A Christmas present to my old 490th SMS comrades...

A Little Christmas present for my old comrades of the 490th Strategic Missile Squadron, Malmstrom AFB, MT.  This was Robert Salas squadron back in the late 1960s for those who are interested...

I kept my crew blues hanging in the closet. I last wore the uniform for an IG ORI EWO check ride back in Feb 1985 two days later after pulling my final alert out at Kilo. Then I quietly stowed it away after fulfilling 296 alerts, 4 shy of that mythical 300 mark.

Notice the 100 mission patch, I had a 200 mission patch, but never had it placed on the uniform...why, I don't recall. I have it lying around somewhere.

Remember the squadron patch? Greg Ogletree(SIC?) was championing to have it change to a circular patch prior to my leaving to Grand Forks AFB...sadly, he was successful and we lost a very important unit history identity.

And least I forget, notice the faded look which gave everyone the perception that you had been around the block for SAC...I hated that original darker blue look...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Years to all that served pulling SAC alerts, both missile and bomber/tanker crews.  The same wishes to those that are currently serving...I am with you in my thoughts and prayers.

Merry Christmas...Wishing all a Happy New Year

I wanted to take this opportunity to wish all a Merry Christmas...or if you wish, Happy Holidays.  The above photo taken from my living room.

I wish all a prosperous New Year as well.

Apologies for the lack of postings on the site.  I have plans to get back at it after the holidays.  There are interesting topics to write and discuss.

Rich Reynolds, UFO Conjecture(s), is exploring the UFO phenomena as a possible artificial intelligence source...as proposed by Nick Bostrom.  Interesting theory despite any hard evidence to support this possibility.

Kevin Randle and others have been making an attempt to finally decipher the Ramey memo, ala Roswell.  Tim Printy and others have been doing likewise. We'll see if those efforts bare fruit.

I need to finish the Minot 1968 case that was side tracked due to the "Roswell Slides" fiasco.  Unfortunately, I got sucked into that vortex...my own doing.   I've plenty of time to think about the Minot case and time is at hand to transposed my thoughts in a written format.

There are other topics that I want to explore, but I'll have to see what transpires.

So with that said, enjoy the holidays with your family!

Did It Really Happen?: 5 years old...

Exactly five years ago, this blog site came into being.  I posted my first article as a counter argument to the Echo Flight story.  This article still remains as having the most page views.

http://timhebert.blogspot.com/2010/11/did-ufos-disable-minuteman-missiles-at.html

Notice I said story rather than incident.  For that is what it truly was, an interesting story that remains as pure folklore.

Since that day five years ago, this blog has seen a steady growth in readership.  A few regulars check in every now and then, but I get a lot of first time page views which contributes to the health and viability of this blog.

I look forward to continuing the blog for the next 5 years.  The subject matter may change, but in the end I'll still ask the question:  "Did it really happen?"

Feedback from my Halloween Story

My previous post described a memory when I was 6 years of age.  I recall seeing the image or shape of a woman dressed in black standing at or near the doorway of my bedroom. This all coming from my peripheral vision.

Despite my memory of the event being "vivid", I did state that there were logical explanations that could account for the image.  As strange as the image was, I hold that there were plenty of external influences that could have shaped a young boy's imagination.

Back in the early 1960s, television content and programming was rife with such mental vehicles:  Twilight Zone, the Outer Limits and Thriller, just to name a few.  Of course the culture (Cajun) that I grew up in was inundated with supernatural themes, superstitions and folklore so this could have been a catalyst.    

I had originally posted the story on my Facebook page and received some interesting comments.  Especially from my wife:

"Glad you never told me that story....or anyone else....especially in the neuro field you work in. Sorry, I bet wild and vivid imagination, watching TV too much."

And that's why I never told her the story.  Nothing like having your better half weighing in.

A Halloween Story...

Well it's Halloween and what better time to tell a real story involving me...

Back around 1963 or 1964, the family was living in a fairly new constructed two bed room house in Abilene, Tx on Glendale Street. The home was part of a new tract of homes being built up in the north side of town. Jim and I shared one of the bedrooms. I would have been around 6 years old, yet I remember this episode vividly, or so I think.

As I recall, I was playing with a set of toys in the bedroom. I don't recall if Jim was in the room with me or not. I was sitting on the room's floor when out of the corner of my eye, at the doorway entry, I saw a woman dressed in a black dress which appeared to flow down and cover her feet/shoes. Her hair was black and worn with a bun. I could not make out any facial features, yet the image was most definitely that of a woman.

I quickly glanced towards the open doorway and the image was gone. I recall getting up and going to the doorway to look and see if anyone was in the hallway...there was nobody. I don't recall being scared, but only curious as to who this could have been.

