AAWSAP and Skinwalker ranch - Kit Green makes a statement

Introduction

In a previous post, I brought together a number of pieces of information concerning AAWSAP/AATIP; BAASS requested MRI brain scans; work by Dr. Kit Green; and former Skinwalker ranch BAASS employees.

In this post, I wish to go into more detail about what former BAASS employees, Chris J Marx, and Chris Bartel hypothesize may have occurred at the ranch. I do this in order to promote further discussion and debate on this topic, based on statements which have been publicly made by Marx and Bartel, and not second or third hand hearsay.

New York Times (NYT)

Ever since the NYT broke the story in December 2017, of a $22M "secret" US Department of Defense study named Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP,) there have been claims that some of the money was spent in studying Skinwalker ranch.

For example, documentary film maker Jeremy Corbell, who produced a recent documentary on the ranch, appeared on the Internet radio show "Phenomenon Radio" hosted by Linda Moulton Howe and John Burroughs. In the episode aired 27 September 2018, in part, Corbell stated:

"The New York Times absolutely got in wrong with their announcement in December of 2017. It may be not their fault, but I want to clarify that, the primary reason for the $22M allocated to what we have been told was to AATIP, which is not correct...The $22M was allocated because of, and primarily for, the study of Skinwalker ranch by the Defense Intelligence Agency under the Defense Warning Office in the name of AAWSAP."

How do we know that the DIA was even interested in Skinwalker ranch?

Image courtesy of Chris Bartel

1. The NYT article of 16 December 2017, in part, read:

"In 2007, Mr Reid said in the interview, Mr Bigelow told him that an official with the Defense Intelligence Agency had approached him wanting to visit Mr Bigelow's ranch in Utah, where he conducted research."

2. The New York Magazine, on 19 March 2018, cited Senator Harry Reid as being approached by Robert Bigelow, saying that he had received a letter from a federal national security agency employee who wanted to visit Bigelow's Utah ranch."

3. Chris J Marx, in an interview (Episode 46) on the Black Vault Internet radio show, stated that while at the ranch, he was aware that the studies there were sponsored by the US government, and that one copy of the daily ranch report went to the Pentagon. It was only in late 2019 that Marx became aware of the DIA's Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program (AAWSAP,) and that therefore the ranch sponsor was the DIA.

4. During a late 2019 conversation with another former BAASS employee - a physicist- Marx states that the physicist was aware that a senior DIA employee, one Jame Lacatski "...was observed to be actually on the ranch." This was believed to be sometime in 2007/2008.

5. The 2008 DIA AAWSAP solicitation paperwork, located by this author on the Internet, shows that the DIA AAWSAP manager was one James T Lacatski.

In short, it can be demonstrated that at least one senior individual in the DIA was interested in the ranch.

Did BAASS study paranormal phenomena at the ranch?

According to Marx, the answer is both "yes" and "no." Yes, one of the stated intentions of BAASS employees working at the ranch was to study and document unusual experiences. However, the equipment supplied by BAASS to security guards at the ranch was sparse, not sophisticated.

If extensive money was being spent from the $22M budget at the ranch, to study the phenomenon, one might expect it to show up in one way, as the use of high-technology equipment.

Source: Erica Lukes Facebook page, 19 January 2020

Both Marx and Bartel say that the opposite was true, at least during the period 2010-2012, which is part of the time they were at the ranch. The AAWSAP contract ran from 2008-2012. Their investigatory equipment consisted of basic thermal imagery equipment, standard night-vision equipment; and cheap still cameras. In addition, Marx states that there were no working surveillance cameras on the property during the period 2010-2012.

In short, BAASS certainly did investigate paranormal phenomenon at the ranch to a degree; but not to the extent you would expect if large amounts of money were available.

What were the stated duties of the guards at the ranch?

The job description given by BAASS, according to both Marx and Bartel, was that they were hired to keep trespassers off the property; and research and document the phenomenon which occurred there. Some of the scientists employed by BAASS gave them tasks from time to time, which related to paranormal investigations.

What do Marx and Bartel hypothesize was actually going on at the ranch?

Based on the lack of sophisticated technology to conduct paranormal studies of the phenomenon; the lack of BAASS scientists visiting and staying at the ranch; the reason given by BAASS for their 2011 MRI brain scans, namely "It's to see if there was something in our brain which allowed us to have an experience ." (Bartel); the two former BAASS employees wonder if there was another purpose for their presence on the ranch?

To quote Marx; "I wondered if we were the hamsters, or the guys in the white coats." Later, in the same interview he said "We want to know if we were medically impacted by this..." and "I would like to know if I am coming down with MS or cancer five years from now."

Marx, has expressed a view that, perhaps part of the AAWSAP contract, included a study of any effects that might have happened, to security guards, such as himself? A kind of non-lethal weapons testing?

Both Marx and Bartel spoke publicly of the frequent experience of "the sense of being watched" when there was no-one else around; by someone or something. Bartel mentioned of hearing footsteps from some disembodied source. Both men related experiences involving seeing things that seemed to vanish in front of them. Of extremely bright lights, where you could see your bones of the hands, even through closed eyes. These lights went off leaving no clues as to their origin. Marx says experiences such as these led him to consider "cloaking" and "camouflage" experiments might have been conducted by someone or something.

