
these documents from the Air Force and other agencies do not, by
themselves, disprove the third conclusion, the existing evidence
strongly suggests the existence of objects of unknown origin. The
most logical conclusion is that these UFOs are not of our known
world.
The purpose and origin of UFOs is yet to be ascertained, but it is
evident that our government continues to stand ready to go anywhere
in the world to recover possible objects of "unknown origin." My
overriding concern is that the United States Congress has NEVER BEEN
BRIEFED on the existence of a classified UFO investigation program
or the existence of an UFO recovery program.
It is my fervent hope
that this book convinces even the biggest skeptics that our
government has the real UFO problem! Whatever the UFOs really are,
it is our democratic system that has been invaded by alien,
tyrannical behavior on the part of Air Force intelligence and other
government agencies.
I have found the UFO enemy, and it is us. Join me in writing to
Congress, in insisting that there are governmental checks and
balances missing on this issue.
Whatever this awesome phenomenon is
that has changed our lives forever, this career soldier insists that
it is far too important to be left in the hands of the military.
Back to Contents
APPENDIX
Author's Updated Report on "Operation
Blue Fly"
(Original Version Was Sent to the United States Congress in November
1993)
In early 1993, New Mexico Congressman Steven Schiff requested
information on UFOs from the Department of Defense and the Air Force
and received an unsatisfactory response. He then pounded the paper
trail by publicly requesting any information on government documents
that might exist concerning the Roswell Incident.
I responded to Congressman Schiff s appeal by sending him many of
the documents I had amassed over 20 years of using the Freedom of
Information Act to secure UFO information from various government
agencies.
Congressman Schiff s Albuquerque office reviewed my files and
contacted me, inquiring if I had any additional information. It was
this request that encouraged me to prepare this report on the Air
Force's Top Secret "Operation Blue Fly."
Besides sending this report to Congressman Schiff, I sent it to an
additional twenty-seven congressmen and senators, as well as to the
General Accounting Office, in November 1993.
The point of the report is to demonstrate to Congress that there
were, and still are, active operations within the U.S. Intelligence
Community to secretly gather information on "objects of unknown
origin" and to recover any debris from such objects.
These operations are still ongoing, despite the denials of the
Intelligence Community. I can only urge you to write your senators,
congressmen, and members of the media, requesting the truth about
what the military and intelligence agencies are doing with relevant
information they possess on the subject of Unidentified Flying
Objects.
The following is taken directly from an official U.S. Air Force
document dated October 20, 1969, recommending the termination of
Operation Blue Book:
...reports of unidentified flying objects which could affect
national security are made in accordance with JANAP 146 or Air Force
Manual 55-11, and are NOT part of the Blue Book system. The Air
Force experience therefore confirms the IMPRESSION of the University
of Colorado researchers "that the defense function could be
performed within the framework established for intelligence and
surveillance operations without the continuance of a special unit
such as Operation Blue Book."
This quote clearly points out several items of interest concerning
Operation Blue Book. First, Blue Book was established to receive UFO
reports from the public at large and act as a public relations unit.
Blue Book was not to be involved with those cases considered to be
of vital intelligence interest. For those cases, involving vital
intelligence concerns, another entity or reporting channel had
already been established outside the Blue Book reporting system.
Second, the Air Force, unknown to the public, had in place another
reporting channel for UFO reports which they wished to keep away
from the public's view. (The University of Colorado UFO researchers
made just such a recommendation, not being aware of the existence of
this other entity outside Operation Blue Book. Later, in this
report, I identify this other entity and trace some of its history.
However, for now, I would like to reflect upon some other
interesting points made in this government document.)
The termination of Operation Blue Book would leave no official
federal office to receive reports of UFOs. However, as already
stated, reports of UFOs which could affect national security would
continue to be handled through the standard Air Force procedures
designed for this purpose.
Read the above quote again, which is from the Air Force document in
question, very closely. Here it is made very clear that while the
termination of Operation Blue Book would give the impression that
the U.S. Air Force was out of the UFO business by not having a
clearinghouse, so to speak, for submission of UFO reports from the
public, it would carry on its investigation of those UFO cases it
deemed to have vital intelligence interest, without fear of any
questions from the media or public at large.
All the Air Force had
to do, should anyone ask questions, was simply to state that the
U.S. Air Force ceased its investigation of UFOs on December 17,
1969, as a result of the University of Colorado Study
recommendation. Since the existence of this other reporting system
was unknown to the media and public it was not required, nor did the
Air Force wish, to make its existence known.
