Oh, Disclosure, I Hear You Calling

    The following post is an excerpt from Chapter 1 of the 2021 book, Wayward Sons: NICAP and the IC. It seems currently relevant - if not evergreen - to the UFO topic. You may find the book on Amazon.

Keep up with author Jack Brewer's activities at Expanding Frontiers Research, a nonprofit organization he co-founded with Erica Lukes, where they and a growing team of outstanding volunteers conduct FOIA-related research, maintain a blog, produce a YouTube video show, and plan exciting future projects.

OH, DISCLOSURE, I HEAR YOU CALLING

    The 1940s rang in the modern UFO era. Many researchers went on to sincerely believe they had legitimate shots at pulling the UFO sword from the stone.

The late Leonard Stringfield

“The greatest story involving Earth and Space may soon be told,” proclaimed an October 1, 1954, newsletter distributed by CRIFO. That organization was “Civilian Research, Interplanetary Flying Objects,” directed by Leonard Stringfield.

The assertion was based on an interview Stringfield conducted with Lt. Col. John O'Mara, described as a “Deputy Commander, Intelligence,” in the United States Air Force. The colonel apparently kindly “confirmed the existence of 'flying saucers,'” leading Stringfield to declare the “truth may be bared soon.”

Spoiler: It wasn't.

Stringfield further reported the Air Force planned to cooperate with the public about saucers, and that the public would be taken into confidence. This was believed to be “stimulated by recent events.” Ain't it always?

Stringfield continued, “Flying saucers 'do exist' the Colonel told me, and he added, in effect, past contradictions were unfortunate.”

Stringfield described Col. O'Mara as “wonderfully cooperative,” and the officer even gave a thumbs up to the CRIFO newsletter. Asked about the publication, the colonel indicated it was slanted in the right direction.

The CRIFO newsletter was shared with me in an email from writer and researcher James Carrion. He found the comparisons interesting to much more recent drums of Disclosure, as beaten by such outlets as the New York Times. I indeed share the perspective, as we can note many similarities to the ongoing story of the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) and those promoting the narrative. Comparisons include: recent events were supposedly a tipping point; in-the-know intelligence community insiders were believed to be aiding the process; the government acknowledged the existence of UFOs; praise was bestowed upon the writer embracing the narrative; and, of course, the ultimate confirmation was to come any day. 

Members of the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena, or NICAP, once believed they, too, were on the verge of something big. In approximately 1958 literature from the young organization was distributed with a message from its director, Maj. Donald E. Keyhoe.

“Because of new developments, we expect a break in official [UFO] secrecy in 1959,” it was explained (see p4). The general story line came to be a recurring theme for NICAP and its investigators, many of whom worked diligently in their attempts to facilitate Disclosure. It was believed an ample amount of public pressure strategically applied to the right agencies and offices would cause a bean spill. The struggle, progress and setbacks of Disclosure were often publicly reported by the group. As a matter of fact, a tug of war with Uncle Sam pretty much came to define NICAP.

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    “We're close to it,” Maj. Keyhoe declared in 1966 about discovering what flying saucers were. He made the statement towards the end of his appearance on the then-popular nationally televised show, To Tell the Truth.

In 1978, optimism among UFO investigators persisted. Phoenix-based Ground Saucer Watch (GSW) Director William H. Spaulding suggested during a funding appeal published in the organization's April bulletin that UFO answers were obtainable.

He wrote, “Now is the time all of us must ask ourselves if we really want to solve the UFO mystery. If you answer yes, then we must ask every member to donate five, ten, twenty dollars to help defer the expensive legal fees.”

Spaulding was alluding to legal action directed at targets such as the CIA to obtain what were believed to be revealing UFO documents. In that same bulletin, GSW Director of Research W. Todd Zechel expressed his confidence in cracking the case.

Zechel told readers, “In order to continue this fight and put enough pressure on government agencies to force them to start telling the truth regarding UFOs, we need substantial donations from each and every member. Moreover, we need help from the general public. After all, these efforts will benefit all of mankind, in that the evidence we obtain will once and for all allow us to determine the origin and nature of UFOs. I'll get you the truth: you get me the funds.”

In Spaulding and Zechel's defense, they and their colleagues actually did, in fact, successfully obtain a substantial amount of government documents pertaining to UFOs. The material just never conclusively established their ultimate suspicions and beliefs about Uncle Sam and saucers.

Too bad for Ground Saucer Watch they didn't think of raising funds by throwing a hat in the public securities ring. That's what happened in 2017 at To The Stars Academy of Arts and Science (TTSA).

Coinciding with a company launch and call for investors, TTSA front man Tom DeLonge took up the 'breakthroughs are imminent' torch, stating, “We believe there are discoveries within our reach that will revolutionize the human experience, but they can only be accomplished through the unrestricted support of breakthrough research and innovation.”

“Imagine having 25th century technology this century,” added longtime ufology staple and TTSA co-founder Dr. Hal Puthoff. He explained that a team of passionately curious minds was assembled to reveal and decode “information that can challenge the limits of traditional theory” pertaining to studying Unidentified Aerial Phenomena. Puthoff further asserted they were bringing transformative science and engineering out of the shadows.

Those 2017 remarks by DeLonge and Puthoff do not appear to be aging too awfully much better than those from their overly optimistic and perhaps at times self-important 20th century predecessors, but maybe I don't know revolutionized human experience and transformative science when I see it. I do, however, still have my money in my pocket. As of this writing, it appears much of that team of passionately curious minds sought greener pastures and the future of TTSA is very much in doubt.

Prior to the TTSA creative fundraising, the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) cut right to the chase and seemed to accept funds provided to Robert Bigelow by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). The controversial philanthropist and UFO World main character facilitated the arrangement as part of apparent Pentagon UFO programs. I say “apparent” because a great deal of the projects remain unconfirmed for the time being. Key MUFON personnel typically claim no knowledge of the source of the funds or involvement with what we now know to have been the agency originally managing the reported UFO projects, the DIA. It is also unclear if the DIA fully endorsed enrolling the services of MUFON, particularly if the feds were already in possession of so much information ripe for Disclosure, but we'll just keep moving.

Writers like Leslie Kean and George Knapp managed to position themselves in the midst of the Disclosure dust devil on several occasions, even if their coverage may be disingenuous, in error, or more than a little responsible for perpetuating the whirlwind itself. The two, along with numerous Disclosure beat reporters who followed suit, tend to promote rather credulous stories and flawed lines of reasoning in the form of what some came to consider access journalism. Such examples include Knapp's devotion to the Bob Lazar story, unquestioning portrayal of Skinwalker Ranch, and uncritical acceptance of TTSA statements and narratives while consistently showcasing the personalities involved.

Knapp's defense of the dubious Lazar case is particularly vulnerable to criticism, considering the duo's claim they were each aware of a location where Lazar stashed some purportedly alien-engineered Element 115, yet they steadfastly refused to produce it. Researchers aptly noted the irony of supposed Disclosure activists who, we are to believe, choose not to grace the world with the very smoking gun they demand from the powers that be.

Kean's objectivity and apparent confirmation bias were called into question when she perpetuated claims of a government cover-up of the JAL 1628 UFO case. The claims were directly contradicted by testimonies of two firsthand witnesses to the alleged cover-up. They attended a meeting in which the purported cover-up directive was allegedly issued, yet they said no such statements were made. Moreover, the two indicated info was actually distributed for analysis. Kean omitted the circumstances from her account of the case - even after researchers brought them to her attention - while reportedly simultaneously obstructing communication between the researchers and her contact who claimed the cover-up was in place.

Kean also made yet to be verified assertions about the AATIP, as well as fantastic claims about Chilean alleged UFOs that proved unsupported. The work of such writers as Kean and Knapp is held in high regard by many UFO enthusiasts, while others seriously question their chronic uncritical and incomplete reporting that often omits rather obvious discrepancies. Criticism may be most justified in the way the two present themselves as journalists, while titles such as UFO promoters seem much more accurate.