Dr.  Kit Green and his study

While the following is not directly attributed to the study of security guards at Skinwalker ranch, it does appear relevant to this article to me.

In interviews with authors Annie Jacobsen (2018) and M. J. Banias (2019), Dr Christopher (Kit) Green has outlined some details of his studies of the medical effects on humans due to a close encounter with the phenomenon. Of interest here is a quote form page 398 of Jacobsen's book:

His original hypothesis was that a majority of his patients had "been exposed to technology from black programs,' he says, that is, advanced state-of-the-art, high-energy technologies developed in Special Access Programs. "Nonlethal weapons program. Holograms. Cloaking devices. Drones.Twenty-five percent of my patients die within five to seven years of my diagnosis and I have no idea of how any programs I knew about years ago can do these things," Green says.

I posed a number of questions, by email, to Dr. Green, who was kind enough to respond. He has given his permission for me to quote his responses in this article. My questions were:

Q1 Given the information contained in this article, have you any comment on the Marx/Bartel hypothesis that the underlying reason for the BAASS studies at the ranch, included a study of medical effects on security guards by the phenomenon? If so, what is your comment?

Q2 Have you any comment on the Marx/Bartel hypothesis that they were perhaps exposed to some kind of non-lethal weapons testing? If so, what is your comment?

Q3 Have you any comment on anything else contained in the article?

Q4 Noting your 2018 interview comment re your original hypothesis for the cause of the injuries to your own patients, what is your current working hypothesis about the cause of injuries to your patients?

Dr. Green responded:

"Your article and comments by Mr. Marx and Mr Bartel are really a very nice summary. I have no additional comments because I have no important disagreements with what you and they had said.

The reference to the fatality rate does not include any persons from the Ranch...but is a different and primarily military population. That earlier group has been discussed somewhat in books as you mentioned, and I have no further insight.

I am attempting to write a clinical case study of several of the more interesting cases, that touch on the issues of "non-lethal" weapons. I am baffled. I am certain that no injuries I have encountered in referred cases...or others for that matter, require paranormal or "off world" technologies to have caused harm.

This conclusion I have reached slowly, over the past 10 years, but it is data driven. Many of my colleagues I respect disagree. No physicians disagree. That is sadly a defeat for me. A forensic physician must seek to discern 'perpetrators' and criminal motive as well as unknown morbidity and mortality and etiology of illness and injury. I have no clue as to perpetrators and motives. But I don't require magic and aliens to characterize the injuries and pathologies."

AAWSAP/AATIP; MRI brain scans and Skinwalker Ranch

Chris J. Marx

In July and August 2019, three episodes of the U.S. Internet radio show "UFO Classified" hosted by Utah researcher Erica Lukes, featured an individual named  Chris J. Marx. Marx related details about his employment with Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies (BAASS) and his time at Robert T. Bigelow's North Eastern Utah (Skinwalker) ranch between 2010 and 2016.

During the interviews, Marx mentioned that he had the usual recruitment medical tests for employment with BAASS. He also related that there was a time he went to Reno, Nevada for certain other testing. In addition, in the 5 July 2019 episode, Marx spoke about his recruitment interview with BAASS, and stated that about halfway through that interview, the interviewer:

 "...asked me if I had ever experienced anything that was unexplainable, or that was paranormal or something that was, didn't make sense? And, I told him, yeh, I actually have..."

Chris Bartel

On 20 September 2019, Erica Lukes interviewed both Marx and another individual named Chris Bartel. Bartel spoke of his recruitment by, and his employment with, BAASS, from September 2010, and in addition mentioned about going to Reno, Nevada for magnetic resonance imagery (MRI) scans, for which he never received the results. Like Marx, Bartel had gone to work at Robert T Bigelow's North Eastern Utah ranch. At one point in the episode, Lukes mentioned that Marx had been asked by his BAASS interviewer, if he had any paranormal experiences; and then asked Bartel if his BAASS interviewer had asked him a similar question? Bartel responded:

"Colm Kelleher, I'd interviewed him, and he asked me about if I had experiences and ironically enough I did..."

I spent some time communicating with Chris Bartel, and the following is a summary of what he told me about the MRI testing in Reno, Nevada.

A senior BAASS employee named Loran Huffman was the person who actually came to Bartel with the official request that he go for an MRI test. The request was verbally made by Huffman, although Bartel understands the original request came from BAASS Deputy Administrator Colm Kelleher. A check of Huffman's public LinkedIn profile found that he was Director of Investigations and Security (FSO) for Bigelow Aerospace between January 2009 and May 2012. Bartel states:

"I remember asking Lauren Hoffman (sic) why we were having MRIs done and he said 'It's to see if there was something in our brain which allowed us to have an experience.'"