To this very day the U.S. Air Force does not want the American
public to be made aware of any such UFO program currently in
existence within its intelligence branch. Yet, I assure you that
such a unit docs, in fact, exist and one of its many duties is the
gathering of information on UFO cases that it deems to have vital
intelligence interest. This same unit is charged with the
responsibility of forwarding the information it gathers on UFOs to
other interested agencies.
There have been many explanations, both
pro and con, given for this document, known as the "Bolender Memo."
The pros have been that it "proves" the U.S. Air Force had, and
still has, a highly classified UFO investigation program. The cons
arc that Brigadier General (B.G.) Bolender was pressed for time and
had to say something. Not wanting to make "the powers that be"
worry, that should a situation arise concerning UFOs and national
security, we would be ill equipped to deal with such a contingency,
he chose to declare that we already had that base covered—not really
knowing what he was talking about.
Actually B.G. Bolender knew quite well what he was talking about.
Bolender knew that Operation Blue Book did not investigate the
really good UFO cases reported to the U.S Air Force. Bolender knew
of that "special unit" located at Fort Bclvoir, Virginia.
Under Air Defense Command Regulation 24-4, dated January 3, 1953,
the 4602d Air Intelligence Service Squadron (AISS) was created. On
August 26, 1953, this "special unit" was charged with the official
investigation of UFOs under Air Force Regulation 200-2. All UFO
reports were to go through the 4602d AISS prior to any transmission
to Operation Blue Book at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.
AFR 200-2, dated August 12, 1954, stated:
The Air Defense Command has a direct
interest in the facts pertaining to UFOBs [UFO reports] reported
within the ZI [Zone of the Interior] and has, in the 4602d Air
Intelligence Service Squadron [AISS] the capability to
investigate these reports. The 4602d AISS is composed of
specialists trained for field collection and investigation of
matters of air intelligence interest which occur within the ZI.
This squadron is highly mobile and deployed throughout the ZI.
Here we have an Air Force regulation
making it clear that the Air Defense Command had a direct interest
in UFOs, as well as the unit best suited to do the investigations:
the 4602d AISS. It also indicated that another agency, outside of
Operation Blue Book, was involved with UFO investigations.
We are aware that every Air Force Base was required to appoint an
Operation Blue Book Officer, mostly as an additional duty, to handle
UFO reports that came to the attention of the base. However, these
officers were not permitted to report cases directly to Operation
Blue Book at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. They first had to
bring the cases to the attention of—you guessed it—the 4602d AISS.
Nor were they to conduct any investigation beyond a preliminary one,
without a direct request to do so from the 4602d AISS.
AFR 200-2 stated:
All Air Force activities are
authorized to conduct such preliminary investigation as may be
required for reporting purposes; however, investigations should
not be carried beyond this point, unless such action is
requested by the 4602d AISS.
According to AFR 200-2:
The Air Technical Intelligence
Center (ATIC) will analyze and evaluate: All information and
evidence within the ZI after the Air Defense Command has
exhausted all efforts to identify the UFOB; and all information
and evidence collected in overseas areas.
I have several problems with the above
quote from AFR 200-2. First, we now know, thanks to the Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA), that many of the cases that should have been
in the Operation Blue Book files were not there. However, they did
show up in the Director of Air Intelligence's files with a clear
indication that they had, in fact, gone through the 4602d AISS.
Second, many of the overseas cases, which should have been in the
Operation Blue Book files, were also missing. However, many of these
have also turned up in the Director of Air Intelligence's files,
once again indicating they, too, had gone through the 4602d AISS.
Third, none of these missing files, which were located in the Office
of the Director of Air Intelligence, gave any indication that they
had been explained away by the 4602d AISS. Even if they had been
explained, there should have been a paper trail of files and
documents on these cases in the Operation Blue Book files.
In October 1989, the Office of the Director of Air Intelligence
released several files to me. These files should have been in the
Blue Book files also, but they were not.
What I found interesting about this
batch of files was that all technical information gathered by the
aircraft that were involved was forwarded to the National Security
Agency (NSA) by the 4602d AISS and not to Operation Blue Book. Of
course, most of the aircraft involved in these cases were RB-47's
and the National Security Agency would be the agency best suited to
evaluate the electronic data gathered. However, the NSA will not, as
of the publication date of this book, release any information on
these cases, even though they occurred in the mid-1950s.
