By Kevin D. Randle, 20 June 2011
(A Different Perspective, Cedar Rapids, Iowa)
Quote from the article:
“The
other day I was on a radio show and the host asked if there was a cover up. I
said, ‘Yes,’ and that I could prove it.
In my search of UFO files, at the
National Archives, at the Center for UFO Studies, and using the Project Blue
Book files, I learned how some of this transpired. The following will provide a
glimpse into the convoluted trail that leads into the cover up.
The military, after the code name
Project Sign, the first of the official UFO investigations was compromised,
claimed that the UFO investigation had been closed. They had merely changed the
name and kept going under the code name of Grudge. Then, in December 1949, they
announced that Project Grudge had been ended. The study hadn’t ended, but
continued, still using the code name Grudge. Later that name was changed and
Blue Book was born.
While it can be argued, persuasively,
that military secrets are a necessity, and since Blue Book was well known by
the beginning of 1953, the policy makes sense. But it can also be argued that
the policy is an outgrowth of a desire to mislead the public about the reality
of the situation. The question that can be asked, and frequently was, ‘How can
anyone suspect the Air Force takes UFOs seriously if the investigation consists
of an officer, an NCO, an enlisted man or two and a secretary?’ The answer is,
of course, not very.
But, of course, that wasn’t the true
picture. Investigation was continuing at a very high level with the addition of
the 4602d’s intelligence teams. More information comes from the unit history
(originally classified as Secret) and dated from 1 January - 30 June 1955. ‘The
4602d Air Intelligence Service Squadron continues to conduct all field
investigations within the zone of the interior to determine the identity of any
Unidentified Flying Objects.’ The unit history also noted, ‘The responsibility
for UFOB investigation was placed on the Air Defense Command, with the
publication of AFR 200-2, dated 12 August 1954.’
This merely confirms
what we had suspected before. There was a secret study of UFOs conducted by the
Air Force that was not part of the Blue Book System. Clearly ATIC was involved
because regulations demanded it, but there is nothing to suggest that every
report forwarded to ATIC made its way down to Blue Book.”