No other medical related exams were undertaken while they were in Reno, just the MRI. Bartel recalls that an individual picked both he and Marx up at the Reno airport, drove them to the Reno Diagnostic Center, conducted the MRI brain scans and then drove them back to the airport. Bartel says, he is fairly certain he knows who this individual was, although he is not 100% certain.

In October 2019, when Bartel heard about the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program (AAWSAP) he reached out to the Reno Center and obtained a  copy of his records.

Details of the MRI brain scans

Chris Bartel has shared the results of his MRI brain scans with me. Two aspects are puzzling. Firstly, under the heading "Clinical indication" i.e. the reason for the MRI examination, is the single word "preemployment" despite the fact that the scan was  conducted, on 5 August 2011, almost a year into their employment. Secondly, the referring physician was shown as a Ronald Smith MD of Reno. However, Bartel informed me that he did not recall ever meeting a Dr. Smith. One would expect that a patient would first meet an MD and then be referred to a specialist for an MRI.

Marx

I have also spent some time communicating with Chris J. Marx. Like Bartel, Marx has also acquired a copy of his own MRI brain scan results, taken 5 August 2011 at the Reno Diagnostic Center. Copies of images are now available via the UFO Classified website. In an episode of that show, dated 16 January 2020, Marx revealed that, like Bartel, a copy of his results were sent to the same Dr. Smith. However, Marx had no recollection of meeting a Dr. Smith.

The reason for Marx's MRI brain scans, is shown as "preemployment," again despite the fact that Marx had been a BAASS employee for almost a year by the date of the scan. In addition, page 2 of Marx's MRI results  states: "Read and electronically signed by Eric J Kraemer MD" and  "Reviewed by Eric J Kraemer MD."

The website of the Reno Diagnostic Centre shows that a Dr. Kraemer, obtained his BSc at Cornell; obtained his MD at the University of Iowa School of Medicine; completed an MRI fellowship at Northwestern University; before joining Reno Diagnostic Center in July 2006. Thus it would appear to confirm Dr. Kraemer was indeed employed there in 2011. It would be reasonable to assume he was the individual at the Center, who analyzed the results of the MRI brain scans.

Marx states that he is now aware of at least four former BAASS employees who underwent similar MRI brain scans. Himself, Bartel; an individual nicknamed "Chip" (whose real identity I deduced from public records) and a fourth individual who wishes to remain anonymous.

I asked Marx if he knew the identity of the individual he met in Reno? He replied, that he believed he did, but was not 100% certain.

"Chip"

On the 2 September 2012 episode of the Internet Paracast radio show, an individual identified only as "Chip," who stated that he had worked as a guard at Skinwalker Ranch, mentioned that he was aware that a number of individuals from the ranch had been sent to Reno for MRI brain scans.

Dr. Smith

Who then, was the Dr. Smith whose name, address and telephone number are on Bartel's and Marx's MRI test results as receiving a copy of the results? An Internet search located a Ronald L Smith MD who still practices at that same address, has the same telephone number, and practices internal medicine.

Further research located a 2008 report titled "Emerging Cognitive Neuroscience and Related Technologies" published by the National Research Council in 2008, Washington DC.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK207943/

In that report, a Dr. Ronald L Smith was a member of  a committee named "Committee on Military and Intelligence Methodology for Emergent Neurophysiological and Cognitive/Neural Science Research in the Next Two Decades." Dr. Smith's biography is provided at the end of that report, which states:

" Ronald L Smith is in private practice of internal medicine and is an associate clinical professor at the University of Nevada School of Medicine. He was a neurologist at the NASA Ames Research Center and a post-doctoral fellow at the UCLA Brain Research Institute. He currently serves on the Joint Independent Science panel on Chemical and Biological Defense and has reviewed policies, procedures and training in troop protection from chemical, biological and nuclear threat for the Joint Military Services. He served on the NRC's Committee on Network Science for Future Army applications. Dr. Smith received a PhD in anatomy (neuroscience) from the University of California in San Francisco and an MD from the Autonomous University of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico."

The chair of that particular committee (Military and Intelligence etc) was Dr. Christopher C Green.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK207936/

Christopher (Kit) Green

Both Bartel and Marx separately advised me, that they are fairly certain that the individual they met at the airport in Reno, and who conducted their MRI brain scans, as a guest of the Center, was Dr Christopher C Green. Although it must again be stated, that they are not 100% certain. Are there any facts to support this identification? I turned to the UFO literature in search of clues.

Annie Jacobsen

Image courtesy of Amazon Books

In her 2018 book "Phenomena" (Back Bay Books, New York) journalist Annie Jacobsen gives details of an interview she conducted with Dr. Christopher C Green. In part, she quotes Green as saying that:

"I'm interested in the notion of people injured physically by anomalous events. Often these events are perceived as [involving] unidentified aerial phenomena, or UAPs, drones, high energy radio frequencies that confront people face to face and cannot be explained...In 2005 he began working on a research project to address this enigma. He began creating "a structured database of individuals that were suffering enigmatic burns, skin lesions, cancer, diseases - and who also had face to face encounters with UAPs..." (page 396.)