Yet another noteworthy UFO Disclosure activist, or at least he seems to like to think so, is Dr. Steven Greer. The former medical doctor undertook rather extreme theatrics and questionable lines of research, ostensibly designed to facilitate wider knowledge of UFOs and their occupants. Greer's activities reportedly include bringing an entourage of armed bodyguards to a scheduled speaking engagement at the 2013 Contact in the Desert event in Joshua Tree, California. He is also known for exaggerating the significance of his interactions with public officials and charging substantial fees for workshops purported to facilitate contact with extraterrestrials, among other eyebrow-raising activities.

Greer's general shtick is that the visiting ETs are friendly, but Uncle Sam wants to paint them as hostile and keep a lid on it because ET has a source of free energy. Letting the free energy cat out of the bag would loosen the government stranglehold on many industries, Greer suggests. His outspoken activism on UFO truth, he would lead us to believe, resulted in several thwarted attempts on his life by the powers that be, thus the dramatic scene at Joshua Tree.

Contents of a May 2013 promotional MUFON email

Greer may be most infamous for his extraordinary claims which proved incorrect surrounding the Atacama skeleton, and the ethical issues which arose with his and Dr. Garry Nolan's handling of the specimen. Nolan, an honored Stanford professor and researcher who obtained degrees in genetics, had a brief affiliation with To The Stars. He was also widely and confidently suspected to be a not so anonymously portrayed, starry eyed character in a Dr. Diana Walsh Pasulka nonfiction (sort of) book, American Cosmic.

The situation was questioned by your author, as was Nolan and Walsh Pasulka's lack of willingness to directly address their alleged involvement in reports of “security personnel” monitoring and editing her statements made on podcasts. Suffice it to say neither of the two had much to say about any of it, but I guess that's Disclosure for you. Transparency often seems to only be a good thing if it's applied to the actions of others. The sincerity of Walsh Pasulka's seemingly halfhearted effort to conceal the identities of primary characters in American Cosmic was questioned throughout segments of the UFO genre, as were the underlying motives.

Back to Greer. He shoveled the coal pretty hard on the Atacama skeleton story, which he sold as pertaining to extraterrestrials. This was depicted in his 2013 crowdsource-funded film, Sirius, which was billed as blowing the lid off the UFO mystery. Cash contributors voiced disappointment when they had to pay to view the movie and indicated they felt double billed. Some then found the contents of the movie lacking and falling well short of its advertised lid-blowing significance. The disappointment didn't get any less bitter when Greer announced yet another film which needed funding and would, once and for all, reveal the shocking truth. It of course didn't, then he did it again. Some might think tax forms show the purpose of his persistence in the face of chronic futility.

In 2014 I reviewed tax information submitted to the Internal Revenue Service by the Greer-operated nonprofit corporation, Center for the Study of Extraterrestrial Intelligence (CSETI), which seemed to serve as the hub for his ventures. I discovered Greer reported taking no salary from CSETI, but during the 2012 tax year, CSETI reported paying some $177,000 for consultation fees to the Greer-owned Crossing Point Inc.

The amount CSETI paid the prior year, 2011, to Crossing Point was $180,360. In 2010 over $214,000 was paid from CSETI to Crossing Point. During the three-year period reviewed, Greer's Crossing Point was paid nearly 70% of the $833,083 combined CSETI reported total income, according to 990 forms filed to the IRS.

The 2012 CSETI Form 990EZ indicated the organization surrendered its nonprofit status effective January 1, 2013. The move may have been related to bringing in so much more unrelated business income than public support that its nonprofit charity status was possibly jeopardized as defined by IRS. Surrendering the nonprofit status would then be an advisable move on Dr. Greer's part, and not bad work if you can get it.

Stephen Bassett crashed the Disclosure party and formed the Paradigm Research Group, a lobbying initiative, or something to that effect, to end the “truth embargo.” To the best of my knowledge, the Group officially and functionally consists of no one other than himself. His efforts include such projects as the 2008 Million Fax on Washington, in which he attempted to inspire followers to inundate the incoming Obama administration with faxes, emails, and phone calls demanding the release of UFO files.

Bassett probably made his loudest noise with the 2013 Citizen Hearing on Disclosure. Six former members of Congress were paid $20,000 apiece to sit in a mock hearing in which they spent a few days listening to dozens of people of varying levels of credibility, notoriety, and infamy provide testimony on UFOs. The above mentioned Steven Greer was among the presenters, and evening activities included a screening of his film, Sirius.

Richard Dolan was also among the presenters at the Citizen Hearing and is known for what his followers seem to believe is his fight to pry the UFO truth from the government. At the Hearing he rather shamelessly trotted out a filmed interview of an aged man, referred to as “Anonymous.” The man allegedly worked for the CIA and observed many astounding ET-related sights during his employment at Area 51. The statements, dubbed a deathbed testimony, were heavily implied to be motivated by the man's desire to tell the world what he knew and avoid taking the stories to his looming grave.

Trouble was, as I covered in 2013, Linda Moulton Howe had long since interviewed “Anonymous.” His completely unverified story was no less than 15 years old at the time it was implied to be urgent and showcased by Dolan and Bassett at the Citizen Hearing on Disclosure. In preparation for my above referenced 2013 article on the situation, I offered both Dolan and Bassett an opportunity to comment and explain what they would say to people who might question the tactic. Neither responded.

Mummy of a two year old boy promoted as an ET

Doubt was further cast on Dolan's judgment and motives when he participated in the Roswell Slides fiasco, a chain of events involving slides which depicted what was actually a mummified Native American child but were promoted as images of an ET. Dolan spoke at the dubious beWITNESS event, a public rollout of the slides sponsored by Jaime Maussan, at which time Dolan called the slides “compelling.” He also vouched for the research skills of the questionable crew promoting the story, who at absolute best utterly failed to pursue the most profoundly obvious of explanations. Many wondered how Dolan, who claims to be qualified to penetrate and analyze complex issues related to UFOs and national security, could sincerely be so inept.

Shortly after the beWITNESS purported big reveal of the slides, the truth came shining through and the story was completely dismantled due to the quality work of the Roswell Slides Research Group. Within hours of the event, a team of volunteer researchers was well on its way to competently analyzing the slides, high resolution images of which the promoters had previously withheld and supposedly been unable to accurately interpret for years. As stated, the slides were conclusively shown to depict a deceased Native American child. Dolan's stock continued to dip with other instances of seemingly unquestioning acceptance of fantastic stories that should test the patience of even the most credulous UFO fan.

He more recently vigorously fanned the flames of an ill conceived tale with extremely loose connections between dots, all ultimately designed to prove what, in UFO circles, is known as the Core Story (saucer crashes, alien bodies and all that). A word to the wise: if an argument relies heavily on speculation, it doesn't prove a point.

The incarnation in question of this version of the Core Story involves hearsay and alleged statements attributed to the purportedly in-the-know Adm. Thomas R. Wilson, and was referred to by Dolan as the “UFO leak of the century.” The story was of course amplified by George Knapp, since it included reference to Eric Davis and others of Skinwalker and TTSA notoriety. For those particularly interested, writer Billy Cox reported how Wilson repeatedly denied any validity to the rumors, among other problematic aspects of this shaggy dog story.

It is rather fascinating how the UFO Disclosure concept stays propped up so sturdily. Back on January 8, 1999, Art Bell hosted “UFO Disclosure '99” on Coast to Coast AM. Stephen Bassett was an integral part of the show, and other guests included Steven Greer, Richard Hoagland, and Joe Firmage.

It should be noted that so many of these UFO activists somehow manage to endlessly sell urgency. Many have been personally ringing an alarm of imminent Disclosure for decades.

The highest hurdle for Bassett to clear indeed became the fact the deadlines of his recurring insinuations and outright predictions came and went, unfulfilled. And he made a lot of insinuations and predictions.

