Alien Confidential Multimedia/Alien Confidential Multimedia (Disk 8 of 9).adf/ROS/123

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SAF/PAM PENTAGON

No. 235-M Sept. 8, 1994
MEMORANDUM FOR CORRESPONDENTS

Secretary of the Air Force Sheila E. Widnall today announced the
completion of an Air Force study to locate records that would explain
an alleged 1947 UFO incident. Pro-UFO researchers claim an
extraterrestrial spacecraft and its alien occupants were recovered
near Roswell, N.M., in July 1947 and the fact was kept from the
public.

At the request of Congressman Steven H. Schiff (R-NM), the General
Accounting Office in February 1994 initiated an audit to locate all
records related to the Roswell incident and to determine if such
records were properly handled. The GAO audit entitled "Records
Management Procedures Dealing With Weather Balloon, Unknown Aircraft,
and Similar Crash Incidents* is not yet complete.

The GAO audit involved a number of government agencies but focused on
the Air Force. In support of the GAO effort, the Air Force initiated a
systematic search of current Air Force offices as well as numerous
archives and records centers that might help explain the incident. Air
Force officials also interviewed a number of persons who might have
had knowledge of the events. Prior to the interviews, Secretary
Widnall released those persons from any previous security obligations
that might have restricted their statements.

The Air Force research did not locate or develop any information that
the "Roswell Incident" was a UFO event nor was there any indication
of a "cover-up" by the Air Force. Information obtained through
exhaustive records searches and interviews indicated the material
recovered near Roswell was consistent with a balloon device of the
type used in a then classified project. No records indicated or even
hinted at the recovery of "alien" bodies or extraterrestrial
materials.

All documentation related to this case is now declassified and the
information is in the public domain. All documentation has been turned
over to the Air Force Historian. The Air Force report without
attachments may be obtained by contacting Major Thurston, Air Force
Public Affairs, [phone]. The report with all 33 attachments is
available for review in the Pentagon Library in Room 1A518.

-END-
=============================================================
           ( Start Main Document)


       [DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE SEAL ]


REPORT OF AIR FORCE RESEARCH REGARDING THE "ROSWELL INCIDENT"


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The "Roswell Incident" refers to an event that supposedly happened in
July, 1947, wherein the Army Air Forces (AAF) allegedly recovered
remains of a crashed "flying disc" near Roswell, New Mexico. In
February, 1994, the General Accounting Office (GAO), acting on the
request of a New Mexico Congressman, initiated an audit to attempt to
locate records of such an incident and to determine if records
regarding it were properly handled. Although the GAO effort was to
look at a number of government agencies, the apparent focus was on the
Air Force. SAF/AAZ , as the Central Point of Contact for the GAO in
this matter, initiated a systematic search of current Air Force
offices as well as numerous archives and records centers that might
help explain this matter. Research revealed that the "Roswell
Incident" was not even considered a UFO event until the 1978-1980 time
frame. Prior to that, the incident was dismissed because the AAF
originally identified the debris recovered as being that of a weather
balloon. Subsequently, various authors wrote a number of books
claiming that, not only was debris from an alien spacecraft recovered,
but also the bodies of the craft's alien occupants. These claims
continue to evolve today and the Air Force is now routinely accused of
engaging in a "cover-up" of this supposed event.

The research located no records at existing Air Force offices that
indicated any "coverup" by the USAF or any indication of such a
recovery. Consequently, efforts were intensified by Air Force
researchers at numerous locations where records for the period in
question were stored. The records reviewed did not reveal any increase
in operations, security, or any other activity in July, 1947, that
indicated any such unusual event may have occurred. Records were
located and thoroughly explored concerning a then-TOP SECRET balloon
project, designed to attempt to monitor Soviet nuclear tests, known as
Project Mogul. Additionally, several surviving project personnel were
located and interviewed, as was the only surviving person who
recovered debris from the original Roswell site in 1947, and the
former officer who initially identified the wreckage as a balloon.
Comparison of all information developed or obtained indicated that the
material recovered near Roswell was consistent with a balloon device
and most likely from one of the Mogul balloons that had not been
previously recovered. Air Force research efforts did not disclose any
records of the recovery of any "alien" bodies or extraterrestrial
materials.

INTRODUCTION

Air Force involvement in the alleged UFO-related incident popularly
known as the "Roswell Incident" began as the result of a January 14,
1994, Washington Post article (Atch 1) which announced Congressman
Steven Schiff's intent to initiate a General Accounting Office (GAO)
effort to resolve this controversial matter. Having previously been
involved in numerous Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and
Congressional requests on "unusual aircraft," to include Unidentified
Flying Objects (UFOs), The Director, Security and Special Program
Oversight, Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, (SAF/AAZ)
believed the Air Force would become involved in any GAO effort
involving this subject.

Thus, in late January, 1994, SAF/AAZ directed its research/
declassification to SAF/AAZD, to attempt to locate any official
records relative to this matter. These initial research efforts
focused on records at the Air Force Historical Research Agency
(AFHRA), Maxwell AFB, AL, the Air Force Safety Agency (AFSA) at
Kirtland AFB, NM and the National Archives and Records Administration
(NARA).

On February 15, 1994, the GAO officially notified Secretary of Defense
William J. Perry that, it was initiating an audit of the Department of
Defense (DoD) policies and procedures for acquiring, classifying,
retaining, and disposing of official government documents dealing with
weather balloon, aircraft, and similar crash incidents (Atch 2). This
notification was subsequently passed to the Department of Defense
Inspector General who in turn officially notified the Secretaries of
the Services and other affected parties of the audit in a February 23,
1994, memo (Atch 3). This memorandum indicated that the "GAO is
anxious to respond to Representative Schiff's request and to dispel
any concerns that the DoD is being unresponsive." These were the first
official US Government documents that indicated that the purpose of
the GAO was to review "crash incidents involving weather
balloons and unknown aircraft, such as UFOs and foreign aircraft, and
(2) the facts involving the reported crash of an UFO in 1949 (sic, 1947)
at Roswell, New Mexico ... (and an) alleged DoD cover-up."

An entrance meeting of potentially concerned parties was held in the
offices of the DoD Inspector General on February 28, 1994. During this
meeting it was learned that, while the audit officially would be
reviewing the records of a number of DoD (and possibly other Executive
Branch entities), the bulk of the effort would be focused on Air Force
records and systems. The audit was officially given the GAO code
701034, and entitled "Records Management Procedures Dealing With
Weather Balloon, Unknown Aircraft, and Similar Crash Incidents."
Although this official title appeared rather broad, there was no
misunderstanding that the real purpose was to attempt to locate
records and/or information on the "Roswell Incident." This incident,
explained later in more detail, generally dealt with the claim that in
July of 1947, the US Army Air Forces (USAAF) recovered a flying saucer
and/or its alien occupants which supposedly crashed near Roswell, New
Mexico. When the USAAF ultimately became the United States Air Force
(USAF) in September, 1947, the USAF inherited equipment, personnel,
records, policies, and procedures from the AAF. In this particular
case, the Air Force also inherited the allegation that it had "covered
up" the "Roswell Incident" and has continued to do so for the next 47
years.

Within the Air Force, the Office of the Administrative Assistant to
the Secretary of the Air Force (SAF/AA) is responsible both for
information management procedures (SAF/AAI) and security policy and
oversight (SAF/AAZ). Because of this organization, SAF/AA was the
logical entity to assist the GAO in its audit and SAF/AAZ was
officially named as the Central Point of Contact for this endeavor
(Atch 4). Subsequently, the then Administrative Assistant, W. Robert
J. McCormick, issued a tasking memorandum dated March 1, 1994 (Atch
5), to a number of current Air Staff and Secretariat offices that
might possibly have records related to such an incident it indeed,
something had actually occurred. This search for records was purposely
limited to Air Force records and systems since:

(a) The Air Force had no authority to compel other agencies to review
their records;
(b) The Air Force would have no way to monitor the completeness of
their efforts if they did; and
(c) the overall effort was the task and responsibility of the GAO-not
the Air Force.