As to who were his patients, Green said:

"...they are all high functioning individuals, many prodigious savants, most of whom carry a high security clearance...They are members of Special Forces, members of the intelligence community, employees of aerospace companies, officers in the military, guards of military bases, policemen..."

M. J. Banias

Another author, M J Banias in his 2019 book "The UFO People:A Curious Culture" (August Night Books, USA) states that he interviewed Dr. Christopher "Kit" Green in 2018. In part he writes about Green:

"...Green consults with nearly sixty other medical doctors who share similar interests...Starting in 2003 Green began to work with individuals who suffered injuries from unknown aerial  objects.  In 2007, offering treatment at no cost, Green has treated about 180 of these individuals...Green's selection criteria for his patients are not based upon simple anecdote. Each of his patients must undergo a rigorous screening process. Green explains that each patient must witness and be physically affected by the anomaly within 50 meters...The second criteria stipulates that all patients suffering from these injuries must have a second eyewitness who was present at the event. Third, all injuries suffered must be physical in nature...Fourth, his patients must allow him to speak to their previous doctors and grant him access to their entire medical history. Fifth, they must undergo a battery of tests including DNA testing,endocrine and specialized blood tests and brain scans..."

As to who Green's selected patients are, Banias writes:

"...special forces, intelligence officers, private government contractors, high level aerospace company employees and military officers..."

Interestingly, from the perspective of this article, on page 86 Banias cites Green:

" He disclosed that about a dozen of his patients were injured on or near the infamous ranch in Utah, nicknamed Skinwalker Ranch."

 AAWSAP

The Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program  (AAWSAP) was a contract given to BAASS in September 2008 by the US Government's Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) to undertake certain work. In part, specifically to "...understand the physics and engineering...as they apply to the foreign threat out to the far term..." Technical studies were undertaken in 12 specified areas of interest including "10. Human effects."

An FOIA request by Dr Steven Aftergood had the DIA provide a list of the titles and authors of 38 such technical studies. On that list was a paper by Dr. Green titled " Field Effects on Biological Tissues." This paper is still not publicly available.

Luis Elizondo

During a 15 July 2018 Coast to Coast radio interview between journalist George Knapp; and Luis Elizondo, former head of the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP)  (which took over from AAWSAP) Knapp mentions BAASS, then asks Elizondo:

"Did you coordinate with them? Did you have access to what they did and vice versa?" Elizondo replied "Yes." Kanpp then asked "Would you have seen Skinwalker Ranch material for example?" Elizondo said "Yes."

BAASS

On 4 May 2018 as part of a Las Vegas KLAS-TV news report, the online version had a hyperlink titled "Statement from a Senior Manager of BAASS." In full, it read:

"Statement from a Senior Manager of BAASS
By Caroline Bleakley
Updated May 04, 2018 05:28PM PDT

LAS VEGAS - BAASS breaks new ground in professionalism by hiring, training and deploying 50 full-time staff comprising retired military intelligence and law enforcement officers, PhD level scientists, engineers, technicians, analysts, translators and project managers to create the largest multi-disciplinary full-time team in history to investigate the UFO topic.

The investigation by BAASS provided new lines of evidence showing that the UFO phenomenon was a lot more than nuts and bolts machines that interacted with military aircraft. The phenomenon also involved a whole panoply of diverse activity that included bizarre creatures, poltergeist activity, invisible entities, orbs of light, animal and human injuries and more. The exclusive focus on nuts and bolts machine could be considered myopic and unproductive in solving the larger mystery of UFOs.

One of the major successes of BAASS was in adopting the novel approach of utilizing the human body as a readout system for dissecting interactions with the UFO phenomenon. This novel approach aimed to circumvent the increasing evidence of deception and subterfuge by the UFO phenomenon in that multiple witnesses co-located in the same vicinity frequently reported seeing widely different events. The evidence was multiplying that the UFO phenomenon was capable of manipulating and distorting human perception and therefore witness testimony of UFO activity was becoming increasingly untrustworthy.

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

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

What can we conclude from the above?

Based on the testimony of Bartel, Marx and "Chip," someone at BAASS was interested in having certain staff, undergo MRI brain scans. The statement by a senior manager of BAASS adds to the view, that there was an expectation that by studying any effects on the human body, information could be gleaned about the phenomenon. 

This was also the focus of Dr. Green's work. As to whether or not the individual whom Bartel and Marx interacted with in Reno in 2011 was in fact Dr. Green, I reasoned why not ask him?

I therefore reached out by email, to Dr. Green; briefly described some of the above information, and asked him if he was in Reno, Nevada on 5 August 2011, and involved in MRI brain scans on these two, then BAASS employees? I further asked that if he was, was he able to say whether this was in connection with his own private studies, or as part of the Defense Intelligence Agency's Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program contract with BAASS?

Dr. Green responded that "I have never been to that Center, ever. I have never taken any person there."

I have also reached out to other former BAASS employees, advising them of my work to date, and inviting them to contact me if they so desire.

The DIA, FOIA, and the AATIP/AAWSAP

DIA request log

A while ago, I located a copy of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request log for the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) for 2018. This covered requests submitted between 1 October 2017 and 30 September 2018. The 1 October 2018 to 30 September 2019 log, is as of today, not yet posted to the DIA website.