Similar can be said of history's many UFO personalities who donned the Disclosure cape to promise all-telling government revelations to an eagerly awaiting UFO World. It may get tough to perpetually conjure Disclosure urgency, but it is obviously quite possible. New generations and followers continue to find it an irresistible draw while taking roles as both movement leaders and supporters. For some there may be a lack of awareness of the history of futility, while the dedication of others may be grounded in stubbornness, wishful thinking, questionable motives, or any number of such circumstances. The UFO-intoxicated masses just keep coming, and there is always a supplier to meet the demand, if not create it.

Let's dial the clock back from the current headspinning pace and return to the early days of the modern UFO steeplechase. Though absent internet and podcasts, the pioneers were not without urgency and drama. Far from it.

Our group of focus formed in Washington, D.C. in the 1950s. Mystery and curiosity surrounded the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena from its very inception. Many challenges would plague the organization, but public interest in its affairs was usually not among them. This was apparently due in part to the public's fascination with flying saucers, an occurrence which was driven by several factors, most certainly including media attention.

After considerable investigation I have become thoroughly convinced many NICAP members were sincere and effective researchers, even if unaware of their biases at times. Whatever games may have been afoot, there were indeed people in NICAP genuinely interested in a UFO mystery, for better or worse. They believed their work was important and they considered themselves to be pioneers of a sort. In some manners of speaking, perhaps they were. In other instances, motives are more in question, as is research accuracy at times.

NICAP experienced highs, lows, success and failure, reportedly amassing some 14,000 members at one point. For some context, the Mutual UFO Network currently claims on its website to have about 4,000 worldwide members.

Among the most notable aspects of the NICAP legacy is The UFO Evidence, brought to life by editor Richard Hall. The 1964 report consists of some 200,000 words of UFO investigations. It embodies what NICAP felt was its 750 most compelling cases from the more than 5,000 contained in its files. The UFO Evidence was provided to Congress and more than 10,000 copies were disseminated to scientific research organizations, government agencies, universities, military installations, and libraries (see p46). While the relevance of the material could certainly be debated, the report offered a tangible starting point for discussions and a realized achievement for investigators of its day.

So what happened between NICAP's inception, a 1960s heyday of public interest, soaring membership, reports of CIA infiltration, the org's decline, and its eventual 1980s demise? To better understand the rise and fall of NICAP, and events of cultural and social significance along the way, let's start by exploring the beginnings. That takes us to the U.S. capitol. The year was 1956.

UFO Research Integrity

Logic suggests explanations requiring the least number of hypothetical scenarios are often most feasible. Smart money goes with the most likely, least complex models when ranking possibilities.

In UFO circles we frequently lose sight of most likely explanations. Part of the reason may be because so much time is devoted to imagining the extraordinary. We tend to gravitate towards believing what we hear the most, no matter how often it may be properly framed as supposition. It's difficult to keep things in perspective when a 15-second disclaimer is followed by an hour of podcast speculation. Squeaky wheels get oil, even when delivered through sources such as fictional movies and television shows.

We often suspect the existence of hidden agendas - conspiracies, if you will - within the UFO genre because it can be so difficult to accept select researchers and organizations are as incompetent and credulous as they appear. Did the Roswell Slides promoters truly think that mummified Native American was a crash-landed visitor from the stars? Did Dr. Steven Greer really think that Atacama skeleton was an alien and did he and Dr. Garry Nolan honestly not understand the ethical concerns that would arise over their handling of it? Did Robert Bigelow and a team of consultants think there was scientific merit in hiring "security guards" to reportedly play with alleged voice phenomena and conduct similar occult practices? (That last scenario was apparently funded by your tax dollars.) 

Could they have all sincerely had such poor judgement? Such reasonable questions abound.

The infamous Roswell Slides telltale placard

We might consider that, from a perspective of assessing research integrity, answers to the above questions don't really make that much difference. The integrity of research is weakened when investigators fail to respect and adhere to universally recognized protocols and codes of ethics. No matter what their agendas, their research is not reliable if they must incorporate numerous hypothetical scenarios into forming their arguments. We really don't need to know what personally motivated David Jacobs and if he is as obliviously incompetent as he seems in order to accurately identify his ethics failings and resulting poor quality of research. This means we don't learn anything of value, at least not about alleged paranormal experiences, from such material, and we are at high risk of absorbing and exposing others to incorrect information. Meanwhile, people are harmed and justifiably offended in the process of such examples as named thus far.

Paul Carr is a spacecraft systems engineer who facilitates several science-friendly podcasts. In response to request for comment on research integrity, Carr replied that he considers virtues of UFO research to include patience, humility, integrity and skepticism. Carr directs Aerial Phenomena Investigations (API), a UFO research group with a track record of commitments to evidence-based investigation and ethical treatment of UFO witnesses. He says the two go hand in hand.

"UFO research primarily deals with human memories," Carr stated, "and it has become clear to us at API that while the ethical treatment of witnesses and an open, honest, and careful approach to collecting and analyzing data are not the same thing, they are both members of a healthy body of research practice. Whatever threatens to corrupt one also threatens the other. Willful abuse of facts and fallacious reasoning readily metastasizes into abuses of innocent persons. This isn't something that just happens to organizations. It is a choice they make.

"It's not that we won't make mistakes - we will. It's what you do and how you change after a mistake is made that is the best marker of integrity."

Perhaps Robert Bigelow and his various teams assembled over the years have been unjustly saddled with conspiracy theories. It is possible they are simply as credulous as they seem to want us to believe. 

Substantial resources were poured into a Utah ranch. Claims of extraordinary creatures, portals to other dimensions, and various sensational happenings, the vast majority of which purportedly defied any kind of significant documentation, became the stuff of legends. Maybe the involved credentialed researchers sincerely do not understand the inherent problems in expecting others to embrace their unverified claims. Maybe they are truly that blinded by belief.

The Typhoid Mary-like innocence of claimed ignorance meets large problems when issues of fully informed consent arise. This was not only the case at the Skinwalker Ranch, as former security guards expressed concerns over their apparent unwitting involvement in state-funded research, but was a key component of the infamous Carpenter Affair as well.

Maybe John Carpenter, Robert Bigelow, John Alexander, John Schuessler and others were truly oblivious to the ethical minefield of covertly supplying Bigelow's National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS) with information discussed between therapist and clients. Data and recordings of hypnosis sessions from some 140 case files were obtained for about 100 bucks apiece. Maybe some of the people involved in facilitating and concealing the transaction just didn't see publicly addressing the circumstances and voicing objections as feasible options. Obviously not, given their stances of mostly silence and aversion to questions. 

Perhaps some of them honestly believed the potential research gains outweighed the liabilities and betrayals. Maybe they honestly misunderstood and vastly overestimated the minimal scientific value of a collection of hypnosis-induced accounts of alien abduction. Such missteps are magnified when the parties claim to be conducting scientific study, as was the case.

Such scenarios, regardless of motive and intent, border dangerously on mad scientist territory. Codes of ethics are designed, in part, to deter researchers afflicted with delusions of self-importance from sacrificing human welfare during an incorrectly perceived pursuit of historic breakthroughs. This widely eludes much of the UFO genre and particularly its pro-hypnosis segment. Virtually anything appears deemed worth the cost of chasing an alien abduction carrot which has consistently remained out of reach.

"The importance of ethics in research integrity is that it creates the ground level from which all of your work is built," explained Dr. Christopher Cogswell, who holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering and co-hosts a popular podcast which explores fringe topics from reasoned perspectives. "If the ground isn't stable, then everything else you generate or say becomes built on a shaky foundation, which can easily be toppled by the first critical look at your methods and history. It is OK to be wrong or make a mistake, we are all human. But to continue despite evidence of mismanagement, error, or unethical practice makes your entire body of work suspect and tinged with that lens."  

We could carry our line of considerations to its chronological next steps, the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) and the resulting To The Stars Academy (TTSA). Maybe intelligence professionals such as Luis Elizondo and Christopher Mellon are simply overly enthusiastic about the UFO topic and don't understand the problematic nature of trying to turn film clips into proof of the extraordinary. Perhaps Elizondo was simply too inexperienced at UFO investigation to adequately assess an extremely questionable case he and the seemingly ultra credulous Tom DeLonge highlighted on cable television. Maybe there's just an overwhelming amount of UFO history for Elizondo to learn, and maybe it simply never occurred to him to secure receipts that could answer questions about his background before he went to TTSA and started making claims he was apparently unprepared to adequately address if questioned. 