During the in-briefing process with GAO, it was learned that this
audit was, indeed, generated at the specific request of Congressman
Steven Schiff of New Mexico. Earlier, Congressman Schiff had written
to the Department of Defense Legislative Liaison Office for
information on the "Roswell Incident" and had been advised that it was
part of the former UFO "Project Bluebook" that had previously been
turned over to NARA by the Air Force. Congressman Schiff subsequently
learned from NARA that, although they did, indeed, have the "Bluebook"
materials, the "Roswell Incident" was not part of that report.
Congressman Schiff, apparently perceiving that he had been
"Stonewalled" by the DoD, then generated the request for the
aforementioned audit.

It is within this context that the following research and assistance
efforts were conducted in support of the GAO. This report is intended
to stand as the final official Air Force response regarding this
matter.


THE "ROSWELL INCIDENT" - WHAT WAS ORIGINALLY REPORTED IN 1947

The modern preoccupation with what ultimately came to be called
Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) actually began in June, 1947.
Although some pro-UFO researchers argue that sightings of UFOs go back
to Biblical times, most researchers will not dispute that anything in
UFO history can compare with the phenomenon that began in 1947. What
was later characterized as "the UFO Wave of 1947' began with 16
alleged sightings that occurred between May 17 and July 12, 1947,
(although some researchers claim there were as many as 800 sightings
during that period). Interestingly, the "Roswell Incident" was not
considered one of these 1947 events until the 1978-1980 time frame.
There is no dispute, however, that something happened near Roswell in
July, 1947, since it was reported in a number of contemporary
newspaper articles; the most famous of which were the July 8 and July
9 editions of the Roswell Daily Record. The July edition reported
"RAAF Captures Flying Saucer On Ranch In Roswell Region," while the
next day's edition reported, "Ramey Empties Roswell Saucer" and
"Harassed Rancher Who Located 'Saucer' Sorry He Told About It."

The first story reported that the Intelligence Officer of the 509th
Bomb Group, stationed at Roswell AAF, Major Jesse A. Marcel, had
recovered a "flying disc" from the range 4 lands of an unidentified
rancher in the vicinity of Roswell and that the disc had been "flown
to higher headquarters." That same story also reported that a Roswell
couple claimed to have seen a large unidentified object fly by their
home on July 2, 1947.

The July 9 edition of the paper noted that Brigadier General Roger
Ramey, Commander of the Eighth Air Force at Forth Worth, Texas, stated
that upon examination the debris recovered by Marcel was determined to
be a weather balloon. The wreckage was described as a "...bundle of
tinfoil, broken wood beams, and rubber remnants of a balloon...." The
additional story of the "harassed rancher' identified him as W.W.
Brazel of Lincoln County, New Mexico. He claimed that he and his son,
Vernon, found the material on June 14, 1947, when they "came upon a
large area of bright wreckage made up of rubber strips, tinfoil, a
rather tough paper, and sticks." He picked up some of the debris on
July 4 and ."..the next day he first heard about the flying discs and
wondered if what he had found might have been the remnants of one of
these." Brazel subsequently went to Roswell on July 7 and contacted
the Sheriff, who apparently notified Major Marcel. Major Marcel and "a
man in plain clothes" then accompanied Brazel home to pick up the rest
of the pieces. The article further related that Brazel thought that
the material:


."..might have been as large as a table top. The balloon which held it
up, if that is how it worked, must have been about 12 feet long, he
felt, measuring the distance by the size of the room in which he sat.
The rubber was smoky gray in color and scattered over an area about
200 yards in diameter. When the debris was gathered up the tinfoil,
paper, tape, and sticks made a bundle about three feet long and 7 or 8
inches thick, while the rubber made a bundle about 18 or 20 inches
long and about 8 inches thick. In all, he estimated, the entire lot
would have weighed maybe five pounds. There was no sign of any metal
in the area which might have been used for an engine and no sign of
any propellers of any kind. Although at least one paper fin had been
glued onto some of the tinfoil. There were no words to be found
anywhere on the instrument although there were letters on some of the
parts. Considerable scotch tape and some tape with flowers printed
upon it had been used in the construction. No string or wire were to
be found but there were some eyelets in the paper to indicate that
some sort of attachment may have been used. Brazel said that he had
previously found two weather balloons on the ranch, but that what he
found this time did not in any way resemble either of these."


EVOLUTION OF THE EVENT FROM 1947 TO THE PRESENT

General Ramey's press conference and rancher Brazel's statement
effectively ended this as a UFO-related matter until 1978, although
some UFO researchers argue that there were several obtuse references
to it in 1950's era literature. Roswell, for example, is not referred
to in the official USAF investigation of UFOs reported in Project
Bluebook or its predecessors, Project Sign and Project Grudge, which
ran from 1948-1969 (which Congressman Schiff subsequently learned when
he made his original inquiry).

In 1978, an article appeared in a tabloid newspaper, the National
Inquirer, which reported the former intelligence officer, Marcel,
claimed that he had recovered UFO debris near Roswell in 1947. Also in
1978, a UFO researcher, Stanton Friedman, met with Marcel and began
investigating the claims that the material Marcel handled was from a
crashed UFO. Similarly, two authors, William L. Moore and Charles
Berlitz, also engaged in research which led them to publish a book,
The Roswell Incident, in 1980. In this book they reported they
interviewed a number of persons who claimed to have been present at
Roswell in 1947 and professed to be either first or second hand
witnesses to strange events that supposedly occurred. Since 1978-1980,
other UFO researchers, most notably Donald Schmitt and Kevin Randle,
claim to have located and interviewed even more persons with supposed
knowledge of unusual happenings at Roswell. These included both civilian
and former military persons.

Additionally, the Robert Stack-hosted television show "Unsolved
Mysteries' devoted a large portion of one show to a "re-creation" of
the supposed Roswell events. Numerous other television shows have done
likewise, particularly during the last several years and a made-for-TV
movie on the subject is due to be released this summer. The overall
thrust of these articles, books and shows is that the "Roswell
Incident" was actually the crash of a craft from another world, the US
Government recovered it, and has been "covering up" this fact from the
American public since 1947, using a combination of disinformation,
ridicule, and threats of bodily harm to do so. Generally, the US Air
Force bears the brunt of these accusations.

From the rather benign description of the "event" and the recovery of
some material as described in the original newspaper accounts, the
"Roswell Incident" has since grown to mythical (if not mystical)
proportions in the eyes and minds of some researchers, portions of the
media and at least part of the American public. There are also now
several major variations of the "Roswell story." For example, it was
originally reported that there was only recovery of debris from one
site. This has since grown from a minimal amount of debris recovered
from a small area to airplane loads of debris from multiple huge
"debris fields." Likewise, the relatively simple description of
sticks, paper, tape and tinfoil has since grown to exotic metals with
hieroglyphics and fiber optic-like materials. Most versions now claim
that there were two crash sites where debris was recovered; and at the
second site, alleged bodies of extraterrestrial aliens were supposedly
retrieved. The number of these "alien bodies' recovered also varied.
These claims are further complicated by the fact that UFO researchers
are not in agreement among themselves as to exactly where these
recovery sites were located or even the dates of the alleged
crash(es).

Consistently, however, the AAF was accused of securing these Sites,
recovering all the material therefrom, keeping locals away, and
and returning the recovered wreckage (and bodies) to Roswell under
extremely tight security for further processing and later exploitation.

