Once
again, going through older material looking for nothing specific, I have
stumbled over something that might be of some significance. It all began when,
scanning a document created by the Air Force that listed 49 UFO organizations
in the United States that investigated UFOs, I spotted Karl Pflock’s name. He
was listed as the director of something called the National Committee for
Investigation of UFO’s. The name, I suspect was designed to feed off that of
the bigger and better known National Investigations Committee on Aerial
Phenomena which was listed by the Air Force as the National Investigative
Committee on Aerial Phenomena providing a glimpse into how careful they were in
their investigations.
Karl Pflock |
I
attached nothing of importance to this discovery, other than Karl had been
interested in UFOs for a long time and that he had apparently created his own
organization to study them. In the mid-1960s, a friend and I created the Office
of Scientific Investigation, a name we learned from a science fiction film. We
did hold some meetings, created an investigation form, did investigate a few
sightings, and began a small library of UFO related books. Nothing nefarious in
that. We all (and here I include Karl) were just interested in the topic.
All
this lead to a bigger revelation and confirmation of something that has been
said for decades. The Air Force did keep track of the civilian UFO
organizations and were aware of the policies of some and were worried about
their influence on public perception. This was included in a secret document
from December 18, 1958. I will note for the purists out that that part of it
was secret, part of it was confidential and some of it was unclassified. By
government regulations, the entire document, at that time, would have been
considered secret because that was the highest classification contained inside
the document. For the record, the list of UFO organizations was confidential, a
classification level just below secret.
In
the secret part of that document, which was inclosure [sic] one, and labeled as
a draft proposal, it was noted:
Forty-nine
(49) UFO organizations… exist in the ZI [Zone of the Interior, which is to say,
the continental United States]in addition to many individual self-proclaimed
experts whose affiliations or specific intentions are not clear. It is clear,
however, that for various reasons these individuals and agencies such as NICAP,
CSI [oddly, there are two organizations on the list that could be this
particular CSI – Civilian Saucer Intelligence or Civilian Saucer Investigation]
APRO, etc. feel a need for, and do everything possible to discredit the Air
Force, its investigations, and its ultimate evaluation of reported sightings.
These organizations, and for the most part individuals, are well equipped, and
do in fact conduct a very comprehensive, although biased, field investigation.
These generally result in well documented reports which are used for their
chosen purposes… Some, such as Mr. Haber [of an investigation of a UFO
sighting] for reason known only to him, take advantage of every opportunity to
incite others.
The
real take away here is that the Air Force is tracking UFO organizations though
their spokesmen sometimes denied that, and that they found these civilian
investigators to be competent, producing comprehensive reports. They suggested
that the investigations were biased, but then the same can be said for Air
Force investigations, especially when a body of documentation suggests that UFO
sightings were to be explained, and if not, then classified. See Air Force
regulations, 200-2 and 80-17.
There
is another part of this secret document that is relevant to the discussion here.
It said:
Ed Ruppelt |
Some
of the UFO organizations, such as NICAP, well know the deficiencies in the Air
Force Program and take advantage of every opportunity to place us in a
defensive position. In fact, it is understood that Captain Ruppelt, who was
responsible for the ATIC part of the UFO Program from early 1951 until
September 1953, is now affiliated with NICAP. In this organization alone
ex-marine corps Major Kehoe [sic], a political adventurist, [this description
was toned down in subsequent drafts of this document], and Captain Ruppelt, an
ex-ATIC specialist, represent a formidable team from which plenty of trouble
can be expected in the future. Both appear to be in the business for the money
involved. Comparable conditions involving eminent authorities of questionable
intensions exist in other of the 49 organizations.
Donald Keyhoe |
This
is another example of an outrageous and false allegation. I’m not sure why it
is thrown around. Isn’t nearly everyone in it for the money or some other
reward? Are journalists reporting news because it makes them feel good, or are
they looking to climb the ladder to bigger assignments, more prestige, and a
higher paycheck?
I
have been told on many occasions that I’m only in it for the money but the real
driving force is that I wanted to be a writer. The money was, of course, an
important component of that, but then, once I had sold four books (none of
which dealt with UFOs), I quit my job that included health and dental benefits
to write full time.
But
there was also the desire to tell a good story, to get at the truth in the UFO
field, and report that truth, which explains why there is no monetization on
this blog. I provide the information, and of course, my point of view for no
monetary reward.
And
while Keyhoe was director at NICAP and paid for his leadership, Ruppelt was not
being paid. He wrote his book and was paid for that, but anyone who writes a
book expects some monetary reward… but for the majority of us, that works out
to less than minimum wage, not to mention all the rip-offs created by many of
the others in the book business… Did you know that as much as 60 or 70% of the
cover price of a book goes to the bookstore and the distributor? Doesn’t leave
much for the publisher, his or her employees and then at the bottom of the
ladder – the writer. But I digress (please excuse the editorial comment).
What
we see here is that much of the response to the UFO question by the Air Force
is secret. More importantly, and the real point here as noted, is that the Air
Force was keeping tabs on the UFO organizations. That is something that they
denied and many believed to be paranoia based on nothing other than a delusion
of importance for the work done by those civilian organizations.
And
yet the Air Force denied all this, while understanding what was going on out in
the field. They denied this surveillance while engaged in it. Makes you wonder
what other things the Air Force said about UFO investigations that were untrue
and hidden by that veil of secrecy. But, as I say, we now know that the Air
Force was watching… though it might not have been all that close or all the
time. Still, it tells us a little about the importance of the UFO research and
how seriously the Air Force took that all the while denying that there was
anything of value to be learned in UFO investigation.
2 comments:
Kevin!
Didn't read this entry of your blog yet, I'm sure it's super interesting as usual.
I finished reading ROSWELL IN THE 21ST CENTURY and it's truly amazing, still have some questions that I'll ask eventually.
I wanted to ask you, it's inevitable that eventually you, as every single investigator, will have to retire from the field. Ever thought if there's someone you would like to donate all the material you gathered through the years? In my opinion you're one of the most notable and respectable investigators I can think of, I don't want to think all the information on Roswell will end up nowhere someday, who knows if someday in the future it could be vital to finally resolve it. If it gets lost no one will ever be able to gather all of that again, it's really valuable.
Thanks!
Karl Pflock had an interesting background in Defense and Intelligence. His UFO books were
very skeptical that Aliens were on Earth, especially Roswell. Could he have been a government
paid debunker? I read that his wife was at one time a member of Congressman Schiff's office
which asked the USAF to investigate the Roswell Crash. The result was an AF propaganda
piece called "Roswell...Case Closed." Congressman Schiff died soon afterwords from a fast
acting cancer. His Wikipedia never even mentions the Roswell Investigation he authorised,
but it does state he had an interest in UFO's. My opinion is that Pflock (and his wife)
were in New Mexico to insure that nothing important came of Schiff's investigation of
Roswell. Because our news media was so tightly controled in the 60's,70's, and beyond,
certain subjects were always handled such as the CIA/JFK assassinatin and UFO reality.
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