Former Military Member's Comments Provide Past UFO Experiences

For the past two and a half years, I've received comments that unfortunately have been buried in the blog.  Some are of interests, where as, other's fall short.  I thought this to be a good time to show them and where applicable my response.

My blog post "UFO Over Malmstom's Golf Flight in 1982" had two comments from former Flight Security Controllers who had either witnessed, or had reports from security response teams in their respective flight areas.

This comment from "Anonymous":

I was the on duty, Senior FSC at Tango-1 LCF (which was the command post for our 5 flight area: Papa, Quebec, Romeo, Sierra and Tango) in 1974, at FE Warren AFB. I always volunteered for the night shift, 6pm to 6am. One particular night, while talking to another FSC at Romeo-1, he kept asking me over and over again, in-between our chit-chat if I saw anything, coming over the range where he was situated, and it was downrange from my LCF . Eventually I did see the UFO he was talking about which he never reported and I ending up doing. The craft hovered for over 2 hours, was 3 miles downrange from the LCF and made no noise. This even after my capsule crew down stairs was notifed, WSC was notified, I woke up the site Mngr., the site cook and we had both Night and Day SAT teams out in the field trying to get a better ID and description of it.In the end it went vertical and disappeared, when WSC at the base said that 2 F-4 Phantoms were dispatched from Denver to intercept this thing. When all 10 FSC's returned to the base after our 3.5 day tour, we all were sent to the SP Commander who made us all sign an affidavit, saying we didn't see anything. I made no illusion to my SAT leader at the time, that he had a right to protect himself and his member from harm. If deadly force was needed that night, we would have used it.

This is a decent report with quite a bit of detail.  Most important is the mentioning of the year, AF base and flight.  But is it complete?

My reply:

Anonymous, thanks for commenting. I noticed that you wrote that the "craft" was 3 miles downrange from Tango. Based on that distance, how could you tell that it was a craft? Omitted from your comments were key descriptions such as the shape, color, glowing/non-glowing, etc. 

What was the closest time line of the event...day, month, approximate time of day? Do you recall, as best as possible, what your dispatched security teams described regarding the object...and was this broadcast via radio back to you? 

You state that all 10 FSCs (2 each per LCF) were required to sign an affidavit. Why all ten...was this object/craft detected over/near all of the squadron's flights?   

You'll have to forgive me for all of my questions, but they are necessary when trying to make sense of any sighting. BTW, I don't discount that something was sighted, but what actually was sighted is the question. Your use of the term "UFO" is appropriate based on your's and others inability to identify the object.

Thanks for an interesting accounting, I'll try to find other information regarding your experience.

As can be seen, a good report but lacking in other important details that would lend to a much more richer report.

Here is another comment from the same blog post:

AnonymousMay 25, 2013 at 7:34 PM 

I was a FSC at Golf Control in 1969-1970 and when I sent the SAT Team out to check an OZ alarm that would not reset at Golf-2 at 2 am they saw a flying disc hovering over the Launch Site.

Not much detail to be had on this one.  Below is my response:

Tim Hebert May 26, 2013 at 1:01 AM

 OK...what base? Freudian question for you...how was your relationship with your SAT members? 

Did you really believe them? Did you file any reports? 

And finally, did you yourself see anything? 

Your comment tells me very little as you can tell from my above questions. Perhaps the SAT was slightly pissed having to strike the site, then having to wait for a camper team to arrive before being released to return back to the LCF. That makes for one long night for a couple 19-20 year olds.

I admit that I was a tad bit put off by this one, but after thinking about it for a while, I was able to deduce some information.  Since the former FSC states that he was in Golf flight and the SAT was sent to G-02, this rules out the location to be at Grand Forks.  Possibly the SAT was sent to G-02 for an outer zone security violation and after investigating the site they were awaiting the outer zone security circuits to reset.  Evidently the site failed to reset properly thus leaving the SAT to stay while awaiting the arrival of a security camper team.

Could the security response team had been somewhat upset about being dispatched or simply mischievous towards our FSC?  Could they have actually seen something? 