Over the years, as a result of Air Force reorganization, the 4602d
AISS has been known by many names. In July 1957, the 4602d AISS
became the 1006th AISS. In April 1960, it became known as the 1127th
USAF Field Activities Group. Later, it would become known by such
names as the 7602d Field Activities Group, the U.S. Air Force
Special Activities Center, and today it exists as the 696th Air
Intelligence Group, located at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
Also, over the years, this unit maintained three of its peacetime
functions.
These were:
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Unidentified Flying Objects
(UFOs): to investigate reliably reported UFOs within the United
States. From documents released under the Freedom of Information
Act, it would, also, appear they collected information on UFOs
from overseas and forwarded this information to "interested
agencies."
-
Project Moon Dust: to recover non-U.S. objects or objects of
unknown origin and debris of such objects that had survived
re-entry from space to earth. Of course, some very earthly space
objects are initially reported as UFOs or objects of unknown
origin until closer examination is made.
-
Operation Blue Fly:
to expeditiously retrieve MOONDUST and
other items of vital intelligence interest. This included
reports of allegedly downed UFOs, both within the United States
and abroad.
These three peacetime missions all
involve a potential for employment of qualified field intelligence
personnel on a quick reaction basis to recover or perform field
exploitation of unidentified flying objects, or known Soviet/Bloc
aerospace vehicles, weapons systems, and/or residual components of
such equipment.
These missions were carried out by three-man intelligence teams.
However, they could draw upon the resources of the closest military
installation (s) in the area of operations both overseas and here in
the United States.
We can ascertain from newspaper accounts and documents that have
been released under FOIA requests that our government did, in fact,
recover objects of unknown origin both overseas and in the United
States. We can also ascertain that the military was involved in some
aspects with these recoveries.
In December 1965, the military recovered an object of unknown origin
in Kecksburg, Pennsylvania. In August 1967, we recovered an object
of unknown origin, described as a satellite, in Sudan. In July 1968,
we recovered an object of unknown origin in Nepal. This object was
described as being in four pieces with one of the pieces said to be
of a nose-cone shape.
What do all these cases have in common?
Our government will not
answer any questions concerning these cases. Neither will they
identify the origin of the objects nor what these objects were.
Surely, at this time in our world's history, there can be no useful
purpose in keeping all of this information classified.
Debunkers will state that if these objects are anything, they are
Soviet spacecraft which we recovered and do not want the Soviets to
know came into our possession. If this were truly the case, why have
the Soviets not filed an official protest with the United Nations
for return of their property? The Soviets are just as capable to
track down their fallen space objects as we are. They would surely
be aware of where their space objects impacted on earth, should they
survive re-entry.
In addition, we are a party to various space treaties and UN
resolutions dealing with space objects which have returned to earth.
Should we recover any object belonging to another country, and not
return it, we would be in violation of international law. We should
look very closely at any object or objects we might recover for
technical intelligence purposes. However, in the end, we are
compelled to return them to their launch authority or country of
origin. In these cases mentioned above this has still not happened.
In December 1989,1 decided to begin the process of gathering as much
information as possible on the unit at Fort Belvoir, Virginia,
Project Moon Dust, and Operation Blue Fly.
The responses I received
from the Air Force proved to be quite interesting in that they
considered the release of any information to be so sensitive that in
their response to me of June 5, 1991, they wrote:
We can neither confirm nor deny the
existence or nonexistence of records responsive to your request
regarding "Projects or Operations known as BLUE FLY, MOON DUST,
AFCIN SOP, and ICGL#4," as any other response could reveal
classified information concerning military plans, weapons, or
operations under section 1.3 (a) (1) of Executive Order 12356,
"National Security Information." Therefore, pursuant to Title 5,
United States Code (USC), Section 552(b) (1), and Air Force
Regulation 12-30, paragraph 10a, your request is denied.
This statement indicated that these
programs and regulations were current and still active.
Of course, I appealed this decision. All efforts, on my own, to
gather information on the UFO History of the 4602d AISS, Project
Moon Dust, and Operation Blue Fly have met with the Air Force ending
all their replies with:
Therefore, no further action is
required and this matter is considered closed.
Considered closed by whom? I assure you,
this matter was not, by any means, considered closed by me.