The 2018 log is full of requests for information about the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP). Later, when the alternative name, Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program (AAWSAP) was revealed by Melbourne researcher Paul Dean, individuals started to ask the DIA for information about AAWSAP.

As of today, I am aware of only one final DIA response to the dozens of AATIP/AAWSAP related FOIA requests.

Dr Steven Aftergood, of the Federation of American Scientists, in a blog post titled "More Light on Black programs To Track UFOs" dated 17 January 2019, advised receipt of a DIA response to his FOIA request dated 15 August 2018. He had requested [request 00239] a "copy of the list that was recently transmitted to Congress of all DIA products produced under the Advanced Aerospace Threat and Identification Program contract." The DIA provided such a list.

My own DIA FOIA requests

I have two outstanding FOIA requests with the DIA about this subject area. I received one letter from the DIA dated 10 December 2019 about one request which I submitted on 28 March 2018. This advised that this was an interim response, with a final response due on 28 December 2020. A while later, I received a second DIA interim response letter about my other request, submitted on 30 May 2018. Again this was dated 10 December 2019, and advised an anticipated final response date of 28 December 2020.

By asking around the UAP research community, I established that many other individuals had received such DIA interim response letters, one dated as early as 18 November 2019. Most letters cited an anticipated final response date sometime in December 2020.

Back to the 2018 log

https://www.dia.mil/FOIA/FOIA-Electronic-Reading-Room/FileId/216385/

I thought it worth while to look back through the 2018 request log, to see who submitted the first AATIP/AAWSAP request? It was request [0065] from Laurent Corbell and asked  "Requesting all documents generated as part of the Defense Department's Advance Aviation Threat Identification Program, including the 490 page report that was described in the December 16 article in the Washington Post." The request log does not show the dates for each FOIA request, but as this was [0065] in a date range commencing on 1 October 2017; it is reasonable to assume this request was submitted shortly after 16 December 2017.   For the full list of relevant requests, pleased take a look at the log for yourself. 

I would appreciate hearing from anyone who submitted a 2018 request, apart from Steven Aftergood,
who has indeed received a reply that we do not yet know about.

Update 21 October 2021

John Greenewald published an article  dated 21 October 2021 in which he stated he had a "no relevant records" response to his 2018 FOIA request ( FOIA-0260-2018) to the DIA "requesting a copy of records, electronic or otherwise, of the following: all documents pertaining to the outline, mission statement, objective etc of the following program which includes various versions of what the program name may be called..." John then went on to give a number of variations of the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program name. 

Papua New Guinea newspaper items about UAP

National Library of Australia

The National Library of Australia (NLA) undertook a major project, a few years ago, to digitise a large number of Australian newspapers. These are now available to view and search at their TROVE digitised newspapers site. The project ended up digitising many of Australia's current and past newspapers, up to the end of the year 1954. A few newspapers are available up to around 1990, but most are not.

TROVE

If you go to the TROVE search area and type in the keywords "flying saucer;" "UFO;" or "unidentified flying objects" you will get a return of many thousands of entries. This blog has reported on the contents of many of these items, e.g. Australian pilot in Korea reporting UAP.

Papua New Guinea

Recently, however, I came across a digitised copy of a newspaper from Papua New Guinea in the collection. Why is this of interest to Australian researchers? Well up till 1975, Papua New Guinea was administered by Australia. During that time, sightings of UAP were referred to Australia for investigation and recording.

Disclosure Australia

During the period 2003-2008 when the Australian UFO Network (AUFORN) ran the Disclosure Australia project, members of the team were searching the Australian government's UAP files for sighting reports. Three relevant files were about Papua New Guinea:

1. File series A452, control symbol 1969/4393, titled "UFOs and mysterious happenings Papua and New Guinea. Date range was 1957-1973.

2. File series MT1131/1, control symbol A31/1/133 titled "Unidentified aircraft Papua and New Guinea." Date range 1958-1959.

3. File series MP1279/1, control symbol 99/1/478 titled "New Guinea F.I.R. - operation of unidentified and foreign aircraft." Date range 1948-1965.

Papua New Guinea Post-Courier newspaper

For the benefit of readers I thought I would present a representative sample of what was appearing in the main Papua New Guinea newspaper during its publication period of 1969-1981.

1. "UFO Probe Urged

There have been frequent sightings of Unidentified Flying Objects in Papua New Guinea in recent months, Parliament was told yesterday. These sightings were confusing and worrying village people in the Central and Western Provinces and the Gusu Dumpu area of the Madang Province, the former transport minister Mr Jephcott (Madang) and Mr Kala Swokin (Western)  said during question time.

Mr Jephcott said that five UFO sightings were tracked on radar in the Gusap area by Air Niugini in December, and several others were reported in September...

Mr Swokin said the Defence Force should investigate recent sightings in the Central and Western provinces. The Defence minister Mr Duwabane told Parliament that his department will investigate and make a report..."