Maybe shelling out 35 grand for Art's Parts will prove brilliant. Perhaps the group's collection of alleged metal alloys, UAP fragments, or whatever the current going designation is will lead to paradigm-shifting discoveries. And, if not, maybe it all happened for no other reasons than none of the TTSA personnel knew any better. 

An obvious problem with AATIP is it consisted of Robert Bigelow and some of his perpetual cast members. This is not necessarily a negative thing in itself, but from a perspective of integrity of research, it is only prudent to question the effectiveness of the work of investigators who spent decades apparently more dedicated to belief than time-tested protocols. That's the case, anyway, if we are to believe their past indiscretions, as already described, resulted entirely from simple error. Again, it doesn't matter from an integrity of research standpoint whether they are incompetent or have ulterior motives when the outcome chronically produces nothing of significant scientific value.

As may have been the case with issues surrounding the security personnel at Skinwalker and the exploited hypnosis subjects of John Carpenter, perhaps it was poor understandings and lack of foresight that contributed to the Bigelow-facilitated covert funneling of DIA funds into MUFON. Maybe Bigelow, Schuessler, and none of the involved parties realized the problematic nature of an intelligence agency funding a 501(c)(3) UFO organization while concealing the fact from the rest of its governing board members and the public at large.  

Some of the boys in the Remote Viewing band. And NIDS.
And Skinwalker. And BAASS. And AATIP. And TTSA.

This isn't about people who may possibly be influenced by false memories or misidentify an exotic aircraft. We're not discussing individuals who experience some kind of event(s) they don't understand and go in search of answers. We're talking about credentialed scientists and professional intelligence personnel who in some cases subscribe to irresponsibly unsupported beliefs and flawed research methodologies, sometimes while under the commission of United States government grant funds.

It seems more than clear to this writer that, if we give all these people the benefit of the doubt and take them at their implied word, we should fully expect to scrutinize their opinions at length and have their research claims painstakingly verified before fully accepting them. Such investigators apparently, at best, suffer from recurring episodes of rather astoundingly poor judgement. 

The good news is we don't have to rely on personalities and popularity as tools for assessing research. Its merit or lack thereof should be self-evident.  

The fact will always remain that should some yet to be proven assertions turn out to be correct, they're indeed not established yet. Just because the future may show something to be accurate, that does not in any way mean you should currently exempt it from reasonable fact-checking. That's how we find out if it's true.

It is important we know the difference between facts and claims asserted by investigators, hold them accountable, and commit ourselves to respecting ethical standards and best practices as recognized by the professional research community. Integrity of UFO research, and ultimately what people believe is flying around up there, depend on it. 

Advocacy or Investigation: Only Way to the Truth Is Through Critical Review

Sometimes what's not being discussed may be most telling of all. 

In yet another intriguing episode of UFO Classified, show host Erica Lukes interviewed Mick West. A number of interesting points were discussed about issues surrounding the now famous Navy videos. 

Lukes raised the possibility the objects depicted may in some instances represent quite human aircraft or other types of experimental operations, such as the testing of advanced radar and countermeasures. This has been competently posed by others, as well, including Tyler Rogoway, who noted a number of circumstances consistent with military exercises in a series of posts at The War Zone. UFO World nemesis Seth Shostak raised a similarly interesting - and entertaining - point on a recent episode of Coast to Coast AM when he suggested F/A-18 aircraft seem to be a common denominator of the video clips. That might be considered comparable, he added, to having only one make of binoculars which consistently reveal Bigfoot.   

Mick West explained during his recent discussion with Lukes why he is underwhelmed by the Navy vids and the related media fuss. Lukes added that, as spherical UFO reports go, the TTSA-hyped variety may arguably not even be among the most compelling. She then described two cases which happened during her stint as Utah MUFON State Director.

Several sphere-shaped flying objects were observed by multiple witnesses in Utah during daylight hours, Lukes explained. The sightings went on for an extended period of time, as sightings go, and witnesses described the objects as able to hover in place, as well as accelerate at what were perceived to be high speeds. Interestingly, the sightings placed the objects over a National Security Agency facility, consisting of what Lukes described as highly restricted airspace. Some witnesses reported military aircraft in the vicinity, seemingly monitoring or supporting the situation. Lukes discussed the case in the context it may have represented advanced drones, among other possibilities.

Shortly following the Utah case, Lukes explained further, a similar sighting took place in Colorado. The Utah and Colorado reports were very similar in witness descriptions of the objects and flight capabilities. Lukes described her disappointment and surprise when MUFON upper management, for whatever reasons, discouraged further investigation and asserted the Colorado case was the result of a Google balloon. Lukes suggested the explanation was simply not consistent with the evidence collected. 

It is curious that we do not hear more about cases as Lukes described, aspects of the Navy vids and witness accounts as addressed by West, and similar material that provides much more accurate context than typically circulated. Would the average UFO enthusiast know the difference - or want to know the difference - between UFO advocacy and competent investigation? 

Code-name Bumblehive: the Utah Data Center, a domestic surveillance
facility in which NSA serves as the lead agency 

Yet another potentially relevant case curiously omitted from current public discourse involves a series of spherical flying object sightings in Iran, circa 2004. That's the same year as the now much discussed Nimitz incident. 

Those of us with an even passing familiarity with the Navy reports, what we might call typical orb sightings, and even UFO reports in general should quickly recognize possible correlations. As reported in Forbes, among other sources, the spherical objects were menacing Iranian nuclear sites. 

Forbes further reported that, according to Iranian sources, the small wingless objects had advanced flight capabilities, including cruising outside the atmosphere and at speeds ranging from Mach 10 (that's 7,673 mph) to zero, sometimes hovering in place. The objects possessed powerful electronic countermeasures, or ECM, capacities that could jam Iranian radar and disrupt navigation equipment by using high levels of magnetic energy.

According to one report, the pilot of an F-14 Tomcat tried to lock its radar on the target, only to have the beam disrupted. The Iranian pilot reportedly said the object was spherical with a green afterburner, adding that the intruder increased its speed and "disappeared like a meteor."  

The objects were further described as luminous. Interestingly, Iranian officials indicated they suspected the reported light emission enabled night photography. The Iranians did not in the least suspect their nuclear facilities were being explored by interplanetary aliens or subjected to fabled Skinwalker-like poltergeists, but, to the chase, they decidedly thought the objects to be none other than CIA drones.  

"According to Iranian sources, the CIA's intelligence drones displayed astonishing flight characteristics," Forbes reported. 

Regular blog readers and those who read The Greys Have Been Framed may recall I've been waving this case around for a while now. A little repetition never hurts, I guess, especially when the point keeps seeming relevant.

Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel drone

Defense and aviation writers consulted tell us here at The UFO Trail that it is indeed now apparent such CIA drone surveillance occurred over Iran during the time in question, whether or not it necessarily involved advanced flying spheres. Foreign Policy reports, for instance, that the U.S. began flying drone missions over Iran from Iraq as early as April of 2004. A CIA-controlled RQ-170 Sentinel drone crashed and was captured by Iranian forces in 2011, with such missions reportedly reaching hundreds of miles into the nation for years prior and following the incident.

The case of the menacing, hypersonic spheres raises many reasonable questions and concerns. It is essential to address them. 

Maybe the Iranian sources are not entirely trustworthy, having hatched a disinformation scheme for what might be a variety of objectives. Perhaps the story is a mixture of truth and intentional disinformation. Another possibility is perhaps most of it is relatively sincere, but pilots are simply mistaken about some of what they saw. Maybe the objects were CIA drones, were spherical as reported similarly at later dates by American pilots, but the pilots were simply wrong about some of the specific flight capabilities they think they observed.