Once back at Roswell AAF, it is generally alleged that special
measures were taken to notify higher headquarters and arrangements
made to have recovered materials shipped to other locations for
analysis. These locations include Ft. Worth, Texas, the home of the
Eighth Air Force Headquarters; possibly Sandia Base (now Kirtland
AFB), New Mexico; possibly Andrews AAF, Maryland, and always to Wright
Field, now known as Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio. The latter location
was the home of "T-2" which later became known as the Air Technical
Intelligence Center (ATIC) and the Air Materiel Command (AMC), and
would, in fact, be a logical location to study unknown materials from
whatever origin. Most of the Roswell stories that contain the recovery
of alien bodies also show them being shipped to Wright Field. Once the
material and bodies were dispersed for further analysis and/or
exploitation, the government in general, and the Army Air Forces in
particular, then engaged in covering up all information relating to
the alleged crash and recovery, including the use of security oaths to
military persons and the use of coercion (including alleged death
threats) to others. This, as theorized by some UFO researchers, has
allowed the government to keep the fact that there is intelligent
extraterrestrial life from the American public for 47 years. It also
supposedly allowed the US Government to exploit recovered
extraterrestrial materials by reverse engineering them, ultimately
providing such things as fiber optic and stealth technology. The
"death threats," oaths, and other forms of coercion alleged to have
been meted out by the Army Air Forces personnel to keep people from
talking have apparently not been very effective, as several hundred
people are claimed to have come forward (without harm) with some
knowledge of the "Roswell Incident" during interviews with non-
government researchers and the media.

Adding some measure of credibility to the claims that have arisen
since 1978 is the apparent depth of research of some of the authors
and the extent of their efforts. Their claims are lessened somewhat,
however, by the fact that almost all their information came from
verbal reports many years after the alleged incident occurred. Many of
the persons interviewed were, in fact, stationed at, or lived near
Roswell during the time in question, and a number of them claim military
service. Most, however, related their stories in their older years, well
after the fact. In other cases, the information provided is second or
third-hand, having been passed through a friend or relative after the
principal had died. What is uniquely lacking in the entire exploration
and exploitation of the "Roswell Incident" is official positive
documentary or physical evidence of any kind that supports the claims of
those who allege that something unusual happened. Conversely, there has
never been any previous documentary evidence produced by those who would
debunk the incident to show that something did not happen; although
logic dictates that bureaucracies do not spend time documenting non-
events.

SEARCH STRATEGY AND METHODOLOGY

To insure senior Air Force leadership that there were no hidden or
overlooked files that night relate to the "Roswell Incident;" and to
provide the GAO with the best and most complete information available,
SAF/AAZ constructed a strategy based on direct tasking from the Office
of the Secretary, to elicit information from those functional offices
and organizations where such information might logically be contained.
This included directing searches at current offices where special or
unusual projects night be carried out, as well as historical
organizations, archives, and records centers over which the Air Force
exerted some degree of control. Researchers did not, however, go to
the US Army to review historical records in areas such as missile
launches from White Sands, or to the Department of Energy to determine
if its forerunner, the Atomic Energy Commission, had any records of
nuclear-related incidents that might have occurred at or near Roswell
in 1947. To do so would have encroached on GAO's charter in this
matter. What Air Force researchers did do, however, was to search for
records still under Air Force control pertaining to these subject
areas.

In order to determine parameters for the most productive search of
records, a review was first conducted of the major works regarding the
"Roswell Incident" available in the popular literature. These works
included: _The Roswell Incident_, (1980) by William Moore and Charles
Berlitz; Crashed Saucers: Evidence in Search of Proof, (1985) by Moore;
_The UFO Crash at Roswell_, (1991) by Kevin Randle and Donald Schmitt;
_The Truth About the UFO Crash at Roswell_, (1994) also by Randle and
Schmitt; _The Roswell Report: A Historical Perspective_, (1991), George
M. Eberhart, Editor; _The Roswell Events,_ (1993) compiled by Fred
Whiting;_Crash at Corona_ (1992) by Stanton T. Friedman and Don
Berliner, as well as numerous other articles written
by a combination of the above and other researchers. Collectively, the
above represent the "pro" UFO writers who allege that the government
is engaged in a conspiracy. There are no specific books written
entirely on the theme that nothing happened at Roswell. However,
Curtis Peebles in _Watch the Skies!_ (1994) discussed the development of
the UFO story and growth of subsequent claims as a phenomenon. There
has also been serious research as well as a number of detailed
articles written by so-called "debunkers" of Roswell and other
incidents, most notably Philip J. Klass who writes _The Skeptical
Inquirer_ newsletter, and Robert Todd, a private researcher. The
concerns and claims of all the above authors and others were
considered in conducting the USAF records search.

It was also decided, particularly after a review of the above popular
literature, that no specific attempt would be made to try to refute,
point by point, the numerous claims made in the various publications.
Many of these claims appear to be hearsay, undocumented, taken out of
context, self-serving, or otherwise dubious. Additionally, many of the
above authors are not even in agreement over various claims. Most
notable of the confusing and now ever-changing claims is the
controversy over the date(s) of the alleged incident, the exact
location(s) of the purported debris and the extent of the wreckage.
Such discrepancies in claims made the search much more difficult by
greatly expanding the volume of records that had to be searched.

An example of trying to deal with questionable claims is illustrated
by the following example: One of the popular books mentioned that was
reviewed claimed that the writers had submitted the names and serial
numbers of "over two dozen" personnel stationed at Roswell in July,
1947, to the Veterans Administration and the Defense Department to
confirm their military service. They then listed eleven of these
persons by name and asked the question: "Why does neither the Defense
Department nor the Veteran's Administration have records of any of
these men when we can document that each served at Roswell Army Air
Field." That claim sounded serious so SAF/AAZD was tasked to check
these eleven names in the Personnel Records Center in St. Louis. Using
only the names (since the authors did not list the serial numbers) the
researcher quickly found records readily identifiable with eight of
these persons. The other three had such common names that there could
have been multiple possibilities. Interestingly, one of the listed
"missing" persons had a casualty report in his records reflecting that
he died in 1951, while the writers claimed to have interviewed him
(or a person of the exact same name) in 1990.

While the historical document search was in progress, it was decided
to attempt to locate and interview several persons identified as still
living who could possibly answer questions generated by the research.
This had never been officially done before, although most of the
persons contacted reported that they had also been contacted in the
past by some of the listed authors or other private researchers. In
order to counter possible future arguments that the persons
interviewed were still "covering up" material because of prior
security oaths, the interviewees were provided with authorization from
either the Secretary of the Air Force or the Senior Security Official
of the Air Force that would officially allow discussion of classified
information, if applicable, or free them from any prior restriction in
discussing the matter, if such existed. Again, the focus was on
interviewing persons that could address specific issues, raised by
research and no consideration was given to try and locate every
alleged witness claimed to have been contacted by the various authors.
For example, one of the interviewees thought vital to obtain an
official signed, sworn statement from was Sheridan Cavitt, Lt. Col,
USAF (Retired) who is the last living member of the three persons
universally acknowledged to have recovered material from the Foster
Ranch. Others were also interviewed as information developed
(discussed in detail later). Additionally, in some cases survivors of
deceased persons were also contacted in an attempt to locate various
records thought to have been in the custody of the deceased.

Even though Air Force research originally started in January, 1994,
the first official Air Force-wide tasking was directed by the March 1,
1994, memorandum from SAF/AA, (Atch 5) and was addressed to those
current Air Staff elements that would be the likely repository for any
records, particularly if there was anything of an extraordinary nature
involved. This meant that the search was not limited to unclassified
materials, but also would include records of the highest
classification and compartmentation.