[Papua New Guinea Post-Courier Wednesday 21 February 1979 page 3.]

2. "Light shed on UFO."

Sightings over Gaire village in Central province about a month ago are probably explained. Between 0315 and 0430 hrs on September 24, a group, led by National Capital police commander, Assistant Commisioner Mr David Tasion reported the UFO. However, a Qantas jumbo 747 flying between Tokyo and Sydney was at that time diverted to Port Moresby for re-fuelling. The Civil Aviation Authority believe this to be the cause of the sighting.

[Papa New Guinea Post-Courier Thursday 16 October 1980 page 19.]

3. "Glowing report of Lae UFO"

Two sisters at Angau Memorial Hospital, Sr. Bennan and Sr. Glynn viewed an unusual object at 0215 hrs on 18 March 1979. It appeared as a bright golden coloured, star-like object. It travelled across the sky; stopped, then continued, and made a U turn and went back the way it had come. The women called the police, but by the time the police arrived the UAP had gone.

[Papua New Guinea Post-Courier Thursday 19 March 1970 page 11.]

4. "I saw a UFO and men."

A seven year old boy, Noel Bossiri of Baruru village reported seeing a big, bright light above a hill, at Kanudi at 2230hrs on 30 September 1980. He said that he woke to see the light and as he watched it, it landed on a hill and two human-like figures were seen. Noel said "the first to come out appeared silvery and the second was brown in colour." He was frightened by the experience and later told his parents of the sighting.

[Papua New Guinea Post-Courier Tuesday 7 October 1980 page 3.]

5. "sshh...something's scaring Lae."

On 2 May 1974 a "50 yard strip of Bougainvillea and other plants were 'burned' by something and began to die off beside Mr Arthur Strachan's house in Sturt Street...his gardener reported seeing a strange object in the sky around dusk, on Thursday night. An area of grass near the plants has also turned yellow..."

At 2200hrs on 4 May 1974, a Sally Willis reported seeing a glowing object near the top of a palm tree.

[Papua New Guinea Post-Courier Tuesday 7 May 1974 page 2.]

6. "Check on our UFOs.

The world's leading expert on UFOs (Unidentified Flying Objects) arrived in Papua New Guinea yesterday to investigate recent reports of sightings here. Dr J Allen Hynek...will visit the Milne Bay District to talk to people who say they have seen UFOs...

'My overall purpose in coming to Papua New guinea is to see whether there is any difference in the UFOs reported in this part of the world and those elsewhere...'"

[Papua New Guinea Post-Courier Wednesday 29 August 1973 page 3.]

7. "Goraka UFOs."

On 19 April 1974, a Mr and Mrs J W Wheeler reported seeing a bright, globular shaped light in the sky approaching them from the south side of the airstrip, at about 0600hrs. The light then departed in the direction of Lae. Half an hour earlier, a man at the airstrip reported seeing a globular light hover overhead for 25 minutes. It then split into two. One part was bright blue and moved off towards the mountains. The other part headed off towards Bene.

[Papua New Guinea Post-Courier Monday 22 April 1974 page 3.]

My comments

1. As can be seen from the representative sampling of newspaper accounts, the phenomenon being reported from Papua New Guinea was very similar to other parts of the world.

2. Item 6 from 1973 refers to the famous Boianai, Milne Bay District cluster of sightings in 1959 which included at least one CE3.

3. The reported radar sightings from December 1978 are not previously known to me. There was a classic observation reported in RAAF files [file series A703, control symbol 580/1/1 part 13, page 53] as follows:

29 June 1970 Sepik River area, PNG, 1720hrs.

The pilot of an F27 aircraft, VH-FNK, reported radar observations. On descent from 12,500 feet he noted echoes on his radar 60 degrees abeam to his plane. The radar was set to scan 180nm, and showed echoes at the 60nm range, from the aircraft and keeping station with him. There were five cigar shaped objects. With the radar scanner on maximum depression, the echoes disappeared. The Department of Civil Aviation advised that there were no other aircraft in that area.

I could find no record of a report by the PNG Defence Force about UAP.

NIDS - miscellaneous items on the former website

National Institute for Discovery Science

This post discusses a number of items to be found on the former website of the now defunct National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS) which have not yet been covered in the series of posts about NIDS, which I have been regularly publishing.

Although the NIDS website announced in 2004 that NIDS was ceasing operations, a search of the database of Nevada business names, reveals that the National Institute for Discovery Science Inc, still has a status of "active" as at May 2018. The original filing date for entity number C16341-1995 was 20 September 1995. NIDS is Nevada business number NV19951132880.

Apart from articles about animal mutilations, triangular UAP, "Day After" scenarios and the alleged 1978 Fort Dix/McGuire Air Force Base "shooting of an alien" incident; the website also includes the following:

1. "A Cautionary Tale: DNA Analyses of Alleged Extraterrestrial Biological Material: Anatomy of a Molecular Forensic Investigation."