It is worth noting that virtually all of the reasonable questions we might pose about the Iranian case equally apply to the Navy vids and corresponding reports. Furthermore, the questions are entirely necessary in order to ever arrive at any semblance of discerning what actually took place. Not only is it not taboo to raise and discuss the issues, it is completely essential to the fact-finding process.

In related news, science journalist Sarah Scoles raised yet more valid points which are noticeably absent from UFO discussion and typical coverage. She recently commented on FOIA documents pertaining to the Navy UFO incidents obtained by War Zone and related circumstances:

Also would like to note that two of the famous UFO videos, which the Times claims the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program investigated, were recorded after that program officially ended.

— Sarah Scoles (@ScolesSarah) May 18, 2020

Specifically, and according to the Pentagon, two of the three videos were originally filmed in January of 2015. Many sources, including the much discussed Times article itself, established the official date range of the AATIP to be from 2007-2012. Reuters reported in Dec. 2017:

The Pentagon openly acknowledged the fate of the program in response to a Reuters query.

"The Advanced Aviation Threat Identification Program ended in the 2012 timeframe," Pentagon spokeswoman Laura Ochoa said in an email.

"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," she said.

Rumors persist the program continued in some form or other, possibly even in a very unofficial capacity, but those rumors are arguably fanned by the same people and "reporters" who told the public to believe the story was monumentally important in the first place. Moreover, it's beside the point in comparison to the fact the premise of the now infamous Dec. 2017 Times article was that the vids were a part of the AATIP, an assertion that was not only never established, but appears to be quite impossible. 

There are those who will argue they don't care; they perceive the Department of Defense is acknowledging UFOs are real, and that's what's important to them. A problem is that's not what happened. It's what we're told happened - by the same people who can't substantiate multiple headline-making assertions that formed the basis of that Times story.

As we consider the telltale silence surrounding such issues, is it not reasonable to ask why IC professionals who now represent TTSA would not address the discrepancies? Like, if we know about the 2004 Iran case and the multiple witness flying spheres in Utah and Colorado, wouldn't it seem like well-connected IC guys would? And wouldn't it seem critical to address and examine such cases if conducting a sincere and thorough search for facts surrounding the Navy vids? It would seem like it to me, at least as compared to trotting out a pro-UFO thoroughly debunked Italian hoax on cable television. 

The UFO genre continues to be plagued by an inability and lack of willingness to differentiate between advocacy and investigation. In its defense, it's largely led. There are many reasons and layers of agendas to blame, but it should be clear enough to even a casual observer that the search for facts suffers. 

It appears that, for many, having their beliefs encouraged is good enough. However, others actually want the truth. To find it, they must take a path through critical review. There simply is no other way.

Leah Haley, MUFON and NIDS

Following is from Chapter 13 of my 2015 book, The Greys Have Been Framed: Exploitation in the UFO Community. I find reflecting on it now to be timely and interesting.

Pensacola Beach, a short distance from Eglin Air Force Base

Leah Haley and the 139

[T]his is not a 'witch hunt' or any kind of a personal anything against John Carpenter. This is about those 140 abductees that have been screwed and used by John and to insure that there is never a repeat performance. I hope that you can appreciate the importance of pursuing this as vigorously as is necessary.

This nasty business has now been confirmed by Bigelow himself, Walt Andrus, Dr. [John] Alexander of NIDS, and about seven of the abductees whose files were sold. This [is] no Mickey Mouse, “Ok now we all know about it so let's forget it because we're all human” kind of thing. This isn't about “cheating on the wife” or “pilfering office supplies from work,” John [Carpenter] has violated the trust, privacy, and right to anonymity of 140 abductees.

No good. That kind of bullsh*t has to stop, and stop now.

- John Velez to Budd Hopkins, UFO UpDates List

On a Saturday morning in March of 2011, I drove my Ford down the sunny streets of Pensacola, Florida. I located an address where I was expected in what turned out to be a neighborhood with an inviting appearance, and I came to a stop in front of a corner lot hosting a pleasant looking brick house. After double checking the address, I parked in the driveway, gathered some equipment and walked up a sidewalk shaded by oak trees to the front door. I considered how things are not always as they appear as I rang the bell at the seemingly typical home of a woman directly involved in a very not so typical chain of events that consistently created more questions than answers.

Leah Haley opened the door. We were soon in her den, seated across from one another discussing extremely questionable activities that had long plagued the UFO community.

Haley became a relatively high profile figure within ufology during the 1990's as an alleged alien abductee. I first contacted her in 2009 due to my growing interest in cases that seemingly overlapped with elements of the intelligence community. In addition to her possibly anomalous experiences, she reported numerous interactions with people who behaved in very questionable manners. She described how one such person directly claimed to have approached her on behalf of intelligence officials. Her story was filled with people appearing to have hidden agendas and conflicts of interest, whoever they worked for and whatever their motives may have been. She subsequently authored books on her experience in ufology, and by the time she and I began corresponding, Haley no longer believed extraterrestrials were involved in her story at all: Her research led her to conclude that human beings were conducting mind control-like experiments and operations, and that some of the people who were targeted, including her, had misinterpreted the circumstances as alien abduction.

I have come to confidently conclude Haley's saga included exploitation, manipulation and ulterior motives. That is the case regardless of what specific explanations may apply to the circumstances.

Sitting in her den that Saturday morning, we talked about her fragmented memories of a childhood UFO sighting in Alabama, and how years later the memories led her to seek assistance from the UFO community. We talked about how she became involved with ufology hypnotists, and how, after writing Budd Hopkins, he referred her to John Carpenter. It was subsequently during a 1991 trip to Missouri to meet with hypnotist Carpenter and his assistants that Haley explained how she was approached at the airport in Springfield by a stranger. The man suspiciously asked out of the blue if her travels had anything to do with her interest in extraterrestrials. That occurred long before she became outspoken on the subject of UFOs, and a minimal number of people should have known – or cared – she was in town to be hypnotized by Carpenter.

Pensacola

Haley and I talked about how she got involved from her former home in Mississippi with the UFO scene in Gulf Breeze, a community of substantial significance in ufology located near Pensacola. That, in turn, resulted in two now previous board members of the Mutual UFO Network accompanying her on a 13-mile hike across Eglin Air Force Base.

On September 24, 1992, Leah Haley, along with USAF Ret. Lt. Col. Donald Ware and USAF Ret. Col. Robert Reid, set out across the south end of Eglin, which borders the Gulf of Mexico. They hiked from Navarre east across the base to Fort Walton Beach in search of the site where an alien spacecraft had been allegedly downed by American military personnel – with her aboard. That fantastic notion, dubbed the beach incident, resulted from the hypnosis sessions conducted by Carpenter, yet another member of the MUFON Board of Directors at the time. Ware later acknowledged it was he who incredibly suggested they search the base shoreline for the crash site and undertake the puzzling expedition.

The sun sets on Pensacola

Haley and I talked about how, a few months prior to the hike with Ware and Reid, she interpreted herself to have received a telepathic message stating her alien abductors were from Sirius. She later discovered Sirius to be a star in the constellation Canis Major. In her 2003 book, Unlocking Alien Closets, pages 19-20, Haley documented experiencing what she interpreted as a second telepathic message the very next day, March 13, 1992, following the transmission referencing Sirius.

“My communicators told me to check out the beach incident; they indicated that it had occurred Thursday morning, August 4, 1988, on Navarre Beach,” Haley wrote.

She discovered Navarre Beach to be near Pensacola and border Eglin Air Force Base. The circumstances directly contributed to her further involvement with the Gulf Breeze UFO community, Donald Ware and the subsequent hike across Eglin.

[...]

At one point in our interactions I asked Leah if she was aware of Martti Koski. She responded she never heard of him. I inquired about Koski, a Finnish citizen who claimed to have been a victim of MKULTRA-type mind control experimentation while visiting Canada, because he reported hearing unexplained voices – that told him his abusers were from Sirius. His case was cited in Martin Cannon's 1990 work, The Controllers: A New Hypothesis of Alien Abduction.

“Koski, for example,” Cannon wrote, “was at one point told that the doctors afflicting him were actually 'aliens from Sirius.'"