The specific Air Staff/Secretariat offices queried included the
following:

(a) SAF/AAI, Directorate of Information Management
(b) SAF/AQL, Directorate of Electronics and Special Programs
(c) AF/SE, Air Force Safety
(d) AF/HO, Air Force Historian
(e) AF/IN, Air Force Intelligence (including Air Force Intelligence
    Agency-AFIA, and the National Air Intelligence Center, NAIC)
(f) AF/XOW, Directorate of Weather
(g) (added later) The Air Force Office of Special Investigations
   (AFOSI)

In addition to the above Air Staff and Secretariat offices, SAF/AAZ
also reviewed appropriate classified records for any tie-in to this
matter. With regards to highly classified records, it should be noted
that any program that employ enhanced security measures or controls
are known as a Special Access Programs (SAPs). The authority for such
programs comes from Executive Order 12356 and flows from the
Department of Defense to the Services via DoD Directive 5205.7. These
programs are implemented in the Air Force by Policy Directive 16-7,
and Air Force Instruction 16-701. These directives contain detailed
requirements for controlling and reporting, in a very strict manner,
all SAPs. This includes a report from the Secretary of the Air Force
to the Secretary of Defense (and ultimately to Congress) on all SAPs
submitted for approval, and a certification that there are no
"SAP-like' programs being operated. These reporting requirements are
stipulated in public law.

It followed then, that if the Air Force had recovered some type of
extraterrestrial spacecraft and/or bodies and was exploiting this for
scientific and technology purposes, then such a program would be
operated as a SAP. SAF/AAZ, the Central Office for all Air Force SAPs,
has knowledge of, and security oversight over, all SAPs. SAF/AAZ
categorically stated that no such Special Access Program(s) exists
that pertain to extraterrestrial spacecraft/aliens.
Likewise, the Secretary of the Air Force and the Chief of Staff, who
head the Special Program Oversight Committee which oversees all
sensitive programs in the Air Force, had no knowledge of the existence
of any such program involving, or relating to the events at Roswell or
the alleged technology that supposedly resulted therefrom. Besides the
obvious irregularity and illegality of keeping such information from
the most senior Air Force officials, it would also be illogical, since
these officials are responsible for obtaining funding for operations,
research, development, and security. Without funding such a program,
operation, or organization could not exist. Even to keep such a fact
"covered up" in some sort of passive "caretaker status" would involve
money. More importantly, it would involve people and create paperwork.

The aforementioned March 1, 1994, SAF/AA tasking generated negative
responses (Atch 6-12) from all recipients; i.e. all offices reported
that they had no information that would explain the incident.
Consequently, these negative responses led to an increase in the
already on-going historical research at records centers and archives.

The extensive archival and records center search was systematically
carried out at by the SAF/AAZD Declassification Review Team. This team
is composed entirely of Air Force Reserve personnel who have extensive
training and experience in large scale review of records. (Previous
efforts include the Southeast Asia Declassification Review,
declassification of POW/MIA records, and the review of the Gulf War
Air Power Survey records). The team members all had the requisite
security clearances for classified information and had the authority
of the Secretary of the Air Force to declassify any classified record
they found that might be related to Roswell. SAF/AAZD conducted
reviews at a number of locations, including: the National Archives in
Washington, DC; the National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, MO;
the National Archives, Suitland MD; the National Records Center,
Suitland, MD; Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC; Federal
Records Center, Ft Worth, TX; the INSCOM Archives, Ft. Meade, MD;
National Air and Space Museum, Washington, DC; Air Force Historical
Research Agency, Maxwell AFB, AL; Center for Air Force History,
Bolling AFB, DC; Phillips Laboratory, Hanscom AFB, MA and Kirtland
AFB, NM; Rome Laboratory, Griffiss AFB, NY; and the Library of
Congress, Washington, DC.

A listing of the specific record areas searched is appended as Atch
13. The areas included all those subject areas logically believed to
possibly contain any reference to activities at Roswell AAF during the
period of time in question. It is anticipated that detractors from
this effort will complain that "they did not search record group x,
box y, or reel Z, etc.; that's where the real records are!" Such
complaints are unavoidable and there is no possible way that the
millions of records under Air Force control could be searched page by
page. The team endeavored to make logical searches in those places
where records would likely be found. They were assisted in this task
by archivists, historians, and records management specialists,
including experienced persons who have continually worked in Army and
Air Force records systems since 1943. The team also searched some
record areas that were recommended by serious private researchers such
as Robert Todd, who had independently obtained almost encyclopedic
knowledge of the complexities of Air Force records systems,
particularly as related to this subject area.

Not surprisingly, the research team found the usual number of problems
in many of the records centers (particularly St. Louis) with
misfiling, lost or misplaced documents, mismarking of documents, or
the breaking up of record groups over the years and refiling in
different systems. This included, for example, a small amount of
missing "decimal files" from the 509th Bomb Group at Roswell that
covered the years 1945-1949, that were marked on the index as
"destroyed." The researchers noted that there was no pattern to any
anomalies found and that most discrepancies were minor and consistent
with what they had found in the past on similar projects.

WHAT THE ROSWELL INCIDENT WAS NOT

Before discussing specific positive results that these efforts
revealed, it is first appropriate to discuss those things, as
indicated by information available to the Air Force, that the "Roswell
incident" WAS NOT:

An Airplane Crash

Of all the things that are documented and tracked within the Air
Force, among the most detailed and scrupulous are airplane crashes. In
fact, records of air crashes go back to the first years of military
flight. Safety records and reports are available for all crashes that
involved serious damage, injury, death, or a combination of these
factors. These records also include incidents involving experimental
or classified aircraft. USAF records showed that between June 24,
1947, and July 28, 1947, there were five crashes in New Mexico alone,
involving A-26C, P-5 IN, C-82A, P-BOA and PQ-14B aircraft; however,
none of these were on the date(s) in question nor in the area(s) in
question.

One of the additional areas specifically set forth by GAO in its
efforts was to deal with how the Air Force (and others) specifically
documented ."..weather balloon .. and other crash incidents." In this
area, the search efforts revealed that there are no AIR safety records
pertaining to weather balloon crashes (all weather balloons "crash*
sooner or later); however, there are provisions for generating reports
of "crashes" as ground safety incidents in the unlikely chance that a
balloon injures someone or causes damage. However, such records are
only maintained for five years.

A Missile Crash

A crashed or errant missile, usually described as a captured German
V-2 or one of its variants, is sometimes set forth as a possible
explanation for the debris recovered near Roswell. Since much of this
testing done at nearby White Sands was secret at the time, it would be
logical to assume that the government would handle any missile mishap
under tight security, particularly if the mishap occurred on private
land. From the records reviewed by the Air Force, however, there was
nothing located to suggest that this was the case. Although the bulk
of remaining testing records are under the control of the US Army, the
subject has also been very well documented over the years within Air
Force records. There would be no reason to keep such information
classified today. The USAF found no indicators or even hints that a
missile was involved in this matter.

A Nuclear Accident

One of the areas considered was that whatever happened near Roswell
may have involved nuclear weapons. This was a logical area of concern
since the 509th Bomb Group was the only military unit in the world at
the time that had access to nuclear weapons. Again, reviews of
available records gave no indication that this was the case. A number
of records still classified TOP SECRET and SECRET-RESTRICTED DATA
having to do with nuclear weapons were located in the Federal Records
Center in St. Louis, MO. These records, which pertained to the 509th,
had nothing to do with any activities that could have been
misinterpreted as the "Roswell Incident." Also, any records of a
nuclear related incident would have been inherited by the Department
of Energy (DOE), and, had one occurred, it is likely DOE would have
publicly reported it as part of its recent declassification and public
release efforts. There were no ancillary records in Air Force files to
indicate the potential existence of such records within DOE channels,
however.

An Extraterrestrial Craft

The Air Force research found absolutely no indication that what
happened near Roswell in 1947, involved any type of extraterrestrial
spacecraft. This, of course, is the crux of this entire matter.
"Pro-UFO" persons who obtain a copy of this report, at this point,
most probably begin the "cover-up is still on" claims. Nevertheless,
the research indicated absolutely no evidence OF ANY KIND that a
spaceship crashed near Roswell or that any alien occupants were
recovered therefrom, in some secret military operation or otherwise.
This does not mean, however, that the early Air Force was not
concerned about UFOs. However, in the early days, "UFO" meant
Unidentified Flying Object, which literally translated as some object
in the air that was not readily identifiable. It did not mean, as the
term has evolved in today's language, to equate to alien spaceships.
Records from the period reviewed by Air Force researchers as well as
those cited by the authors mentioned before, do indicate that the USAF
_was_ seriously concerned about the inability to adequately identify
unknown flying objects reported in American airspace. All the records,
however, indicated that the focus of concern was not on aliens,
hostile or otherwise, but on the Soviet Union. Many documents from
that period speak to the possibility of developmental secret Soviet
aircraft overlying US airspace. This, of course, was of major concern
to the fledgling USAF, whose job it was to protect these same skies.