With the Air Force unwilling to release any information, I asked for
the help of the office of Senator Bingaman. At first the Senator's
Office was hesitant to become involved in such a nutty subject such
as UFO cover-ups. However, after reviewing my documentation and
listening to me explain that I was looking for the truth concerning
these mystery missions and the 4602d AISS's involvement with them,
and not necessarily UFOs or spacecraft from other planets, the
Senator's Office made inquiries on my behalf.
In November 1992, the Air Force responded to Senator Bingaman's
first inquiry. The Air Force stated:
There is no agency nor has there
ever been, at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, which would deal with UFOs
or have any information about the incident at Roswell. In
addition, there is no Project Moon Dust or Operation Blue Fly.
These missions have never existed.
Armed with this response and believing
that the Air Force had chosen to lie to a United States Senator in
order to cover up the existence of these secret government agencies—Project
Moon Dust and Operation Blue Fly—I challenged their reply.
In a letter dated April 14, 1993, the Air Force responded to my
challenge to their earlier reply, stating:
Upon further review of the case
(which was aided by the several attachments to Mr. Stone's
letter), we wish to amend the statements contained in the
previous response to your inquiry.
Also, the Air Force attempted to down
play the 4602d AISS's involvement with UFOs by not naming the unit
and by stating:
As the occasion never arose to use
these air defense teams, the mission was assigned to
Headquarters, United States Air Force, inl957...
Furthermore, the Air Force wanted to
suggest, in this letter, that it was the Headquarters of the United
States Air Force, in 1957, that was expanded to include the
investigations of UFOs through Project Moon Dust and Operation Blue
Fly. However, the recorded history clearly shows this not have been
the case.
Among the documents I sent to the Air Force to "educate" them were
two documents dealing with UFO sightings in the Soviet Union. These
documents were dated in the late 1980s.
This is what the Air Force had to say about these two documents:
Since the Air Force discontinued its
investigative interest in UFOs in 1969, reports of UFO sightings
are now recorded and forwarded only if there is a prior interest
in the source of the UFO sighting. For example, Enclosures 3 and
4 of Mr. Stone's letter pertain to debriefings of two Soviet
sources who were being interviewed for possible military
information of interest. Their recounts of UFO sightings, even
though they had occurred many years earlier, were included in
the report for historical interest and were incidental to the
main purpose of the report.
I would like to elaborate further on
these two documents: Enclosure 3, dated November 25, 1987, and
entitled "UFO Siting [Sighting] in Shadrinsk," deals with UFO
sightings which took place in 1974. Enclosure 4, dated December 7,
1989, and entitled "Soviet Aircrew Sightings of Unexplained
Phenomena," deals with UFO sightings which took place in 1984 and
later.
These two reports seem to deal directly with UFO sightings in the
U.S.S.R. They make no mention of anything controversial or secret,
such as missile testing, technical information on a possible new
Soviet MIG, or any type of military information (outside of the UFO
sightings themselves) that I am aware of. My question is: What was
the main purpose of these two reports if, as the Air Force claims,
UFOs were allegedly "incidental"?
There exist many reasons for the Air Force to have a continued
interest in UFOs. Among these are: to avoid technological surprise;
searching out solutions to certain unanswered questions of
atmospheric physics and radar propagation through the atmosphere
which are involved with UFO reports; and the possible military
exploitation of reported UFOs. All of these are of obvious
intelligence interest and concern.
It does not require a believer in interplanetary visitors to
understand why the Air Force would have an interest in UFOs. The
reasons given above explain why much of the information might still
be highly classified. However, this does not explain why the Air
Force would deny any interest in UFOs, while, at the same time, the
Air Force is continuing to collect information from around the world
on UFO reports in the 1990s.
The United States Air Force has conducted, and continues to conduct,
a highly classified UFO investigations program. Under this program,
the Air Force has actively taken part in the recovery of objects of
"unknown origin" and has chosen to remain silent about these
recoveries. The special unit for these investigations and recoveries
is located at Fort Belvoir.
The answers as to what our government really knows about UFOs, and
whether they are of interplanetary origin, can only be learned
through full disclosure of the records concerning these
investigations by this special unit located at Fort Belvoir. This
appears to be something the United States Air Force is not yet ready
or willing to do.
During the existence of Operation Blue Book, Congress has held
several hearings concerning UFOs. However, these hearings were
always limited to just the records within the Blue Book files. No
member of Congress has ever requested to hear testimony from other
agencies or individuals within these other agencies which have
knowledge of the existence of the more involved investigations into
the subject of UFOs. The reason for this is very simple. Congress
was not made aware of any agency, outside of the U.S. Air Force,
that had any interest or involvement in UFO phenomena.