Despite the above, Anonymous gives the impression that when the SAT arrived at G-02, they reported a flying disc hovering over the site.  If the disc was hovering, it could not have been flying...could it?  Plus the OZ supposedly wouldn't reset prior to the SAT being dispatched, at least, that's how I read the comment's meaning.  This gives the impression that maybe a maintenance team had been on G-02 and was awaiting the OZ to properly reset so that they could be on their way.  But Anonymous does not mention such a team on/off site.  Most importantly, Anonymous was in no position to actually see the phenomena for he only heard the report from the SAT.

I'm hoping that in the future I'll receive more comments like the two that I have high lighted.  If they are interesting then I'll post them.  BTW, for those who think that this blog is used merely for debunking UFO reports, the above should dispel that thought.  I believe that most people actually see something, and in the case of our Golf FSC, actually hear about something.  What I'm attempting to understand is the context of the experience.

Where's the Titan II UFO Stories?

A thought struck me a couple of days ago.  Where are the Titan II UFO stories?  Most, if not all of the ICBM version of the UFO and nuke story seems to center around the Minuteman wings, yet the Titan guys seemed to have gotten a pass.

I Googled "Titan II UFO" and only came across three stories.  One concerning UFOs and the 1980 Damascus, AR explosion and two others relating to sightings near Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ.  That's pretty much it as far as I could see, but I'm sure that there are a few others circulating somewhere.

I've mentioned the Damascus Titan II explosion in a couple of posts and came across this particular story awhile back, but thought it was of interest for this topic.  For those who don't know, in mid to late September, 1980, missile maintenance teams were conducting work on the missile in complex 374-7.  

Evidently, the team was on one of the higher platform levels inside of the silo itself, when the socket from a socket-wrench dislodged and bounced of the concrete wall piercing the  first stage (booster).  This resulted in a major propellant leak eventually causing the second stage assembly to collapse into the the first stage.  The combination of the two separate propellants (hypergolic fuels) resulted in an explosion that destroyed the launch complex with exception to the Launch Control Center.

The UFO angle comes into play from this story by Lyle Lathem (this found on Frank Warren's site, but also on other UFO sites).  Lathem's UFO sightings occurred after 374-7's destruction.  Per Lathem, he believed that the strange crafts (UFOs) flew near or directly over the then covered remnants of the silo because the nuclear warhead was supposedly still buried inside it. A new ufology "law of attraction?"

Lathem stated that he was told the buried warhead story from a state trooper.  Unfortunately that's not what really happened, but Lathem shouldn't feel bad because one of the versions I was told was far more remarkable, but lacking the UFO component.

Back in October of 1980, as a new 2Lt undergoing combat crew training at Vandenberg AFB, I had attended a missile safety briefing.  The topic of the Damascus incident came up which the details of the cause and aftermath were discussed.  True, the silo's launch doors were torn off and blown away, but for a long period of time no one could located the where abouts of the nuclear warhead...it was effectively lost.

I can't recall who was briefing my group, but he basically said that some of the engineers were tasked to calculate the force and magnitude of the blast to see if it was feasible to blow the warhead into orbit.  I personally have no proof that such an "orbital" theory was actually conducted, so there is much room for doubt.  In the end, the warhead was found at a considerable distance away from the silo.  I do believe that it was damaged, but maintenance personnel where able to transport it back to base.  The Air Force did not intentionally leave the warhead in the silo.

Sorry Lyle, but there was no nuclear warhead purposely left buried in the rubble of 374-7.  As to the UFO angle, that's a separate story in itself. 

The next report comes from NICAP and is based on July 1963 siting near Tucson, AZ which was home to the 390th Strategic Missile Wing.

