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- From the New York Times, February 28, 1960, page 30: AIR FORCE ORDER ON 'SAUCERS' CITED Pamphlet by the Inspecto
- r General Called objects a 'Serious Business' WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 (UPI)--The Air Force has sent its commands a wa
- rning to treat sightings of unidentified flying objects as "serious business" directly related to the nation's defense, it was learned today
- . An Air Force spokesman confirmed issuance of the directive after portions of it were made public by a private "flying saucer" group.
- The new regulations were issued by the Air Force inspector general Dec. 24. The regulations, revising similar ones issued in th
- e past, outlined procedures and said that "investigations and analysis of UFOs are directly related to the Air Force's responsibility for th
- e defense of the United States." Committee Reveals Document Existence of the document was revealed by the National Invest
- igations Committee on Aerial Phenomena. The privately financed committee accused the Air Force of deception in publicly describing rep
- orts of unidentified flying objects as delusions and hoaxes while sending the private admonition to its commands. Vice Admiral R.H. Hi
- llenkoeter (Ret.), a committee board member and former director of the Central Intelligence Agency, said in a statement that a copy of the i
- nspector general's warning had been sent to the Senate Science and Astronautics Committee. "It is time for the truth to be brought out
- in open Congressional hearings," he said. The Air Force confirmed tha tthe document had been issued. A spokesman said it was put out
- by Maj. Gen. Richard F. O'Keefe, acting inspector general at the time, to call attention to revised Air Force regulations concerning unident
- ified flying objects. The statement was included in an "operations and training" pamphlet circulated at intervals to bring commands up
- to date. Pentagon aides said the new regulations, covering seven printed pages, made no substantive changes in policy but had been re
- written as a matter of course. The Air Force has investigated 6,312 reports of flying objects since 1947, including 183 in the last si
- x months of 1959. The latest Air Force statement issued a month ago said, "no physical or material evidence, not even a minute fragment of
- a so-called flying saucer, has ever been found." Admiral Hillenkoetter said that "behind the scenes, high-ranking Air Force officers a
- re soberly concerned about the UFOs." "But through official secrecy and ridicule, many citizens are led to believe the unknown flying
- objects are nonsense," the retired admiral said. He charged that "to hide the facts, the Air Force has silenced its personnel" through the
- issuance of a regulation.