Air Force UFO files hit the web

[jakeXT]

The fabled Project Blue Book, the Air Force's files on UFO sightings and investigations, have tantalized and frustrated extraterrestrial enthusiasts for decades. But this week, nearly 130,000 pages of declassified UFO records — a trove that would make Agent Fox Mulder's mouth water — hit the web.

UFO enthusiast John Greenewald has spent nearly two decades filing Freedom of Information Act requests for the government's files on UFOs and other phenomena. On Jan. 12, Greenewald posted the Blue Book files — as well as files on Blue Book's 1940s-era predecessors, Project Sign and Project Grudge — on his online database, The Black Vault.

Project Blue Book was based at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. Between 1947 and 1969, the Air Force recorded 12,618 sightings of strange phenomena -- 701 of which remain "unidentified."

According to a 1985 fact sheet from Wright-Patterson, posted online by the National Archives, the Air Force decided to discontinue UFO investigations after concluding that "no UFO reported, investigated and evaluated by the Air Force has ever given any indication of threat to our national security [and] there has been no evidence indicating that sightings categorized as 'unidentified' are extraterrestrial vehicles." Wright-Patterson also said the Air Force has not seen any evidence suggesting the sightings "represent technological developments or principles beyond the range of present-day scientific knowledge."

http://www.airforcetimes.com/story/military/tech/2015/01/17/air-force-ufo-files/21812539/

[MineralMan]

1. Well, that should keep the UFO CT folks busy

for a while.

[jakeXT]

2. I've read two reports and they sounded like meteors

[newfie11]

3. I wonder how much has been "doctored" nt

[ZX86]

4. Project Blue Book was a public relations endeavor.

Anyone taking Project Blue Book as a serious study of the UFO phenomenon is misinformed.

The Captain Hardin era

In March 1954, Captain Charles Hardin was appointed the head of Blue Book. However, most UFO investigations were conducted by the 4602nd, and Hardin had no objection. Ruppelt wrote that Hardin "thinks that anyone who is even interested [in UFOs] is crazy. They bore him."[10]

In 1955, the Air Force decided that the goal of Blue Book should be not to investigate UFO reports, but rather to reduce the number of unidentified UFO reports to a minimum. By late 1956, the number of unidentifed sightings had dropped from the 20-25% of the Ruppelt era, to less than 1%.

The Captain Gregory era

Captain George T. Gregory took over as Blue Book's director in 1956. Clark writes that Gregory led Blue Book "in an even firmer anti-UFO direction than the apathetic Hardin."[10] The 4602nd was dissolved, and the 1066th Air Intelligence Service Squadron was charged with UFO investigations.


In fact, there was actually little or no investigation of UFO reports; a revised AFR 200-2 issued during Gregory's tenure emphasized that unexplained UFO reports must be reduced to a minimum.

One way that Gregory reduced the number of unexplained UFOs was by simple reclassification. "Possible cases" became "probable", and "probable" cases were upgraded to certainties. By this logic, a possible comet became a probable comet, while a probable comet was flatly declared to have been a misidentified comet. Similarly, if a witness reported an observation of an unusual balloon-like object, Blue Book usually classified it as a balloon, with no research and qualification. These procedures became standard for most of Blue Book's later investigations; see Hynek's comments below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Blue_Book

[Mnpaul]

13. I read a bunch of books on Blue Book

While at a state run treatment facility. These books were pulled from libraries and dumped off at the state treatment center. They had the largest collection of UFO books I have ever seen in one place.

I like this tidbit from the wiki:

It is the conclusion of many researchers that the Robertson Panel was recommending controlling public opinion through a program of official propaganda and spying. They also believe these recommendations helped shape Air Force policy regarding UFO study not only immediately afterward, but also into the present day. There is evidence that the Panel's recommendations were being carried out at least two decades after its conclusions were issued (see the main article for details and citations).

In December 1953, Joint Army-Navy-Air Force Regulation number 146 made it a crime for military personnel to discuss classified UFO reports with unauthorized persons. Violators faced up to two years in prison and/or fines of up to $10,000.

