DIA: No Docs on NIDS

The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) reported no documents responsive to an FOIA request for contracts undertaken with and funding provided to the National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS). "Despite a thorough search, no documents responsive to your request were found," wrote Alesia Y. Williams, Chief, FOIA and Declassification Services Office, in a May 17 letter from the DIA.

The initial Dec. 23, 2017 request sought records including a likely date range of 1995 to 2004, the years NIDS was an active nonprofit corporation. The now dissolved entity was founded by controversial philanthropist Robert Bigelow and is known for such ventures as research reportedly conducted on the now fabled Skinwalker Ranch. 

The latest FOIA swing and miss further questions the context of a public statement credited to Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies (BAASS) published in conjunction with an update from reporter George Knapp's team. Such references in the statement to viewing "the human body as a readout system for UFO effects by utilizing forensic technology, the tools of immunology, cell biology, genomics and neuroanatomy" led some researchers to suspect inferences to the Skinwalker project, as was directly claimed related to DIA-funded research by select members and associates of To The Stars Academy. It is unclear exactly how the Skinwalker Ranch may be involved with the Advanced Aviation Threat Identification Program (AATIP), seemingly derived from the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program (AAWSAP), and funded by the DIA as reported in a high profile NY Times article and by a Pentagon spokesperson. 

Researcher Keith Basterfield identified longtime Bigelow associate Dr. Colm Kelleher as a likely author of the published BAASS statement. Kelleher and Knapp co-authored Hunt for the Skinwalker, a 2005 book about reportedly fantastic occurrences at the ranch.

George Knapp

Knapp's more recent work includes the publication of what he referred to as "an in-depth report prepared by and for the military" on what became known as the Tic Tac UFO incident. The source of the document was not revealed and it remains unauthenticated as of this writing, causing researchers such as John Greenewald to point out issues looming over the circumstances.

Greenewald previously questioned the scope and depth of the Pentagon-UFO project as framed by the NY Times due to reasons including the continuing lack of FOIA responses and the relatively small amount of funding allocated, about $22 million. Moreover, the Times credited Pentagon spokesman Thomas Crossman with the statement, "It was determined that there were other, higher priority issues that merited funding, and it was in the best interest of the DoD to make a change."

That same Times article stated, "Researchers also studied people who said they had experienced physical effects from encounters with the objects and examined them for any physiological changes." Combined with BAASS statements about studying "the human body as a readout system for UFO effects," researchers might reasonably continue to seek accountability for details of exactly how such projects were initially designed, approved, and overseen. Were research subjects adequately informed of the circumstances? Who were the project personnel? What boards were used to evaluate and approve the work?

Perhaps we will eventually obtain verified answers to such questions. It appears we must rely on the FOIA process, as individuals claiming involvement are proving poor sources of information. FOIA submissions to the DIA remain pending for contractual records, lists of funding recipients, resulting reports, and similar documents pertaining to the AATIP and AAWSAP.

1996 Associated Press article stating Col. John Alexander would not provide details
of how or why research was being conducted at Skinwalker Ranch 

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Related recommended reading:

UFO Info Wars

FOIA the AAWSAP Call for Proposals

Who's Been Running MUFON?

UFO-Pentagon Story Reflects Fundamental Problems

Fusion Centers Were Emailed Mind Control Claims

The Washington State Fusion Center (WSFC) provided files pertaining to alleged electronic harassment perpetrated by the intelligence community in response to an April 19 public records request. The request sought records indicating where images originated and how they were obtained published in an April 18 MuckRock article on remote mind control files previously released by the Center. 

The additional records, provided in a May 16 message from a Washington State Patrol Public Records Officer, include a copy of a 2017 email apparently composed by an activist for a demographic known as Targeted Individuals and sent to multiple fusion centers, among numerous other recipients. The material contained in the email and additional files portrays a variety of unsubstantiated claims, often presented as if factual statements. Also reflected are verified instances of IC nefarious activities, surveillance, and research and development of electronic weaponry. 

Apparent sender & recipients, including several fusion centers,
 of 2017 email, "CIA NSA Surveillance"

The files, seemingly provided to the WSFC from outside sources, tend to blur the lines between speculative accusations and verified historical circumstances, such as Project MKULTRA. Such inexact connections and speculation often occur in the Targeted Individual and UFO communities, which each consist of researchers who explore such material, although typically from differing perspectives.

It was unclear if all of the files provided May 16 were sent to the WSFC in the 2017 email composed by the activist, or received in some other manner. A telephone call to the Public Records Officer was not immediately returned which sought clarification of context of the copy of the 2017 email and accompanying files. It is not entirely apparent how it all pertained to the request submitted, seeking info about the origins of records released to MuckRock. 

The mind control-related material unexpectedly provided to MuckRock, as researcher Curtis Waltman wrote, was included in response to his request for files pertaining to Antifa and white supremacists. The credibility of claims of electronic harassment contained in files subsequently provided by the WSFC is therefore arguably not at issue as compared to the possible significance of the relationship of the material and its authors to the topic of Waltman's request. 

The files contained in the May 16 response are the 2017 email titled, "CIA NSA Surveillance," as well as files titled "Electronic Harassment," "John St. Claire Akwei vs. NSA Ft. Meade MD USA," "Julianne McKinney report," and "projectMKULTRA." The files may be viewed and downloaded at keepandshare.

Repetitive content and email code were removed from "CIA NSA Surveillance" for brevity and uploading before transferring it to pdf. Interested parties may obtain the original file in its entirety from WSFC or contact me. 

The files include content reflecting various degrees of reliability. The MKULTRA file, for instance, appears to be a long available rendering of a Congressional hearing, while other files contain some quite questionable interpretations, and all points in between. The "Juliette McKinney report" contains a 23-page publicly available paper composed in 1992 by McKinney, reportedly a former intelligence officer, and titled, "Microwave Harassment and Mind-Control Experimentation". 