Further food for thought includes a September, 1991, Flying Saucer Review submission, The Extraordinary Case of “Elizabeth Richmond”. Explored in the article were events surrounding the alleged UFO-related experiences of a woman assigned the pseudonym Elizabeth Richmond, who apparently resided in Pensacola. Her reported anomalies included telepathic contact involving a message about aliens from Sirius.

“During later meditation sessions there was apparently some telepathic contact,” the authors wrote. “Elizabeth was told that their home-planet belonged to the star Sirius...”

While I found such circumstances intriguing, my interest admittedly spiked when I noted this: The authors were Donald Ware and Robert Reid. I checked with Haley to make sure there was not some kind of mix up in which Ware and Reid were actually writing about her as “Elizabeth Richmond,” which, Leah confirmed, they indeed were not. She further indicated she was previously unaware of the article and its contents.

Were we to believe MUFON directors residing in Greater Pensacola knew at least two people during the early 1990's stating they interpreted themselves to have received telepathic messages claiming to have been transmitted by aliens from Sirius?

MUFON Contradictions

Whatever we are to make of the many curious circumstances that make up the Haley saga, they do not change the fact that a great deal of consideration could be given to the actions of people involved in the case, whatever those actions might indicate. At the least, issues of ethics and exploitation arise. That is the fact no matter how adamantly one may choose to argue the validity of Haley's conclusions about her experiences or one potential explanation or another.

As I blogged about the case, primarily between 2011 and 2013, I frequently observed people seeming to be either unable or unwilling to absorb and discuss the social significance of the chain of events and its implications to ufology as a whole. Interested parties often seemed unable to get past arguing about the legitimacy of alleged alien abduction or the feasibility of relatively recent mind control operations in order to meaningfully discuss what I interpreted to be issues that offered better opportunities for deeper, more focused study. At the least, Haley's case offered opportunities to identify details of specific incidents and the players involved. I'd go as far as to say, in hindsight, I confidently suspect a significant segment of the UFO community prefers to keep attention aimed at nebulous concepts, arguing about beliefs that can't be conclusively resolved, rather than drilling down through that which is actually available for closer examination.

Tom Deuley

A fourth MUFON board member, US Navy Ret. Lt. Commander Tom Deuley, questioned Haley's motives and judgment in statements published in the March 5, 1995, edition of The Tampa Tribune-Times. The engineer and former National Security Agency employee stated that MUFON did not embrace Haley's story of alien and military abductions when he was quoted for an article addressing her then-upcoming speaking engagement. “We feel very embarrassed” about “such ridiculous stories,” Deuley commented on behalf of MUFON, adding that “it doesn't help the serious scientific work being done.” Such statements might be considered an understandable public stance to express – if they had been accurate.

While throwing Haley under the bus, Deuley completely failed to disclose it was his own MUFON colleagues – fellow board members, no less – who played primary roles in shaping and encouraging her perceptions in the first place; perceptions cultivated via such means as hypnosis and a very peculiar field trip across an Air Force facility in search of the crash site of an alien spaceship. Deuley apparently failed to disclose extents of MUFON involvement with Haley while literally describing her statements as ridiculous. He represented the stance of the organization as rejecting such claims, when, in fact, a much more accurate description of the situation would have been that its board members were actively involved in manufacturing them.

Readers even vaguely familiar with the Mutual UFO Network should be well aware of its long established tendencies to embrace and promote such beliefs, contrary to what Deuley informed the newspaper reporter. As a matter of fact, in 1995, during the very time in which The Tampa Trib ran the story with Deuley's comments, the MUFON UFO Journal was regularly carrying a pro-alien abduction column authored by John Carpenter. Abduction Notes, as it was titled, clearly endorsed and promoted claims of abduction of both the alien and military variety. In a column published in the February, 1995, edition of the Journal, a matter of just days before the March 5 newspaper article went to press at The Tampa Trib, Carpenter specifically promoted “the reality of UFO abductions” while referencing such material as Whitley Strieber's Communion and Budd Hopkins' Intruders.

For Deuley to assert that MUFON attempted to discourage spreading such stories in favor of promoting “serious scientific work” was obviously, to put it kindly, incorrect. For the MUFON director to frame the events in such a manner while simultaneously omitting mention of board members' direct involvement and literal participation in Haley's story, which he described the organization as identifying as embarrassing and ridiculous, was, to put it politely, not an accurate representation of the circumstances. History would soon show us that Deuley's failure to provide The Tampa Trib with more accurate context of the circumstances was only a trailing indicator of what would prove to be much deeper and systemic MUFON problems directly related to transparency, protocols and ethics.

The Carpenter Affair

In 1995, hypnotist, Licensed Clinical Social Worker and MUFON Director of Abduction Research John Carpenter was publishing columns in the MUFON UFO Journal. He was advocating quality services and compassionate treatment for alleged alien abductees, including what he described as the emergence of “a promising network of abduction support groups” led by “trustworthy individuals.” He would later state he was at that same point in time conducting what he attempted to justify as “data sharing” with controversial ufology philanthropist Robert Bigelow: Carpenter was supplying Bigelow and his associates at the now dissolved National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS) information from and copies of case files of alleged abductees without their knowledge or consent.

John Carpenter

The circumstances would become known as the Carpenter Affair, and, according to documents and statements obtained from multiple sources which included Carpenter himself, copies of the case files of 140 alleged alien abductees were released. The files were shared without the informed consent of the individuals who were hypnosis subjects of Carpenter, and some had paid him for the sessions, including Leah Haley. Additional materials released apparently included audiotapes of hypnosis sessions.

Carpenter received a reported $14,000 from Robert Bigelow in exchange for the “data sharing.” He framed the compensation as reimbursements for his time and expenses, while others interpreted him to have sold case files.

“'[M]y data sharing was spread over three years around 1995,” Carpenter stated during a January, 2012, email exchange I conducted for a blog post at The UFO Trail.

“Other researchers were approached with the same proposal, and some of them may have shared data, too,” he added, but declined twice to elaborate further on the alleged involvement of other researchers.

Carpenter consistently defended his actions. He repeatedly described his hypnosis and alien abduction investigation activities as serious scientific research conducted with the best of intentions.

“It was an honor to have great minds study this important information, quietly, discreetly, and respectfully,” he wrote of the hypnotically induced narrations and their release to Bigelow and associates.

“If you were so confident your motives and intentions were honorable,” I asked during the 2012 email exchange, “why did you not ever just ask Leah if it would be okay to share her file with an interested party? After all, she was obviously an ambitious truth seeker, considering her activities and levels of commitment. Why didn't you just ask her?”

“She was already publicly sharing, speaking, and publishing more details of her case than I ever thought of sharing,” Carpenter replied, “and I wasn't sharing anything publicly - only discreetly and privately with scientists - that's what researchers do.”

Even if we were to entertain that statement – evasive and condescending as it may be - as a sincere description of Carpenter's interpretation of his actions in the case of Leah Haley, it doesn't explain his justification for bypassing informed consent in releasing the files of the other 139. They weren't all speaking publicly about details of their experiences and hypnosis sessions, were they? Furthermore, it's quite arguably beside the point from a number of perspectives, and suffice it to say Haley saw the situation substantially differently than Carpenter tried to rationalize it.

MUFON Complicity

In a two-page statement (see below) included in a 2001 complaint filed to the Missouri Division of Professional Registration, Haley explained how Carpenter originally presented himself as acting in the capacity of a mental health professional and repeatedly assured her that all information discussed would be kept confidential.

“Had I known that John [Carpenter] would sell my case files or disclose information he did not have permission to disclose, I would never have gone to him,” Haley wrote in the prepared statement.

What we can reasonably discern about the Carpenter Affair is that during the 1990's Carpenter supplied data to Bigelow and payment was made. The exchange was indeed discreet, as Carpenter described the circumstances, if not covert. It was not until investigator Gary Hart, acting on information provided to him by alleged abductees who told him of what they termed a file sale, picked up the trail in 1999 and more widely published the details. According to Hart, his tipsters were concerned about both the breach of confidential information as well as the MUFON willingness to enable the circumstances while failing to take corrective measures.