The research revealed only one official AAF document that indicated
that there was any activity of any type that pertained to UFOs and
Roswell in July, 1947. This was a small section of the July Historical
Report for the 509th Bomb Group and Roswell AAF that stated: "The
Office of Public Information was quite busy during the month answering
inquiries on the 'flying disc,' which was reported to be in possession
of the 509th Bomb Group. The object turned out to be a radar tracking
balloon" (included with Atch I 1). Additionally, this history showed
that the 509th Commander, Colonel Blanchard, went on leave on July 8,
1947, which would be a somewhat unusual maneuver for a person involved
in the supposed first ever recovery of extraterrestrial materials.
(Detractors claim Blanchard did this as a ploy to elude the press and
go to the scene to direct the recovery operations). The history and
the morning reports also showed that the subsequent activities at
Roswell during the month were mostly mundane and not indicative of any
unusual high level activity, expenditure of manpower, resources or
security.

Likewise, the researchers found no indication of heightened activity
anywhere else in the military hierarchy in the July, 1947, message
traffic or orders (to include classified traffic). There were no
indications and warnings, notice of alerts, or a higher tempo of
operational activity reported that would be logically generated if an
alien craft, whose intentions were unknown, entered US territory. To
believe that such operational and high-level security activity could
be conducted solely by relying on unsecured telecommunications or
personal contact without creating any records of such activity
certainly stretches the imagination of those who have served in the
military who know that paperwork of some kind is necessary to
accomplish even emergency, highly classified, or sensitive tasks.

An example of activity sometimes cited by pro-UFO writers to
illustrate the point that something unusual was going on was the
travel of Lt. General Nathan Twining, Commander of the Air Materiel
Command, to New Mexico in July, 1947. Actually, records were located
indicating that Twining went to the Bomb Commanders' Course on July 8,
along with a number of other general officers, and requested orders to
do so a month before, on June 5, 1947 (Atch 14).

Similarly, it has also been alleged that General Hoyt Vandenberg,
Deputy Chief of Staff at the time, had been involved directing
activity regarding events at Roswell. Activity reports (Atch 15),
located in General Vandenberg's personal papers stored in the Library
of Congress, did indicate that on July 7, he was busy with a "flying
disc" incident; however this particular incident involved Ellington
Field, Texas and the Spokane (Washington) Depot. After much discussion
and information gathering on this incident, it was learned to be a
hoax. There is no similar mention of his personal interest or
involvement in Roswell events except in the newspapers.

The above are but two small examples that indicate that if some event
happened that was one of the "watershed happenings" in human history,
the US military certainly reacted in an unconcerned and cavalier
manner. In an actual case, the military would have had to order
thousands of soldiers and airman, not only at Roswell but throughout
the US, to act nonchalantly, pretend to conduct and report business as
usual, and generate absolutely no paperwork of a suspicious nature,
while simultaneously anticipating that twenty years or more into the
future people would have available a comprehensive Freedom of
Information Act that would give them great leeway to review and
explore government documents. The records indicate that none of this
happened (or if it did, it was controlled by a security system so
efficient and tight that no one, US or otherwise, has been able to
duplicate it since. If such a system had been in effect at the time,
it would have also been used to protect our atomic secrets from the
Soviets, which history has showed obviously was not the case). The
records reviewed confirmed that no such sophisticated and efficient
security system existed.


WHAT THE "ROSWELL INCIDENT" WAS

As previously discussed, what was originally reported to have been
recovered was a balloon of some sort, usually described as a "weather
balloon," although the majority of the wreckage that was ultimately
displayed by General Ramey and Major Marcel in the famous photos (Atch
16) in Ft. Worth, was that of a radar target normally suspended from
balloons. This radar target, discussed in more detail later, was
certainly consistent with the description of July 9 newspaper article
which discussed "tinfoil, paper, tape, and sticks." Additionally, the
description of the "flying disc" was consistent with a document
routinely used by most pro-UFO writers to indicate a conspiracy in
progress-the telegram from the Dallas FBI office of July 8, 1947. This
document quoted in part states: ."...The disc is hexagonal in shape
and was suspended from a balloon by a cable, which balloon was
approximately twenty feet in diameter. "..the object found resembles a
high altitude weather balloon with a radar reflector. ...disc and
balloon being transported..."

Similarly, while conducting the popular literature review, one of the
documents reviewed was a paper entitled "The Roswell Events" edited by
Fred Whiting, and sponsored by the Fund for UFO Research (FUFOR).
Although it was not the original intention to comment on what
commercial authors interpreted or claimed that other persons
supposedly said, this particular document was different because it
contained actual copies of apparently authentic sworn affidavits
received from a number of persons who claimed to have some knowledge
of the Roswell event. Although many of the persons who provided these
affidavits to the FUFOR researchers also expressed opinions that they
thought there was something extraterrestrial about this incident, a
number of them actually described materials that sounded suspiciously
like wreckage from balloons. These included the following:

Jesse A. Marcel, MD (son of the late Major Jesse Marcel; 11 years old
at the time of the incident). Affidavit dated May 6, 1991. " ...
There were three categories of debris: a thick, foil like metallic
gray substance; a brittle, brownish-black plastic-like material, like
Bakelite; and there were fragments of what appeared to be I-beams. On
the inner surface of the I-beam, there appeared to be a type of
writing. This writing was a purple-violet hue, and it had an embossed
appearance. The figures were composed of curved, geometric shapes. It
had no resemblance to Russian, Japanese or any other foreign language.
It resembled hieroglyphics, but it had no animal-like characters...*

Loretta Proctor (former neighbor of rancher W. W. Brazel). Affidavit
dated May 5, 1991. ."..Brazel came to my ranch and showed my husband
and me a piece of material he said came from a large pile of debris on
the property he managed. The piece he brought was brown in color,
similar to plastic...'Mac' said the other material on the property
looked like aluminum foil. It was very flexible and wouldn't crush or
burn. There was also something he described as tape which had printing
on it. The color of the printing was a kind of purple..."

Bessie Brazel Schreiber (daughter of W.W. Brazel; 14 years old at the
time of the incident). Affidavit dated September 22, 1993. ."..The
debris looked like pieces of a large balloon which had burst. The
pieces were small, the largest I remember measuring about the same as
the diameter of a basketball. Most of it was a kind of double-sided
material, foil-like on one side and rubber-like on the other. Both
sides were grayish silver in color, the foil more silvery than the
rubber. Sticks, like kite sticks, were attached to some of the pieces
with a whitish tape. The tape was about two or three inches wide and
had flower-like designs on it. The 'flowers' were faint, a variety of
pastel colors, and reminded me of Japanese paintings in which the
flowers are not all connected. I do not recall any other types of
material or markings, nor do I remember seeing gouges in the ground or
any other signs that anything may have hit the ground hard. The foil-
rubber material could not be torn like ordinary aluminum foil can be
torn..."

Sally Strickland Tadolini (neighbor of WW Brazel; nine years old in
1947). Affidavit dated September 27, 1993. ."..What Bill showed us was
a piece of what I still think as fabric. It was something like
aluminum foil, something like satin, something like well-tanned
leather in its toughness, yet was not precisely like any one of those
materials. ...It was about the thickness of very fine kidskin glove
leather and a dull metallic grayish silver, one side slightly darker
than the other. I do not remember it having any design or embossing on
it..."