[Blue_In_AK]

5. My sister-in-law worked there.

I never could get her to cut loose with any secrets.

[Octafish]

10. A weather man who once talked to me about Michigan's weather got reassigned to Alaska.

I was a reporter at the time and had worked with him on several stories involving a new NWS radar. One day, an extraordinary event happened over Lake Michigan. A group of people watching the sunset reported three very bright, white lights hovering over the water. They called police and soon a squad car arrived. The police officer said, "Yes, I see it, too," and radiod in for back up. Soon, the group included several officers and the original group on a bluff. They called the National Weather Service office in Grand Rapids and the meteorologist on duty said that the radar showed three solid blips about 20 miles away, over Lake Michigan. As they talked to the guy, the three lights suddenly seemed to zip out of sight over toward Wisconsin. The guy at the weather radar said, "Wo! They're now over Wisconsin!" Going from memory, they had to have moved at several thousand miles an hour to cover the distance in the time. The Michigan papers talked a bit about the case, but that's about it,seeing how little good coverage the subject receives.

This is what Dr. J. Allen Hynek termed a Radar-Visual case. I called my contact who had helped me on several weather stories -- storms, floods, etc. and asked him if he had heard about this particular case. He told me the guy in Grand Rapids had been reassigned to a post in Alaska.And he told me never to call him again.

Found this on the 1994 incident from the Chicago Tribune:

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1995-03-13/features/9503130025_1_mutual-ufo-network-radar-ufo-studies

[Blue_In_AK]

11. Haha. Send them to Alaska, and they'll never be heard from again.

[Octafish]

6. I wish we had the Internet when all this history was happening.

Dr. J. Allen Hynek was recovering from a broken jaw suffered two days earlier when he proposed "Swamp Gas" as a possible solution:



http://ufologie.patrickgross.org/htm/hillsdale66.htm

Public statements to the contrary, the Air Force has never really devoted enough money or attention to the problem of UFO's to get to the bottom of the puzzling cases. The Air Force's UFO evaluation program, known as "Project Blue Book," is housed in one room at Wright-Patterson. For most of its history Project Blue Book has been headed by a captain. This fact alone will tell anyone familiar with military procedures the relative position of Project Blue Book on the Air Force's organization chart. The staff, which has usually consisted of two officers and a sergeant, has had to try to decide, on the basis of sketchy statements, the causes of all UFO sightings reported to the Air Force. From 1947 through 1965, Project Blue Book reviewed 10,147 cases. Using the Air Force's criteria, the project identified 9,501, leaving over 600 that were carried as unidentified.

SOURCE: http://ufologie.patrickgross.org/htm/hynekeveningpost.htm

FWIW: One of the chief investigators of the UFO phenomenon, Dr. Hynek's assistant, Dr. Jacques Vallee, also is one of the cybernetic pioneers who helped DARPA create the Internet.

[panader0]

8. I had to look up DARPA

I learned something, thanks.

[Ykcutnek]

7. Put Lester Freamon on this shit immediately.

[NuclearDem]

9. Oy, this again.

[zappaman]

12. And away we go!

[chalmers]

14. Heads up!

The Project Blue Book files are a interesting piece of military history. they don't reveal anything about aliens or anything like that.

Folks here should know that The Black Vault is a conspiracy website (shocker right?) run by John Greenewald Jr. He is complete FoxNews Toad and Rightwing nutter. If you check out his site, he hosts files related to BENGHAZI!!! and other stuff akin to "Obama is a secret socialist Mooslim"

Oh yeah, those files have been online for free at a site called Fold3, John Greenewald Jr. datamined those files from Fold3 and is claiming credit for having FOIAed the Air Force for 15 years to get them released.

http://www.fold3.com/title_461/project_blue_book_ufo_investigations/

The Black Vault should not be linked to here. Greenewald is pretty much Alex Jones Jr. with UFO kookiness thrown in. Just thought you should know.