The Targeted Individual and UFO communities somewhat interestingly consist of similar kinds of inner fighting. Accusations are hurled of disinformation agents causing dissent and spreading confusion under the guise of conducting activism and research. 

The collective material provided by WSFC may very well offer no surprises to those familiar with the TI and UFO communities. However, its possible context to the records requests might intrigue researchers.

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Related:

Mind Control Files Included in FOIA Response

UFO Info Wars

"And like, wow, that’s it? That’s all you’re gonna tell us? Really? And you want applause for your 'revolution'? This sounds like a big-time tactical error by BAASS. Who in their right mind hangs this kind of stuff on the line and expects people to walk away without asking some very basic questions? Who paid for this research? Bigelow? Uncle Sam? Both? When do we taxpayers get to see the results? How about the names of all the contributors? What are you thinking?"

- Billy Cox, De Void, on BAASS public statement

To The Stars Academy and its friends of the program are getting some justified scrutiny. If you're going to jump out there and make bold claims, perhaps it would be wise to give more thought to the initial statements if the best idea for follow up is to tell people you can't talk about it.

Advocate for transparency and the normally more tolerant than not Billy Cox came to question TTSA public relations, as described in his March 19 De Void post, TTSA needs a new game plan. Cox presented valid critical points of view about TTSA strategies and leadership while acknowledging the outfit indeed got the public talking UFOs.

Robert Bigelow

In his May 7 offering, A question of ownership, Cox addressed, among other topics, what can reasonably be called a mind numbingly questionable public statement from Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies (BAASS). The statement directly claims BAASS UFO investigation involved some 50 full-time staff, including retired military intelligence officers, scientists, analysts, and project managers "in adopting the novel approach of utilizing the human body as a readout system for dissecting interactions with the UFO phenomenon." 

The BAASS statement continued:

The BAASS approach was to view the human body as a readout system for UFO effects by utilizing forensic technology, the tools of immunology, cell biology, genomics and neuroanatomy for in depth study of the effects of UFOs on humans. This approach marked a dramatic shift away from the traditional norms of relying on eyewitness testimony as the central evidentiary arm in UFO investigations. The approach aimed to bypass UFO deception and manipulation of human perception by utilizing molecular forensics to decipher the biological consequences of the phenomenon.

The result of applying this new approach was a revolution in delineating the threat level of UFOs.

It is more than reasonable to expect substantiating data. Researchers should be satisfied with no less than clear and supporting documentation of how involved the Defense Intelligence Agency was in funding such work (as previously claimed), what was reported to the DIA, and clarification of what is available for public release. 

Scientific Method?  

Arguably adding insult to injury, longtime Team Bigelow consultant Dr. Eric Davis made a social media post berating researchers attempting to clarify the circumstances through the Freedom of Information Act. What's more, Davis made some assertions about how the FOIA works, which were addressed and challenged as "blatantly false" by John Greenewald of The Black Vault.

While Greenewald's points are indeed valid, there was yet another statement in the Davis rant that deserves calling out. Davis wrote, "The multi-sensor and radar platforms data fusion plus F-18 pilot and warship observers, all analyzed and synthesized into a forensic picture that Tic-Tac shaped craft are non-terrestrial because all other possible explanations were scientifically eliminated according to the scientific method." Emphasis mine.

CB Scott Jones, Edgar Mitchell & John Alexander

Okay, I'm not gonna take the time to get qualified experts to explain the scientific method and what's wrong with that statement, but suffice it to say there's plenty. I've spent a significant amount of time over the past eight years blogging about the sensational kinds of circumstances and statements as described above. I've covered the conspiracy mongering of Gen. Bert Stubblebine and his wife Dr. Rima Laibow, the evasiveness of Col. John Alexander, and the mind control and pro-ETH statements of Cmdr. C.B. Scott Jones, among much more.

I don't know what was wrong with these people. I don't claim to know why they thought themselves entitled to be exempt from providing documentation of their claims and/or accountability for their statements.

Maybe they truly believed the things they said. Maybe they were involved in orchestrated deceptions. Perhaps the very nature of their work led to some extent of irrationality over time. Maybe combinations of all of that apply, but one point should come through loud and clear: Statements from the intelligence community and its consultants can absolutely not be taken at face value, whatever the reasons. Verification is a must, and any given individual either demonstrates an understanding of the necessity of evidence available for public review or they do not.

FOIA the AAWSAP Call for Proposals

Researcher Keith Basterfield located a Defense Intelligence Agency 2008 call for proposals for the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program (AAWSAP). This may be among the most promising developments to date in untangling the fishing line knotted by To The Stars Academy (TTSA) and its less than clear personnel.

Basterfield and fellow researchers including Paul Dean have been steadily working at identifying what can be substantiated about the evolving TTSA story of Pentagon UFO projects. Discoveries include the likelihood the Advanced Aviation (and/or Aerospace) Threat Identification Program (AATIP), which was the operation originally publicized by TTSA, was derived from the AAWSAP.

Cutting to the chase, researchers and interested parties - yes, that means us - may submit FOIA requests to the DIA, citing the 2008 AAWSAP call for proposals. Requests may be emailed to FOIA@dodiis.mil, seeking such records as funded proposals and resulting project reports. Be sure to include the specific solicitation number as helpfully provided above by Basterfield.

Keep an eye on The UFO Chronicles as a one-stop resource to keep up to date on the work of Basterfield, Dean and others. Interested readers might also choose to monitor or subscribe to the UFO Collective Google group and e-list, where Basterfield and Dean post updates.