* This is a 19 page report, credited to NIDS, A & S Research, and the Australian Physical Evidence group (Bill Chalker and Horace Drew)

* During a reported intense series of visitations reported by a Californian family, in "September 2000, an object resembling a claw was found..." The potential implication was that it was of extraterrestrial origin

* "...a painstaking DNA analysis and the use of bioinformatics methodology over a 12 month period by highly qualified teams of experts in three countries was necessary to establish that the biological specimen found in the house was a mundane terrestrial mollusk"

* There is an associated 248 page document "These are the search results with the CS63win sequence in the Claw-original_PCR file."

2. "Report on an ice-circle in NE Utah, February 21, 2002"

* Six page report on a 5 foot 9 inch diameter ice-circle found in an irrigation ditch on a ranch in NE Utah, owned by Robert Bigelow.

* Local NIDS investigator was on the scene within an hour

* Ice was about 3/4 inch thick

* "...the groove suggested  sharp instrument had been used to carve the circle"

* "...no markings were found in the center of the circle

* Pieces of shaved ice were collected and analyzed by EarthTech of Austin, Texas. Elemental distribution was similar to tap water

* No tracks, footprints or tire prints within 100 yards of circle

* "Readings for magnetic fields, electric fields and EM radiation, were all negative."

My comment:

Details of the investigation into this circle are also described on page 174 of the 2005 book, by Colm Kelleher and George Knapp, titled "Hunt for the Skinwalker" (Paraview. New York.)

3. "Analysis of an Alleged Implant"

* A two page report by Scott Little of EarthTech International

* An object, was examined which had been removed from a man's leg

* The reddish lump, when cut, revealed a metallic lump in its center. X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy was used to examine it

* Little's conclusion was "I suspect this is a piece of a hardened tool that flew into Mr X's leg at some time in the distant past when he was heavily distracted by other events. He probably thought it was just a cut and promptly forgot it when it healed over. Over the years, his body created the layered reddish lump of scar tissue to isolate the object."

4. "Analysis of Anomalous Metal Samples"

* A seven page report

* In 1995 Dr Roger Leir removed objects from the bodies of two people

* This report documents extensive testing by NIDS of the objects, and the subsequent findings.

5. "Unusual Personal Experiences"

* In 1991, the Roper organization,  commissioned by NIDS, conducted three surveys "Designed to ascertain what numbers of people reported unusual experiences"

* The questions used, were developed by abduction researchers Budd Hopkins and David Jacobs

* In 1998, NIDS again, via Roper, conducted another poll asking the same 11 questions, three times (to reduce the margin of error)

* Interestingly, the 1998 results "...were quite different from those of 1991 and those reporting unusual experiences decreased significantly"

* Tables of data are provided.

6. "Congressional Hearings Survey Results"

* A six slide presentation of the results of an Internet-based survey of 1035 respondents.

7. "Research at the National Institute for Discovery Science"

* A 16 page slide presentation, by Dr Colm Kelleher, at the MUFON International Symposium held in St Louis, on 15 July 2000.

8. "Statistical summary of UFO Cases Received by NIDS"

* NIDS established a 24 hour UFO "hot line" in September 1999

* This 11 page slide presentation provides an analysis of data.

9. "Selected Sightings reported from the NIDS Database"

* Summaries of reports, sorted by location

* USA, Canada, Germany, Mid-Atlantic Ocean, Sweden and Turkey.

10. Davis/Vallee slide presentation.

US researcher, Danny Silva, in a 21 December 2019 blog post, drew our attention to a NIDS website slide presentation by Dr Eric Davis and Dr Jacques Vallee.

What have I learned from reading all this NIDS material?

1. All of these reports by NIDS, which I have examined, and provided links to the full versions of, are well worth reading. They are comprehensive, well researched and well documented. Science was clearly being used to research the phenomenon.

2. NIDS had two main foci, as recorded on its website. Aerial phenomena, and consciousness. I have focused solely on the former. NIDS website articles about the latter, may be found by clicking here. 

3. Concerning the rash of reported triangular shaped objects, NIDS hypothesized that these were due to the open deployment of unacknowledged military aircraft.

4. On the question of animal mutilations, NIDS highlighted the number of apparently associated mystery helicopters, and also noted that many of the mutilations which they investigated, featured human involvement.

The 9 December 2019 Paco Chierici interview on the Hidden Truth Show

Paco Chierici

Paco Chierici was the former US Navy pilot who, in 2015, published the first article on the 2004 USS Nimitz/"Tic Tac" incident. He recently gave an interview to the host of the Hidden Truth Show, Jim Breslo, which I listened to.

https://www.lionsofthesky.com/

Courtesy of United Kingdom researcher, Isaac Koi, I have been able to obtain an automated transcript of that interview. I then again listened to the entire audio of the interview, and corrected those parts of the automated transcript, which I quote in this blog.

Information new to me

I have only extracted those parts of the interview which presented information of which I had not previously been aware of.

1. Asked when he had first heard of the 2004 USS Nimitz event, Chierici said:

"...this happened in 2004 obviously, and then I think I first heard about it in 2007 or 8..."