Hart took the role of principal reporter of the Carpenter Affair and in 2000 submitted a formal complaint to the Mutual UFO Network. The organization still took no apparent action. MUFON allowed Carpenter to remain in a leadership capacity and continued to encourage self-described abductees to seek his services.

Hart then filed a complaint in 2001 to the Missouri Division of Professional Registration, where Carpenter was licensed as a social worker. The agency enacted a five-year probation period on Carpenter's license. The action reportedly resulted from Hart's complaint. Carpenter vacated his position as MUFON Director of Abduction Research that same year, 2001, and the probation period was completed in 2006.

MUFON staple John Schuessler

I picked up the Carpenter Affair story while blogging about the Haley case. Gary Hart subsequently left comments about the saga at The UFO Trail, and I then contacted him for more information. The result was the 2013 blog post, The Carpenter Affair: For the Record, which contained several documents submitted and specific points addressed in the complaints filed to the Mutual UFO Network and the Missouri Division of Professional Registration.

Among the points of Hart's complaint I identified as most relevant was the apparent MUFON complicity in the chain of events. MUFON founding member and participant on the board of directors John Schuessler was simultaneously sitting on a NIDS advisory committee during the time in question, the 1990's. It became increasingly apparent that factions of the MUFON hierarchy not only attempted to cover up the Carpenter Affair, but had in all reasonable likelihood been aware of its circumstances all along. Larry Bryant, MUFON Director of Governmental Affairs at the time, expressed such concerns in a 2000 formal statement on the matter:

Since a cloud of alleged impropriety now hangs over the Executive Committee (of MUFON) for its having taken so long to act upon its months-long knowledge of the 'Carpenter Affair', I hereby call upon all members of the Executive Committee to resign forthwith from their Committee positions, from their membership on the MUFON Board of Directors, and from their MUFON general membership - all in the interest of helping restore the public's confidence in the purpose, operation, management, and integrity of this organization...

In addition, you Executive Committee members owe all of us in the entire field of UFO research not only a full, written explanation as to who on the MUFON Board originally knew of the 'Carpenter Affair' (and when they knew it) but also a published apology for their having embargoed or otherwise downplayed that knowledge at the expense of the rest of the Board. If we have a lesson to be learned from this debacle, how about this one: Enforced silence never can be the ally of truth!

Hart made it abundantly clear that, after submitting his complaint to MUFON, representatives for the organization expressed neither concern about the matter nor interest in pursuing it.

“Immediately after filing my MUFON complaint I was told in no uncertain terms that MUFON had no intention of taking the complaint seriously and actually doing an investigation, so I investigated the case further and made a proper report/complaint to the state licensing board,” Hart informed me in 2013.

He added, “Perhaps the most important point in all of this is that MUFON's ethics code was all for show. They had and apparently still have no intention of holding anyone, even a board member, to their code of ethics.”

Other key points contained in Gary Hart's investigation included implications of sexual relations commonly taking place between investigator/hypnotists and alleged alien abductees. Carpenter, for instance, reportedly married two of his former clients, one of which was a hypnosis subject represented in the 140 files released to Bigelow and his NIDS associates.

Hart reported in his complaint that Carpenter's activities rendered his body of research worthless due to the “exceptionally dysfunctional behavior” documented as having occurred between Carpenter and some of his abductee contacts. Given the circumstances, Hart continued, professional researchers could no longer determine what was truth or fiction within Carpenter's abductee accounts and conclusions. Hart's work further suggested such questionable activities were common among investigators of alleged alien abduction.

Conditions of the probation enforced upon Carpenter's license were specified in State Committee for Social Workers v. John S. Carpenter, a 2001 public document available on the website of the Missouri Division of Professional Registration. Stipulations included he submit to a psychosocial evaluation as part of a treatment program for an impaired professional. He was then required to inform the State Committee of any counseling or care recommendations that might result, as well as furnish progress reports on a quarterly basis. Carpenter was also required to provide the Committee with performance evaluations completed by his employer twice per year, among additional stipulations.

The Players

Robert Bigelow

Several attempts were made at various times to obtain comments on the Carpenter Affair from relevant parties. Multiple requests for permission to submit questions were sent to Robert Bigelow and his representatives. No responses were received.

John Carpenter was emailed in preparation for blog posts in 2012 and again in 2013, and he was willing to provide statements in each of the two circumstances. He maintained his lack of negligence and defended his actions, in spite of acknowledging he indeed provided Bigelow and associates with copies of the files and that payment was made. He consistently denied they were sold, however. In 2013 I requested he specifically comment on how he could deny the allegations he sold case files in the context of statements he wrote in a 1996 letter to Bigelow. A copy of the letter was included in Hart's complaint, and I provided Carpenter a copy when I requested comment.

“Personally, I want to thank you, Bob, for your assistance regarding the 140 cases I mailed to you. That helped pay some bills,” Carpenter wrote to Bigelow in the letter (see below).

“The remainder has been what we have been living on since last December at the rate of $600-$800 per month... What has really hurt this year – after I began copying and sending files – was the elimination of my bonus/incentive pay program at work.”

In response to request for comment on his remarks contained in the 1996 letter, Carpenter stated in an email received October 15, 2013, “I am now and always have been in complete possession of all original case files, approximately 140 in number. Mr. Bigelow paid me for my time, expense, and labor in making some copies that his elite science panel could review in order to understand the abduction phenomenon more fully.”

John Carpenter may describe his activities as he chooses, yet the fact will remain it is not difficult to understand why some people would interpret the circumstances as selling the case files and betraying the trust of the parties involved. An argument could also be made the specific purpose of the compensation is irrelevant as compared to the significance of the file release itself.

Part of a 1994 regional MUFON newsletter,

establishing Carpenter framed his hypnosis

activities as paid professional services,

a point later denied by his attorney

[...]

MUFON International Director from 2000 to 2006 and founding member John Schuessler was part of that “elite science panel” Carpenter referenced. Schuessler sat on the NIDS Scientific Advisory Board.

I emailed him on multiple occasions and requested permission to pose a few questions about the Carpenter Affair, clarifying that his comments were requested for inclusion in blog posts. No responses were received.

Former member of the MUFON Board of Directors Donald Ware and the organization parted ways, and Ware went on to direct the International UFO Congress from 1993 to 2010. He and I exchanged emails in preparation for my February, 2012, blog post, The Leah Haley Case: The Eglin Expedition.

Donald Ware

Ware explained that he suggested undertaking the hike across Eglin in 1992 based on the description of the alleged crash site, alluding to details which arose during a July, 1991, hypnotic regression session conducted by Carpenter with Haley.

“I told her there is about 100 miles of the sugary white sand along our coast,” Ware wrote, “but the most likely place for the military people to be there so soon would be the 13 miles of restricted Eglin AFB beach between Navarre and Ft. Walton Beach.”

[...]

In a July, 2000, email to the once popular listserv and website UFO UpDates List, John Velez indicated that Col. John Alexander and Robert Bigelow himself, along with some of the suspected abductees in question, were among those who had confirmed that “files were sold.” Career intelligence officer, non-lethal weapons expert and CIA consultant Col. Alexander was a staff member of NIDS at the time.

It was for such reasons that I emailed the colonel in the weeks preceding the 2012 Ozark UFO Conference, where Alexander was scheduled to speak, and requested permission to interview him at the event for a blog post to be published at The UFO Trail. In an email dated March 2, 2012, Col. Alexander responded that he “would be happy” to meet with me, and recommended I get with him at the conference to schedule a time. However, when I approached Alexander in person at the conference the next month, April, he declined to be interviewed due to what he described as my interests in conspiracies.

Since our interactions in 2012, I have emailed Col. Alexander and requested comment for blog posts on various occasions. Sometimes he offers direct statements and other times he is more vague.