Occurred : 7/2/1963 19:30 (Entered as : 07/02/1963 19:30) Reported: 10/23/2003 10:56:31 AM 10:56 Posted: 10/31/2003 Location: Tucson, AZ Shape: Other Duration:15 -20 min

Large blimp like object 1960'sI am currently in my middle 50's and not a believer that we are being visited by beings from elsewhere. As an amateur astronomer, I did volunteer work for the US Naval Observatory back in the late 60's. This was in the early days of satellite before many precise measurements could be made from orbit. My groups function, as ground based telescope observers, was to precisely time star occultation's, for the most part as they disappeared and reappeared behind the moon. Just some background on my 'observing' experience....

  
If you read this report closely, you'll notice that it has nothing to do with the Titan II complexes specifically.  NICAP appears to have found it of interest solely due to the launch complexes located in that general geographical area.

Here is a another story involving "flying saucer" activity near one of the Titan sites near Tucson in 1962 from Paranormal Old Pueblo.

On August 6th 1962, around 8:00pm, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base personnel began receiving reports of a “flying saucer”. Witnesses reported a brilliantly glowing light that descended over the Titan missile silo in Oracle, Ariz., near Tucson.

Chuck Penson, historian for the Titan Missile Museum, provided a reply to the above article:  "Regarding the reference that a UFO was reported over a Titan II missile site in August of 1962. At that time all of the missile sites around Tucson were still under construction. The first site to go “on alert” was near Three Points at the end of March, 1963. The complex near Oracle was not activated until June, 1963"

So the Oracle sighting had nothing to do with affecting missile operations since no missile or complex was completed and on alert at that time.  With that said, that doesn't discount the sighting itself, but negates the Titan II as an object of attraction.

So that covers Little Rock and Davis-Monthan AFBs,  where are the UFO reports from McConnel AFB, Wichita, KS?  As of yet they've yet to surface.

The above stories were the major Titan II UFO reports.  And, as can clearly seen these reports had nothing to do with the weapon system itself, but either there were sightings that just happen to be in the general vicinity (vague), or the UFO component was the by-product of urban legends/myths as in the Damascus incident.

I hope to touch more on this topic later, as the UFO philosophy of benevolence has an ironic twist when comparing the stories involving the Minuteman and Titan systems. 

Carl Jung: the Collective Unconsciousness and UFOs

I recently finished reading Gary Lachman's book, Jung the Mystic.  Lachman has an interesting take on Carl Jung's hidden side of psychology and takes his readers on a fascinating biographical journey that looks at Jung's struggles to self identify in the world of psychoanalysis, yet unconsciously attempting to define his place in an ultimate universe of knowledge, the collective unconscious.

Jung appeared to morph over time from Protestant, Psychiatrist, Gnostic, Guru, etc.  Lachman details Jung's struggles with these internal mental constructs as he attempted to hold on to the label of scientist while publicly denying the role of mystic.  It appears that Jung may have been an empiricist in the beginning, but slowly drifted away towards the mystic...paranormal.

 Lachman further explores Jung's concepts of the collective unconscious  archetypes, and synchronicity which like his mentor, Freud, appeared to center around the interpretations of dreams.  Freud's interpretation of the human psyche centered around sexual gratification and identity, Jung disputed the Freudian premise and focused on the psyche as a primordial identity defined by ones ancestral culture.  One wonders if Jung was attempting to describe the psychology of the human genome. 

Jung's movements outside the box of psychoanalytic thought would eventually drive a wedge between himself and Sigmund Freud.  Jung was seen as the future of Freudian thought and Freud's number one acolyte.  Jung's "outlandish" thoughts for that time period and his self-induced psychotic break would lead to Freud's public demand that Jung undergo extensive psychoanalysis, under Freud's guidance of course.  Jung ignored Freud thus securing the break and the rest is history.

Later in the 1950s, Jung would look into the UFO phenomena writing his book, Flying Saucers: A Modern Myth of Things Seen in the Sky, published in 1958.  According to Lachman:

"Jung argued that whatever their phyical reality, and Jung seemed to be of two minds on this, the strange circular flying shapes that had been reported for the last decade...were "projections" of the modern psyche's need for meaning, an expression of mass hunger for wholeness.  They were in short, mandalas from outer space."