Robert R. Porter (B-29 flight Engineer stationed at Roswell in 1947).
Affidavit dated June 7, 1991. ."..On this occasion, I was a member of
the crew which flew parts of what we were told was a flying saucer to
Fort Worth. The people on board included ... and Maj Jesse Marcel.
Capt. William E. Anderson said it was from a flying saucer. After we
arrived, the material was transferred to a B-25. I was told they were
going to Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio. I was involved in loading the
B-29 with the material, which was wrapped in packages with wrapping
paper. One of the pieces was triangle-shaped, about 2 1/2 feet across
the bottom. The rest were in small packages, about the size of a shoe
box. The brown paper was held with tape. The material was extremely
lightweight. When I picked it up, it was just like picking up an empty
package. We loaded the triangle shaped package and three shoe
box-sized packages into the plane. All of the packages could have fit
into the trunk of a car. "..When we came back from lunch, they told us
they had transferred the material to a B-25. They told us the material
was a weather balloon, but I'm certain it wasn't a weather balloon..."

In addition to those persons above still living who claim to have seen
or examined the original material found on the Brazel Ranch, there is
one additional person who was universally acknowledged to have been
involved in its recovery, Sheridan Cavitt, Lt. Col, USAF, (Ret) .
Cavitt is credited in all claims of having accompanied Major Marcel to
the ranch to recover the debris, sometimes along with his Counter
Intelligence Corps (CIC) subordinate, William Rickett, who, like
Marcel, is deceased. Although there does not appear to be much dispute
that Cavitt was involved in the material recovery, other claims about
him prevail in the popular literature. He is sometimes portrayed as a
closed-mouth (or sometimes even sinister) conspirator who was one of
the early individuals who kept the "secret of Roswell" from getting
out. Other things about him have been alleged, including the claim
that he wrote a report of the incident at the time that has never
surfaced.

Since Lt. Col Cavitt, who had first-hand knowledge, was still alive, a
decision was made to interview him and get a signed sworn statement
from him about his version of the events. Prior to the interview, the
Secretary of the Air Force provided him with a written authorization
and waiver to discuss classified information with the interviewer and
release him from any security oath he may have taken. Subsequently,
Cavitt was interviewed on May 24, 1994, at his home. Cavitt provided a
signed, sworn statement (Atch 17 ) of his recollections in this
matter. He also consented to having the interview tape-recorded. A
transcript of that recording is at Atch 18. In this interview, Cavitt
related that he had been contacted on numerous occasions by UFO
researchers and had willingly talked with many of them; however, he
felt that he had oftentimes been misrepresented or had his comments
taken out of context so that their true meaning was changed. He stated
unequivocally, however, that the material he recovered consisted of a
reflective sort of material like aluminum foil, and some thin,
bamboo-like sticks. He thought at the time, and continued to do so
today, that what he found was a weather balloon and has told other
private researchers that. He also remembered finding a small "black
box" type of instrument, which he thought at the time was probably a
radiosonde. Lt. Col Cavitt also reviewed the famous Ramey/Marcel
photographs (Atch 16) of the wreckage taken to Ft. Worth (often
claimed by UFO researchers to have been switched and the remnants of a
balloon substituted for it) and he identified the materials depicted
in those photos as consistent with the materials that he recovered
from the ranch. Lt. Col Cavitt so stated that he had never taken any
oath or signed any agreement not to talk about this incident and had
never been threatened by anyone in the government because of it. He
did not even know the "incident" was claimed to be anything unusual
until he was interviewed in the early 1980's.

Similarly, Irving Newton, Major, USAF, (Ret) was located and
interviewed. Newton was a weather officer assigned to Fort Worth, who
was on duty when the Roswell debris was sent, there in July, 1947. He
was told that he was to report to General Ramey's office to view the
material. In a signed, sworn statement (Atch 30) Newton related that
."..I walked into the General's office where this supposed flying
saucer was lying all over the floor. As soon as I saw it, I giggled
and asked if that was the flying saucer ... I told them that this was
a balloon and a RAWIN target..." Newton also stated that ."..while I
was examining the debris, Major Marcel was picking up pieces of the
target sticks and trying to convince me that some notations on the
sticks were alien writings. there were figures on the sticks, lavender
or pink in color, appeared to be weather faded markings, with no rhyme
or reason (sic). He did not convince me that these were alien
writings." Newton concluded his statement by relating that ."..During
the ensuing years I have been interviewed by many authors, I have been
quoted and misquoted. The facts remain as indicated above. I was not
influenced during the original interview, nor today, to provide
anything but what I know to be true, that is, the material I saw in
General Ramey's office was the remains of a balloon and a RAWIN
target."

Balloon Research

The original tasking from GAO noted that the search for information
included "weather balloons." Comments about balloons and safety
reports have already been made, however the SAF/AAZ research efforts
also focused on reviewing historical records involving balloons,
since, among other reasons, that was what was officially claimed by
the AAF to have been found and recovered in 1947.

As early as February 28, 1994, the AAZD research team found references
to balloon tests taking place at Alamogordo AAF (now Holloman AFB) and
White Sands during June and July 1947, testing "constant level
balloons" and a New York University (NYU)/Watson Labs effort that used
"...meteorological devices ... suspected for detecting shock waves
generated by Soviet nuclear explosions" - a possible indication of a
cover story associated with the NYU balloon project. Subsequently, a
1946 HQ AMC memorandum was surfaced, describing the constant altitude
balloon project and specified that the scientific data be classified
TOP SECRET Priority 1A. Its name was Project Mogul (Atch 19).

Project Mogul was a then-sensitive, classified project, whose purpose
was to determine the state of Soviet nuclear weapons research. This
was the early Cold War period and there was serious concern within the
US government about the Soviets developing a weaponized atomic device.
Because the Soviet Union's borders were closed, the US Government
sought to develop a long range nuclear explosion detection capability.
Long range, balloon-borne, low frequency acoustic detection was posed
to General Spaatz in 1945 by Dr. Maurice Ewing of Columbia University
as a potential solution (atmospheric ducting of low frequency pressure
waves had been studied as early as 1900).

As part of the research into this matter, AAZD personnel located and
obtained the original study papers and reports of the New York
University project. Their efforts also revealed that some of the
individuals involved in Project Mogul were still living. These persons
included the NYU constant altitude balloon Director of Research, Dr.
Athelstan F. Spilhaus; the Project Engineer, Professor Charles B.
Moore; and the military Project Officer, Colonel Albert C. Trakowski.

All of these persons were subsequently interviewed and signed sworn
statements about their activities. A copy of theses statements are
appended at Atch 20-22. Additionally, transcripts of the interview
with Moore and Trakowski are also included (equipment malfunctioned
during the interview of Spilhaus) (Atch 23-24). These interviews
confirmed that Project Mogul was a compartmented, sensitive effort.
The NYU group was responsible for developing constant level balloons
and telemetering equipment that would remain at specified altitudes
(within the acoustic duct) while a group from Columbia was to develop
acoustic sensors. Doctor Spilhaus, Professor Moore, and certain others
of the group were aware of the actual purpose of the project, but they
did not know of the project nickname at the time. They handled casual
inquiries and/or scientific inquiries/papers in terms of "unclassified
meteorological or balloon research." Newly hired employees were not
made aware that there was anything special or classified about their
work; they were told only that their work dealt with meteorological
equipment.

An advance ground team, led by Albert P. Crary, preceded the NYU group
to Alamogordo AAF, New Mexico, setting up ground sensors and obtaining
facilities for the NYU group. Upon their arrival, Professor Moore and
his team experimented with various configurations of neoprene
balloons; development of balloon "trains" (see illustration, Atch 25);
automatic ballast systems; and use of Naval sonobuoys (as the Watson
Lab acoustical sensors had not yet arrived). They also launched what
they called "service flights." These "service flights" were not logged
nor fully accounted for in the published Technical Reports generated
as a result of the contract between NYU and Watson Labs. According to
Professor Moore, the "service flights' were composed of balloons,
radar reflectors and payloads specifically designed to test acoustic
sensors (both early sonobuoys and the later Watson Labs devices). The
"payload equipment" was expendable and some carried no "REWARD" or
"RETURN TO..." tags because there was to be no association between
these flights and the logged constant altitude flights which were
fully acknowledged. The NYU balloon flights were listed sequentially
in their reports (i.e., A,B, 1,5,6,7,8,10 ...) yet gaps existed for
Flights 2-4 and Flight 9. The interview with Professor Moore indicated
that these gaps were the unlogged "service flights."