In August of 2013 I emailed Alexander and informed him I was hoping he would provide comment on some issues surrounding the Carpenter Affair. I particularly asked what interests he may have had in the 140 files. I also asked if he would please explain, in his opinion, why his former employer, Robert Bigelow, desired to obtain the 140 files and, in effect, finance Carpenter's ongoing activities. Comment was requested on any knowledge he might have of other researchers offered similar agreements, as asserted by Carpenter.

Lastly, I cited James Carrion's January, 2011, allegation that Bigelow, during dealings with MUFON, moved funds on behalf of an undisclosed financial “sponsor” that Bigelow only revealed to John Schuessler, but not the rest of the MUFON board. I asked Col. Alexander if he could offer comment on Carrion's allegation, and if there was anything he might be at liberty to discuss concerning relationships between Bigelow corporations and intelligence agencies.

“You should ask Bigelow if you are interested in old affairs,” Alexander less than transparently emailed in response.

It is possible Alexander's aversion to discussing the Carpenter Affair and related issues, while ironically promoting himself as an intelligence insider both willing and able to explain behind the scenes ufology, may be due at least in part to nondisclosure agreements long reported to be conditions of dancing with Team
Bigelow. Following is an excerpt from an Associated Press article, Millionaire searches for UFOs on ranch in Utah, which references such agreements while exploring Bigelow's interests in the Skinwalker Ranch, published in the October 24, 1996, edition of the Eugene Register-Guard:

Officially, the research is being conducted by the National Institute for Discovery Science, which Bigelow formed last October. Among the scientists involved is John Alexander, former director of non-lethal weapons testing at Los Alamos National Laboratories in New Mexico.

“Our approach is to do good, high-quality research using a standard scientific approach and do what we can to get hard data,” Alexander said from the institute's Las Vegas offices. “One of the missions of the institute is to make information widely available.”

Bigelow himself declined an interview. Alexander would not provide details of how or why the research is being conducted.

[Former owner of the property Terry] Sherman, now employed by Bigelow to maintain the ranch, said he can no longer discuss the activity because of a nondisclosure agreement Bigelow had him sign.

Along with the use of nondisclosure agreements, reports have circulated of Bigelow's direct involvement with intelligence agencies, in addition to his practice of employing their consultants such as Col. Alexander. An individual identifying himself as “Chip” in an interview published in September, 2012, claimed to have been employed in security at the Skinwalker Ranch during approximately 2009. Chip indicated security clearances and nondisclosure agreements were prerequisites for employment at the facility, and alleged that he saw copies of a contract between Bigelow interests and the NSA during the time he worked at the ranch.

James Carrion, in his ongoing research, documented contradictions and inconsistencies put forth by NIDS. Carrion reported that individuals, including family members of the former Skinwalker Ranch owners, stated that accounts of supposed high strangeness related to the property were exaggerated or entirely misrepresented. Moreover, while serving as the MUFON International Director, Carrion and an accompanying scientist visited the ranch but were denied access. Carrion further reported that he was among the people interviewed for a background investigation on John Schuessler for a US government security clearance allegedly related to his consulting work for Robert Bigelow.

Elizabeth Chavez Carpenter is a former wife and hypnosis subject of John Carpenter, and her case file was among the 140 released. She contacted me in December, 2013, after reading my posts at The UFO Trail about the Carpenter Affair. Although I had not previously interacted with her directly, I was aware of Chavez Carpenter due to my research of the circumstances and correspondence with Gary Hart. She was among the sources who provided Hart with information contained in his formal complaints, and he described Chavez Carpenter as “truthful in my many talks with her.”

She and I subsequently corresponded, and I considered one of the more interesting aspects of her experience as one of the 140 to be that she actually had a copy of her case file eventually sent to her by standard mail. Chavez Carpenter explained that she contacted John Alexander after identifying him from the NIDS website as someone who could possibly be instrumental in returning her file and audiotapes. She and Alexander then exchanged emails, according to Chavez Carpenter, from May to October of 2000.

She described the colonel as polite in their interactions, adding that he at one point informed her that he would check on the tapes the next time he was at the NIDS offices. In one email from Alexander, she indicated, he asked her if she had yet received anything. In another, Alexander suggested that he had discovered the tapes were not at NIDS – whatever we might suspect that implied.

Chavez Carpenter received her case file in 2001, but knowing that NIDS kept a copy, she concluded. It came in an envelope with no return address, as she recalled.

“I sent three letters to Robert Bigelow requesting to have my case file back along with the audiotapes,” Chavez Carpenter explained. “I did receive the case file, minus the audiotapes.”

She was unsure of the specific chain of events that led to receiving the file in the mail. I asked, for instance, if she thought Alexander was instrumental, as she initially suspected he might be.

“As I look back and reflect on all this, I cannot really say.”

I asked Chavez Carpenter what she thought the reasons were that Robert Bigelow was willing to provide John Carpenter with cash and purchase copies of the case files and related materials.

“We may never know,” she replied.

[...]

[I]n early 2015 the British army announced the formation of the 77th Brigade, a unit of 1500 troops The Guardian dubbed “Facebook warriors.” The soldiers are charged with carrying out unconventional, “non-lethal warfare” and executing psychological operations through the use of social media. Israeli and US armies engage heavily in such operations, with the Israel Defense Forces reporting activity conducted in six languages on 30 platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.

It would be difficult for me to believe the UFO community did not serve in some capacity in the research and development of such psyops, or, at the least, I would doubt the community was exempt from effects of the evolution of such projects. As a matter of fact, in his hard hitting 2015 piece on how the US intelligence community drove to dominate the world through information control, Why Google made the NSA, investigative journalist Nafeez Ahmed referenced ufology's favorite CIA consultant, Col. John Alexander. Specifically, the targeting of civilian populations for information war.

Addressing a 1989 US Navy brief authored by well-connected Pentagon official Richard O'Neill, Ahmed wrote, “That secret brief, which according to former senior US intelligence official John Alexander was read by the Pentagon’s top leadership, argued that information war must be targeted at: adversaries to convince them of their vulnerability; potential partners around the world so they accept 'the cause as just'; and finally, civilian populations and the political leadership so they believe that 'the cost' in blood and treasure is worth it.”

In the end, the best most of us can do is inventory the facts, carefully differentiating between what we can demonstrate to be true versus what we are told is true. We can then make an honest effort to see what kind of picture emerges when the facts stand on their own, absent unsubstantiated proclamations and stripped of colorful yet distracting costumes.

Leah Haley initially waded into the UFO community in search of credible information. People claimed they were qualified to provide it. Some 14 or more hypnosis sessions and a life altering change of belief systems was facilitated by the board of directors of a purported scientific research organization. Haley put on the brakes and summoned the courage to question the validity of the indoctrinated alien narrative. In her renewed efforts to separate fact from fiction, she found nothing to support an alien presence, yet repeatedly identified circumstances of human-instigated exploitation. She and others who have sought guidance from ufology hypnotists and similar self-described experts will deal with the adverse effects the rest of their lives.

I cannot conclusively say Leah Haley is a victim of covert mind control research as she suspects, but I can confidently say that she and her circumstances were exploited...

Either way, it was her involvement with the people of the UFO community who qualified themselves as able to be of assistance that directly led to the entire traumatic series of events, of which this chapter represents but a small sample. In a manner of speaking, she's right, one way or the other, as her interpretations of reality and memories of past experiences were definitely altered and manipulated. Relevant questions become how intentional was it, who was interested in studying it and for what purposes.

As for me, I'm pretty sure a lot of the excessive window dressing is hung by people bound by nondisclosure agreements and government security clearances which restrict them from discussing classified information. They're promoting hypnotic regression as a memory enhancer, and they are generally - and in some cases extremely - exploiting the public. They're spending decades as key personnel of nonprofit corporations funded by undisclosed sources and operating under false pretenses of prioritizing scientific study, while, in actuality, virtually constantly promoting an entirely unsubstantiated alien presence. If they can ever undress the facts they're disguising beneath multiple layers of elaborate costumes, evasive statements and unresolved contradictions, I'd be more than willing to adjust my assessment accordingly.

In the meantime, I call bullshit.