I want to say that I saw this figure on numerous occasions when I was playing in the bedroom...always out of the corner of my eye and standing in the doorway only to vanish when I would look directly towards the doorway. But with the passage of time, I not sure that the image did reoccur on numerous occasions, but only that one time.

So what did or who did I see? Since I only saw this image out of the corner of my eye, I could have mistaken any subtle movement as that of the image. But why the image of a woman in a definitely black long dress with her hair tied up in a bun?

There are certainly logical answers from a neurological standpoint. Yet at the age of 58, I remember this image vividly. Active imagination from the mind of a 6 year old?....Or, was it something else?

Part Two: James Carlson's Echo Flight of Fantasy

Here is James' second part of Echo Flight of Fantasy as posted on Unexplained Mysteries. Again a great read and a must for anyone interested in the 1967 Malmstrom cases.


The discussion regarding the cause of the Echo Flight Incident continues in the 341st Strategic Missile Wing and Combat Support Group Command History covering April-June 1967. "During testing at Boeing, a 30 micro sec Pulse (-10 to 0 volt square wave) was placed on the Self Test Command (STC) line at the C-53P Coupler Logic Drawer interface (STC). Seven out of 10 separate applications of a single Pulse, would cause the system to shut down with a Channel 9 & 12 No-Go.

"Subsequent testing at Autonetics has resulted in the following explanation of what probably happens in the Coupler Logic Drawer. The Pulse inserted is long enough to initiate the Coupler Self test sequence within the C-53P. However, it is not of long enough duration to enable control lines to the computer to place the computer in a Coupler test loop Mode. This causes the Coupler to issue a sequence error due to lack of coincidence between G&C and Coupler Modes. This sequence error, together with the action of two other flip flop outputs (M-17 & M-20), is sufficient to initiate the Coupler and G&C No-Go shut down.

"The effort at Boeing NRA was to determine the source and most likely path of noise Pulse to the Logic Coupler. The results of the Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP) testing at the LF and Wing IV indicated that the Sensitive Information Network (SIN) were susceptible to noise of the type that could have caused the problem.

"The SIN lines go only from the LCC to all of the LF's in the flight, which could explain the flight peculiar aspect of the problem."

Had a UFO been involved with this incident, the many months of experiment and procedure by USAF personnel, Boeing Corporation and Autonetics scientists and technical representatives would have hardly been necessary. The documents at all levels of the chain of command very plainly establish that the cause of the missile failures was an electronic noise pulse that entered the Logic Coupler within the LCC and shut down all of the LFs from that central location. In July 1967, message traffic from SAMSO, Norton AFB, in California to OOAMA, at Hill AFB, Utah updates recipients on efforts by the Malmstrom AFB Echo Flight investigators to determine the "singular cause." These messages state right up front that it could not yet be determined; it adds, however, that several follow-on actions had been identified.

Read the rest of the article here. 

James Carlson's views on Echo Flight

James Carlson has been an ardent supporter of mine, as well as I have supported his efforts to bring clarity and sanity to the Echo and Oscar Flights story.  We've developed a close friendship in our search for the truth and education of the masses...at least those who are willing to listen.  While I've attempted to look at the technical and psychological side of the story,  James tends to dive into more aspects of the case that deals with other players in the story.  Back in 2010, James wrote a two part article over at Unexplained Mysteries.  I liked it then and I like it now.

Below is part one of his series:  Echo Flights of Fantasy part one.

The author of this article, James Carlson, is the son of Captain (Retired) Eric D. Carlson, the commander of Echo Flight on March 16, 1967. All of the details and descriptions of events and reports that his father would have been witness to have been confirmed by him as accurate.

On September 27, 2010, in an attempt to build support for the disclosure of UFO-related documents by the U.S. Department of Defense, authors Robert Hastings and Robert Salas hosted a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. Only confirmed members of the press and Congressional staff were invited to attend. With them were seven veterans of the U.S. military who have publically affirmed the interference by UFOs with nuclear facilities in the United States and Europe. According to Hastings and Salas, this proves that the claim of the United States Air Force since 1969 that UFO activity has never had an effect on the national security of the U.S. is a lie. Out of all of the witnesses present, three had come forward to discuss their involvement with a well-known case that allegedly occurred at Malmstrom AFB, Montana in the spring of 1967: the Echo Flight incident of March 16, and an associated event at Oscar Flight on March 24-25. Since first being exposed to public scrutiny by Robert Salas in 1995, this alleged confrontation between UFO and nuclear missile silos has come to be considered one of ten UFO incidents around the world that is best supported by the most reliable evidence. Questions raised regarding the credibility of the witnesses insist, however, that this notoriety is hardly deserved.

read the rest of the article

I'll provide part two this weekend.