Professor Moore, the on-scene Project Engineer, gave detailed
information concerning his team's efforts. He recalled that radar
targets were used for tracking balloons because they did not have all
the necessary equipment when they first arrived in New Mexico. Some of
the early developmental radar targets were manufactured by a toy or
novelty company. These targets were made up of aluminum "foil" or
foil-backed paper, balsa wood beams that were coated in an
"Elmer's-type" glue to enhance their durability, acetate and/or cloth
reinforcing tape, single stand and braided nylon twine, brass eyelets
and swivels to form a multi-faced reflector somewhat similar in
construction to a box kite (see photographs, Atch 26). Some of these
targets were also assembled with purplish-pink tape with symbols on it
(see drawing by Moore with Atch 21).

According to the log summary (Atch 27) of the NYU group, Flight A
through Flight 7 (November 20, 1946-July 2, 1947) were made with
neoprene meteorological balloons (as opposed to the later flights made
with polyethylene balloons). Professor Moore stated that the neoprene
balloons were susceptible to degradation in the sunlight, turning
from a milky white to a dark brown. He described finding remains of
balloon trains with reflectors and payloads that had landed in the
desert: the ruptured and shredded neoprene would "almost look like
dark gray or black flakes or ashes after exposure to the sun for only
a few days. The plasticizers and antioxidants in the neoprene would
emit a peculiar acrid odor and the balloon material and radar target
material would be scattered after returning to earth depending on the
surface winds." Upon review of the local newspaper photographs from
General Ramey's press conference in 1947 and descriptions in popular
books by individuals who supposedly handled the debris recovered on
the ranch, Professor Moore opined that the material was most likely
the shredded remains of a multi-neoprene balloon train with multiple
radar reflectors. The material and a "black box," described by Cavitt,
was, in Moore's scientific opinion, most probably from Flight 4, a
"service flight" that included a cylindrical metal sonobuoy and
portions of a weather instrument housed in a box, which was unlike
typical weather radiosondes which were made of cardboard.
Additionally, a copy of a professional journal maintained at the time
by A.P. Crary, provided to the Air Force by his widow, showed that
Flight 4 was launched on June 4, 1947, but was not recovered by the
NYU group. It is very probable that this TOP SECRET project balloon
train (Flight 4), made up of unclassified components; came to rest
some miles northwest of Roswell, NM, became shredded in the surface
winds and was ultimately found by the rancher, Brazel, ten days later.
This possibility was supported by the observations of Lt. Col Cavitt
(Atch 17-18), the only living eyewitness to the actual debris field
and the material found. Lt. Col Cavitt described a small area of
debris which appeared, "to resemble bamboo type square sticks one
quarter to one half inch square, that were very fight, as well as some
sort of metallic reflecting material that was also very light ... I
remember recognizing this material as being consistent with a weather
balloon."

Concerning the initial announcement, "RAAF Captures Flying Disc,"
research failed to locate any documented evidence as to why that
statement was made. However, on July 10, 1947, following the Ramey
press conference, the Alamogordo News published an article with
photographs demonstrating multiple balloons and targets at the same
location as the NYU group operated from at Alamogordo AAF. Professor
Moore expressed surprise at seeing this since his, was the only
balloon test group in the area. He stated, "It appears that there was
some type of umbrella cover story to protect our work with Mogul."
Although the Air Force did not find documented evidence that Gen.
Ramey was directed to espouse a weather balloon in his press
conference, he may have done so because he was either aware of Project
Mogul and was trying to deflect interest from it, or he readily
perceived the material to be a weather balloon based on the
identification from his weather officer, Irving Newton. In either
case, the materials recovered by the AAF in July, 1947, were not
readily recognizable as anything special (only the purpose was
special) and the recovered debris itself was unclassified.
Additionally, the press dropped its interest in the matter as quickly
as they had jumped on it. Hence, there would be no particular reason
to further document what quickly became a "non-event."

The interview with Colonel Trakowski (Atch 23-24) also proved valuable
information. Trakowski provided specific details on Project Mogul and
described how the security for the program was set up, as he was
formerly the TOP SECRET Control Officer for the program. He further
related that many of the original radar targets that were produced
around the end of World War II were fabricated by toy or novelty
companies using a purplish-pink tape with flower and heart symbols on
it. Trakowski also recounted a conversation that he had with his
friend, and superior military officer in his chain of command, Colonel
Marcellus Duffy, in July, 1947. Duffy, formerly had Trakowski's
position on Mogul, but had subsequently been transferred to Wright
Field. He stated: ."..Colonel Duffy called me on the telephone from
Wright Field and gave me a story about a fellow that had come in from
New Mexico, woke him up in the middle of the night or some such thing
with a handful of debris, and wanted him, Colonel Duffy, to identify
it. ... He just said 'it sure looks like some of the stuff you've been
launching at Alamogordo' and he described it, and I said 'yes, I think
it is.' Certainly Colonel Duffy knew enough about radar targets,
radiosondes, balloon-borne weather devices. He was intimately familiar
with all that apparatus."

Attempts were made to locate Colonel Duffy but it was ascertained that
he had died. His widow explained that, although he had amassed a large
amount of personal papers relating to his Air Force activities, she
had recently disposed of these items. Likewise, it was learned that
A.P. Crary was also deceased; however his surviving spouse had a
number of his papers from his balloon testing days, including his
professional journal from the period in question. She provided the Air
Force researchers with this material. It is discussed in more detail
within Atch 32. Overall, it helps fill in gaps of the Mogul story.

During the period the Air Force conducted this research, it was
discovered that several others had also discovered the possibility
that the "Roswell Incident" may have been generated by the recovery of
a Project Mogul balloon device. These persons included Professor
Charles B. Moore, Robert Todd, and coincidentally, Karl Pflock, a
researcher who is married to a staffer who works for Congressman
Schiff. Some of these persons provided suggestions as to where
documentation might be located in various archives, histories and
libraries. A review of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests
revealed that Robert Todd, particularly, had become aware of Project
Mogul several years ago and had doggedly obtained from the Air Force,
through the FOIA, a large amount of material pertaining to it; long
before the AAZD researchers independently seized on the same
possibility.

Most interestingly, as this report was being written, Pflock published
his own report of this matter under the auspices of FUFOR, entitled
"Roswell in Perspective" (1994). Pflock concluded from his research
that the Brazel Ranch debris originally reported as a "flying disc"
was probably debris from a Mogul balloon; however, there was a
simultaneous incident that occurred not far away, that caused an alien
craft to crash and that the AAF subsequently recovered three alien
bodies therefrom. Air Force research did not locate any information to
corroborate that this incredible coincidence occurred, however.

In order to provide a more detailed discussion of the specifics of
Project Mogul and how it appeared to be directly responsible for the
"Roswell Incident," a SAF/AAZD researcher prepared a more detailed
discussion on the balloon project which is appended to this report as
Atch 32.