2. On the origin of the Fighter Sweep article:

"...in 2015 I became the editor of the online fighter magazine called Fighter Sweep, and one of the first articles I, and I'd always wanted to write the story of this sighting, because it just stuck with me...I call Dave up and I say, hey dude, I'm writing an article on your experiences...So I call Dave up, and I say, I'm gonna write the article about this awesome story you've been telling.

Can you give me any more details? So he goes, you're not going to believe this, they've just left, the the investigation, ONI, Office of Naval Investigation [KB-actually Intelligence.] Literally, just walked out my door; and they for the first time  in 11 years, anybody is taking anything that happened on that day seriously. And the guy has interviewed everybody that was involved. You know, on the Princeton, the E2, the helicopter guy. Everybody, the submarines, and they have this exhaustive, massive report and...

So I subsequently got my hands on that report and its exhaustive. It's got all kinds of names and details, and that's what my article is based on...the whole thing, it's probably, I don't know, 25 to 30 pages. I got it right here...but its classified, I guess. Somebody sent it to me...the executive summary...it's on the Internet...I wrote my article after reading through this about five hundred times."

A note: This seems to suggest that Chierici obtained a copy of the 2015 ONI investigation report. However, on the 17 December 2019, Chierici was interviewed on the UFO News Network show, by Chant Hannah and Frank Stalter. When speaking about the report which his Fighter Sweep article was based on he states:

"I called Dave up to, you know, refresh all the points that I was gonna write about and that's when I found out that AATIP had done an investigation...Dave believes they were AATIP and they had completed that in 2009 and through a variety of different means I was able to get my hands on the AATIP report before I did my article."

This is consistent with the fact that the executive summary section a copy of a 2009 investigation report has been available to us for some time. No one other than Chierici has advised that they possess a copy of the full report.

3. On the Commander of the USS Nimitz Marine fighter squadron -Douglas Kurth.

"The Commanding Officer of the Marine squadron is in a single-seat Hornet..."

4. On why Fravor and wingman didn't have FLIR onboard, and whey there are no onboard recordings:

"So they had no FLIR which is not uncommon. A lot of times if you're just going out for a fighter mission you don't put a FLIR in the airplane. It's removable. And he didn't turn his recording, his tape recorder on...It was so bizarre, and they never got to the mindset where they would turn their tapes on…"

5. Underwood and the FLIR video:

"They are proceeding towards the CAP, the same CAP that Dave and his wingman were going to. And as they're on autopilot, just heading to this spot in space, the wizzo in range wide scan, picks up a very faint contact and he's trying to lock it so...he's unable to lock it up on track...he takes the FLIR head seeker head and he slaves it to the faint radar return which is right on his nose because they're heading for the CAP and that's where the thing is...and that's the video you see..."

6. On FLIR:

"Now the FLIR, what it's designed to do, is provide ranging and targeting for a bomb, on the ground. So, two, three, four miles away...it's not designed for aerial intercepts...not designed to lock onto a maneuvering target that's moving at any speed..."

7. On the question of whether or not the Tic Tac was human technology:

"...there's a lot of things that sort of poke holes in the credulity of that scenario...I just think that the  scenario of it being a test of human tech is it doesn't make any sense... it's not the way we challenge each other as forces. You know, the Air Force doesn't send secret projects to test the Navy. The Navy doesn't do that to the Air Force..."

In summary

This interview provides an excellent overview of the 2004 Nimitz incident. In addition, it clarifies points about FLIR that I have never seen anywhere else. Well worth a listen to the entire interview, if you haven't already.

Previously unseen RAAF UFO file found

Annual check of National Archives of Australia RecordSearch database

One of my tasks, on the 1st of January of each new year, is to visit the website of the National Archives of Australia (NAA)  The purpose of such a visit, is to check for any UFO files which have been added to the NAA RecordSearch database. Most years, something new emerges, and this year is no exception.

File series D3138 [RAAF Edinburgh] control symbol 6/32/AIR PART 1 is titled "Unidentified Flying Objects 1965-1969." It is a file previously unknown to me, despite the previous locating of around 150 Australian government files on UFOs.

Part of the Australian government UFO files listing

The file status is shown as "Not Yet Examined" which means no one outside the RAAF has ever seen the file. It is held at the Canberra office of the NAA, and the item barcode is 22956672. I have just placed a request with the NAA to have them examine the file for release. Following this process, then I can order a digital copy of the file which will be placed on the NAA website for anyone to read. This process can take up to six months and cost up to around $120. The date range of the file makes it particularly interesting. During these years there were many UFO sightings recorded in South Australia, including CE3 style events. It will therefore be very interesting to see just what this new file contains.

Looking at my records, I found two other RAAF Edinburgh files:

1. A9755 control symbol 9. RAAF No. 92 Wing Headquarters Edinburgh. Date range 1992-1994, barcode 3533451 location Canberra NAA. Its status is "Open" but so far no one has been willing to pay the money to have a digital copy placed on the NAA website. Any takers?

2. A9755 control symbol 12. RAAF No. 92 Wing Headquarters Edinburgh. Date range 1987-1992. Barcode 3533466. A digital copy is available on the NAA wesbsite for anyone to view.