The release of classified information or material to Congress by any
Department of Defense (DOD) agency is made in accordance with DOD
Directive 5400.4. However, Congress must identify the information it
is seeking—in writing. In addition, any DOD employee testifying
before a congressional committee in executive session, in relation
to a classified matter, must obtain the assurance of the committee
that individuals present during the testimony have a security
clearance commensurate with the highest classification of the
information that may be discussed.
This seems to work well for information up to the Top Secret level.
However, it gets much more involved for information protected under
Special Access Programs, such as SCI or ESI material.
Department of Defense employees are briefed that members of
Congress, by virtue of their elected positions, are not investigated
or cleared by the DOD. They are further cautioned that while members
of Congress might be cleared for information up to the Top Secret
level, they may not be cleared for information protected under
certain Special Access Programs; information considered as SCI or
ESI material; or other information protected by executive
directives. This is particularly true of congressional aids.
Therefore, one can easily see the hesitation on the part of some who
have testified before Congress; they have been less than candid and
at times even less than truthful.
Once again the reason for this is simple. While Congress has passed
laws to protect so-called whistleblowers, the congressional track
record on protecting whistleblowers who have come forward and told
what they knew on controversial matters has been poor. Therefore, a
person testifying before a congressional committee is much more
hesitant to volunteer any helpful information that is not
specifically asked for. The rule of thumb is: If not asked, don't
volunteer information.
To get to the truth, Congress should hold a congressional hearing in
executive session to hear testimony concerning the classified
aspects of the information that has and is being gathered by the
various government agencies on reported UFOs, as alluded to by the
documentation released under FOIA. A Congressional Committee should
also inquire into the classified aspects of the recovery of "objects
of unknown origin" under Project Moondust and Operation Blue Fly.
This action would be of great benefit if for no other reason than to
insure that Congress is made aware of such activities and their
intended purpose. While some of the information gathered by this
committee could not be made available to the public, as much as is
possible should be considered for public disclosure.
In order to insure that a congressional
hearing accomplishes its goals and to insure that all documentation
is made available to Congress for review, the following guidelines
should be required:
1. The best government documents
gathered under FOIA by private researchers should be made
available to the Congressional Committee.
2. The Congressional Committee
should then meet in open session to explain the reasons for the
hearing and to promote an open review of the documentation that
was already released under FOIA. This should be done to remove
any thought by the public of possible cover-up and to assure the
public that this is not a search for "little green men" or
"flying saucers" hidden away by the military. It should be made
clear from the start that the committee is simply looking for
the truth behind the alleged cover-up and is attempting to
determine if various agencies were, in fact, withholding
information from Congress and the American public concerning UFO
phenomena, in violation of the law.
3. The Congressional Committee
should follow up the open session with a closed executive
session to hear testimony from witnesses within the various
agencies involved. This, of course, should be done to protect
legitimate national security concerns. It must be understood
that while some information of interest to intelligence agencies
might initially have been reported as UFOs or flying saucers,
and documented in some released FOIA documents as such, there
may be some legitimate national security concerns having nothing
to do with UFO phenomena which justifies keeping those incidents
classified.
4. Congress must demand that those
government employees testifying before the committee behind
closed doors be open and candid in their testimony. This would
have to include both active and retired employees. These
government employees are well aware of the poor record of
Congress in protecting former whistleblowers. Unless there is
full assurance that these people will not find themselves losing
their jobs and retirement benefits as a result of trumped-up
charges in the future, they will not be as open or candid as
they should be.
5. Because of the various agencies
involved, every effort should be made to insure that the members
making up the Congressional Committee have security clearance
commensurate with the highest classification of the information
that might be discussed. Some of this information will be
compartmented and may be considered extremely sensitive. Having
a Top Secret clearance will not be enough to permit the
revelation of the more interesting and sensitive discoveries.
6. A final written report should be
made by Congress after the hearings, with as much public
disclosure as possible. Again, the intent of this committee is
not the proving or disproving of the existence of UFOs, but,
rather, determining if these various government agencies have
been completely candid and honest with members of Congress.
7. The intent of the Congressional
Committee should simply be to establish the truth as to the
alleged cover-up of UFO information by any governmental agency
and the legality of any cover-up, should it be established that
any such efforts were ongoing.
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