Other Research

In the attempt to develop additional information that could help
explain this matter, a number of other steps were taken. First,
assistance was requested from various museums and other archives (Atch
28) to obtain information and/or examples of the actual balloons and
radar targets used in connection with Project Mogul and to correlate
them with the various descriptions of wreckage and materials
recovered. The blueprints for the "Pilot Balloon Target ML307C/AP
Assembly" (generically, the radar target assembly) were located at the
Army Signal Corps Museum at Fort Monmouth and obtained. A copy is
appended as Atch 29. This blueprint provides the specification for the
foil material, tape, wood, eyelets, and string used and the assembly
instructions thereto. An actual device was also obtained for study
with the assistance of Professor Moore. (The example actually procured
was a 1953-manufactured model "C" as compared to the Model B which was
in use in 1947. Professor Moore related the differences were minor).
An examination of this device revealed it to be simply made of
aluminum-colored foil-like material over a stronger paper-like material,
attached to balsa wood sticks, affixed with tape, glue, and twine. When
opened, the device appears as depicted in Atch 31 (contemporary photo)
and Atch 25 (1947 photo, in a "balloon train").  When folded, the device
is in a series of triangles, the largest being four feet by two feet ten
inches. The smallest triangle section measures two feet by two feet ten
inches. (Compare with descriptions provided by Lt. Col Cavitt and
others, as well as photos of wreckage).

Additionally, the researchers obtained from the Archives of the
University of Texas-Arlington (UTA), a set of original (i.e. first
generation) prints of the photographs taken at the time by the Fort
Worth Star-Telegram, that depicted Ramey and Marcel with the wreckage.
A close review of these photos (and a set of first generation
negatives also subsequently obtained from UTA) revealed several
infesting observations. First, although in some of the literature
cited above, Marcel allegedly stated that he had his photo taken with
the "real" UFO wreckage and then it was subsequently removed and the
weather balloon wreckage substituted for it, a comparison shows that
the same wreckage appeared in the photos of Marcel and Ramey. The
photos also depicted that this material was lying on what appeared to
be some sort of wrapping paper (consistent with affidavit excerpt of
crew chief Porter, above). It was also noted that in the two photos of
Ramey he had a piece of paper in his hand. In one, it was folded over
so nothing could be seen. In the second, however, there appears to be
text printed on the paper. In an attempt to read this text to
determine if it could shed any further light on locating documents
relating to this matter, the photo was sent to a national level
organization for digitizing and subsequent photo interpretation and
analysis. This organization was also asked to scrutinize the digitized
photos for any indication of the flowered tape (or "hieroglyphics,
depending on the point of view) that were reputed to be visible to
some of the persons who observed the wreckage prior to it getting to
Fort Worth. This organization reported on July 20, 1994, that even
after digitizing, the photos were of insufficient quality to visualize
either of the details sought for analysis. This organization was able
to obtain measurements from the "sticks" visible in the debris after
it was ascertained by an interview of the original photographer what
kind of camera he used. The results of this process are provided in
Atch 33, along with a reference diagram and the photo from which the
measurements were made. All these measurements are compatible with the
wooden materials used in the radar target previously described.

CONCLUSION

The Air Force research did not locate or develop any information that
the "Roswell Incident" was a UFO event. All available official
materials, although they do not directly address Roswell per se,
indicate that the most likely source of the wreckage recovered from
the Brazel Ranch was from one of the Project Mogul balloon trains.
Although that project was TOP SECRET at the time, there was also no
specific indication found to indicate an official pre-planned cover
story was in place to explain an event such as that which ultimately
happened. It appears that the identification of the wreckage as being
part of a weather balloon device, as reported in the newspapers at the
time, was based on the fact that there was no physical difference in
the radar targets and the neoprene balloons (other than the numbers
and configuration) between Mogul balloons and normal weather balloons.
Additionally, it seems that there was over-reaction by Colonel
Blanchard and Major Marcel, in originally reporting that a "flying
disc" had been recovered when, at that time, nobody for sure knew what
that term even meant since the it had only been in use for a couple of
weeks.

Likewise, there was no indication in official records from the period
that there was heightened military operational or security activity
which should have been generated if this was, in fact, the first
recovery of materials and/or persons from another world. The post-War
US Military (or today's for that matter) did not have the capability
to rapidly identify, recover, coordinate, cover-up, and quickly public
scrutiny of such an event. The claim that they did so without leaving
even a little bit of a suspicious paper trail for 47 years is
incredible.

It should also be noted here that there was little mentioned in this
report about the recovery of the so-called "alien bodies." This is for
several reasons: First, the recovered wreckage was from a Project
Mogul balloon. There were no "alien" passengers therein. Secondly, the
pro- UFO groups who espouse the alien bodies theories cannot even
agree among themselves as to what, how many, and where, such bodies
were supposedly recovered. Additionally, some of these claims have
been shown to be hoaxes, even by other UFO researchers. Thirdly, when
such claim are made, they are often attributed to people using
pseudonyms or who otherwise do not want to be publicly identified,
presumably so that some sort of retribution cannot be taken against
them (notwithstanding that nobody has been shown to have died,
disappeared or otherwise suffered at the hands of the government
during the last 47 years). Fourth, many of the persons making the
biggest claims of "alien bodies" make their living from the "Roswell
Incident." While having a commercial interest in something does not
automatically make it suspect, it does raise interesting questions
related to authenticity. Such persons should be encouraged to present
their evidence (not speculation) directly to the government and
provide all pertinent details and evidence to support their claims if
honest fact-finding is what is wanted. Lastly, persons who have come
forward and provided their names and made claims, may have, in good
faith but in the "fog of time," misinterpreted past events. The review
of Air Force records did not locate even one piece of evidence to
indicate that the Air Force has had any part in an "alien" body
recovery operation or continuing cover-up.

During the course of this effort, the Air Force has kept in close
touch with the GAO and responded to their various queries and requests
for assistance. This report was generated as an official response to
the GAO, and to document the considerable effort expended by the Air
Force on their behalf. It is anticipated that they will request a copy of
this report to help formulate the formal report of their efforts. It is
recommended that this document serve as the final Air Force report
related to the Roswell matter, for the GAO, or any other inquiries.


/s/ RICHARD L. WEAVER, COL, USAF
    DIRECTOR, SECURITY AND SPECIAL
    PROGRAM OVERSIGHT


Attachments

1. Washington Post Article, "GAO Turns to Alien Turf in New Probe,"
January 14, 1994
2. GAO Memo, February 15, 1994
3. DoD/IG Memo, February 23, 1994
4. SAF/FM Memo, February 24, 1994, w/Indorsement
5. SAF/AA Memo, March 1, 1994, w/ March 16, 1994 Addendum
6. AF/IN Memo, March 14, 1994
7. AF/SE Memo, March 14, 1994
8. SAF/AQL Memo, March 22,1994
9. AF/XOWP Memo, March 9,1994
10. SAF/AAI Memo, March 10, 1994
11. AFHRA/CC Memo, March 8, 1994
12. AFOSI/HO Memo, May 11, 1994
13. List of Locations and Records Searched
14. HQ AAF "Issuance of Orders," June 5, 1947
15. Copy of Vandenberg's Appointment Book and Diary, July 7-9, 1947
16. July 9, 1947 Photos of Balloon Wreckage, Ft Worth Star Telegram
17. Signed Sworn Statement of Cavitt, May 24, 1994
18. Transcript of Cavitt Interview, May 24, 1994
19. Letter, July 8, 1946, Project Mogul
20. Signed Sworn Statement of Spilhaus, June 3, 1994
21. Signed Sworn Statement of Moore, June 8, 1994
22. Signed Sworn Statement of Trakowski, June 29, 1994
23. Transcript of Interview with Moore, June 8, 1994
24. Transcript of Interview with Trakowski, June 29, 1994
25. Illustration of Project Mogul "Balloon Trains"
26. Two Photos of Project Mogul "Balloon Trains"
27. Log Summary, NYU Constant Level Balloon Flights
28. List of Museums Contacted
29. Copy of Blueprint for "Pilot Balloon Target, NIL-307C/AP Assembly"
30. Signed Sworn Statement of Newton, July 21, 1994
31. Photos of UL-307C/AP Device, With Vintage Neoprene Balloon and
    Debris
32. Synopsis of Balloon Research Findings by 1LT James McAndrew
33. "Mensuration Working Paper," With Drawing and Photo


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