Air Force Press Release
The following was posted to alt.paranet.ufo by Steven Kaeser (skaeser@hr.house.gov) on
September 9, 1994.
Here is the text of one of the AP stories regarding this announcement:
Air Force Rejects UFO Theory in 1947 `Roswell Incident'
By JOHN DIAMOND, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) A supposed alien spacecraft discovered near Roswell, N.M., 47 years ago
likely was a secret Army Air Force balloon designed to monitor Soviet nuclear testing, the Air
Force concluded Thursday.
The Air Force in a report on the ``Roswell Incident'' said contrary claims in a wave of sensational
books and television specials are ``undocumented, taken out of context, self-serving or otherwise
dubious.''
The July 1947 discovery of wreckage on a ranch near Roswell has been at the center of
longstanding disputes between UFO advocates and the government over whether the Air Force has
been hiding evidence about alien spacecraft discoveries.
The Air Force began its investigation earlier this year amid charges that it was covering up the truth.
The material found near Roswell consisted of foil-wrapped fabric, wooden sticks, rubber pieces,
and small I-beams with strange markings on them. A local newspaper at the time reported: Air
Force Captures Flying Saucer On Ranch.
``The Air Force research did not locate or develop any information that the `Roswell Incident' was
a UFO event,'' wrote Col. Richard Weaver, author of the report. ``The most likely source of the
wreckage ... was from Project Mogul balloon trains.'' Although it rejects UFO and alien theories,
the report, nevertheless, suggests an interesting ancestry to the Roswell wreckage.
Project Mogul was a top-secret venture to develop balloons that would carry sensing devices aloft
and alert the U.S. military of any Soviet nuclear tests. It was a high priority at a time when the
government was concerned that its monopoly on nuclear weapons might be threatened.
The Roswell Incident also occurred in the midst of the so-called UFO wave, the surge of interest in
unidentified flying saucers, presumably from other galaxies. Shortly after the incident, officials in
what was then the Army Air Force dismissed the flying saucer speculation saying that the wreckage
found near Roswell was a weather balloon.
There the matter stood until 1978 when the supermarket tabloid National Inquirer reported that
Maj. Jesse Marcel, the Army Air Force intelligence officer who brought in the wreckage, claimed
he had discovered UFO debris.
A series of books followed advancing the UFO theory and accusing the Air Force of coverup. The
Robert Stack-hosted television show, ``Unsolved Mysteries,'' aired a recreation of the Roswell
incident and other television shows followed suit. According to the Air Force, a made-for-TV
movie is in the works.
``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,'' Weaver wrote in the Air Force report. Weaver conceded that debunking
conspiracy theories is a no-win business because ``pro-UFO'' elements would simply dismiss the
report as part of the coverup.
Rep. Steven Schiff, R-N.M., began pressing the Pentagon last year to declassify documents relating
to Roswell. The Air Force appears to have expended considerable energy on the report.
Dozens of people, including several who were in Roswell and involved in the discovery of the
wreckage, as well as veterans of Project Mogul, were interviewed. Investigators also combed
archives for material relating to UFOs.
In one example of the extent of the effort, the Air Force tracked down the original photo negatives
of newspaper pictures showing the wreckage and sent them to ``a national level organization'' for
digital analysis. This probably refers to the National Ph Interpretation Center, a super-secret branch
of the CIA. The analysis found that the photos were of ``insufficient quality'' to produce substantive
results.
Walter Haut, a volunteer at the UFO Museum at Roswell, a center devoted to gathering information
on this and other UFO incidents, rejected the Air Force conclusions.
``I feel very strongly about it,'' Haut said. Referring to those who made the original UFO claim, he
said, ``We're not talking about flaky people.''
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