By the time that Jung was looking into the UFO phenomena, the world was gripped in the Cold War which Jung described as "global schizophrenia." 

"...these mass sightings suggested that a collective shift in the human consciousness was on the way..."

Lachman goes on to state that most UFO researches at the time rejected that the UFO phenomena was a mere projection of the unconscious.

In past postings, I've been attempting to delve in the psychological aspects of UFOs.  What does it really mean?  One has to wonder if it's society's psychological push back against an ever changing world that is in conflict with our respective cultures and belief systems.  Can the UFO be a mental construct, or the symptom of a change in paradigms that's been in the making for the past 60 years?

Overall, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it for those interested in Jung's "other" theories and for that matter, Jung's "other" side. 

Robert Hastings AWOL at National Press Clubs DC "Hearings"

Most are aware of the recent National Press Club's "Congressional-style" hearings held last week.  I had noticed that Robert Salas and a few other former military members had given their testimony before the panel.

I couldn't help but notice that one individual was totally missing from the festivities...Robert Hastings.

From the UFO Chronicles:
 
"Hastings decided not to participate in that event, saying, “It’s unfortunate that Bassett chose to mingle the highly credible testimony of the missile launch officers, and the missile security guard, with questionable claims made by some of the other witnesses at the hearing. That is counter-productive if one is attempting to educate the public about the UFO reality and undercuts the legitimacy of the Disclosure process that he supposedly wants to bring about.”

Yet, doesn't this mean that Salas also chose to "mingle the highly credible..." with questionable claims by others?

I'm hesitant to say this, but kudos to Hastings for not participating in this "carnival."  Most know that I tend to be at odds with Hastings' nuke and UFO connection theory, but I believe that positive acknowledgement should be given when well warranted.

Question to ponder:  Does this represent a possible schism between Robert Hastings and Salas?

A Preview of Things to Come

I have a few up and coming projects for this blog.  Earlier last year, I had started to collect data on the 1967 Belt, Mt UFO sighting.  This project stalled due to other things going on in my personal and professional life...all good things, but busy none the less.  I've recently re-started the Belt project and hope to present it on the blog in the near future.

For those not familiar with the Belt, Mt sighting, this was truck driver Kenneth Williams sighting on the evening of 25 March 1967 near Belt, Montana.  I like to refer to this incident as the third and last story of the Malmstrom UFO trilogy.  Blue Book did do a cursory investigation and labeled it as unexplained, but I've come to believe, as others, that this was a little lack luster of an effort from the Air Force and local agencies.  It was covered in the local newspapers, then like most UFO stories it slowly faded with the passage of time.

I'll also be covering the 1968 Minot UFO cases.  There is quite a bit of information that needs to be reviewed.  A while back ago, I touched on one of the Minot stories reviewing David Schuur's story.  It should be easily accessed by using the search feature on this blog.

I further hope to post a couple of articles looking into the psychological aspects to the UFO abduction phenomena.  This area ties in well with my current profession working in the inpatient psychiatric setting.

I've been toying with looking more in-depth at the Roswell story, but I figured that there are plenty of sites were one can get his/her daily Roswell fix.

Kevin Randle's site, A Different Perspective, seems to be just as good as any of the Roswell sites regardless whether you support the UFO/ET theory or not.  I personally like Kevin's site as he allows both believers and skeptics to hash things out in the comments section.

I almost forgot,  Tim Printy's SUNlite, has a Roswell section each issue that's well worth the read.  So read Randle's site first, then go to Printy's place to get the opposing view point.

Over all, I'm pleased with the viewership of the blog as it's pushing close to the 30K views.  Not withstanding those that accidentally stumbled across the site, I'm hoping that those that stick around and/or come back from time to time will consider that there are alternative views and logical explanations for most of the UFO phenomenon.

And lastly, fill free to drop comments.  If you have the urge to say I'm "full of it" then by all means post a comment.  I only ask that you tell me why you believe so.  Conversely, if you like what I'm posting, let me know.  I enjoy the feed back either way.

Edited to add Tim Printy and SUNlite link.