A Kinder More Gentle Air Force Response

THIS IS AMONGST THE NICEST and most detailed letters I ever received from an Air Force public information officer, in response to a sighting and witness I inquired about. Griffiss AFB in Rome, NY, a Strategic Air Command (SAC) facility, was closed down several years ago, but the base was the obvious source of numerous UFO reports in its day. In 1982 I was sent a helpful package filled with Air Force bulletins and even a glossy photo of a fighter jet. I think this was a period when the post-Vietnam military was really trying to update its image to appear almost cuddly and friendlier to potential recruits and the public. Note the "Peace is our Profession" statement at the bottom of the letterhead. How things change. I believe that the logo in force when the military draft came after me in 1968 was, "You're Coming With Us Now!"

Of course, the officer felt obligated to include the usual Air Force no-no-UFO statements (pay no attention), and I would certainly take issue with the oft-repeated official assurance that no evidence was found of a technology beyond our own scientific knowledge. What makes us think we would recognize a technology advanced beyond our own? I also suspect quite a number of military and airline pilots with UFO encounter experience would have a little trouble with that proclamation as well. They saw the "evidence" for themselves.