{"id":11298,"date":"2020-06-12T12:50:48","date_gmt":"2020-06-12T12:50:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/?p=11298"},"modified":"2023-05-11T18:20:35","modified_gmt":"2023-05-11T18:20:35","slug":"the-cias-2016-guide-to-how-to-investigate-a-flying-saucer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/the-cias-2016-guide-to-how-to-investigate-a-flying-saucer\/","title":{"rendered":"The CIA’s 2016 Guide to “How To Investigate a Flying Saucer”"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the realm of national security and intelligence, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United States maintains a reputation for secrecy and confidentiality. However, in 2016, the agency surprised many when it published an article entitled “How to Investigate a Flying Saucer” on its official website. The article, seemingly a departure from its usual public communications, provided an unexpected look into the procedures and recommendations of the CIA regarding the investigation of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs).<\/p>\n

The fascination with UFOs and the potential existence of extraterrestrial life has been a persistent cultural and scientific curiosity. The modern UFO era began in the late 1940s, with an increased number of reported sightings, leading to widespread speculation, skepticism, and intrigue. It was during this period that the U.S. government began to take an active interest in these reports, leading to the creation of several investigative projects, such as Project Blue Book<\/a> by the United States Air Force, which ran from 1952 until 1969.<\/p>\n

Though the CIA’s direct involvement in UFO investigations was less publicized, it was nonetheless significant. The agency took part in panels and studies throughout the 1950s and ’60s, assessing the national security risks and scientific validity of these sightings. Despite the closure of Project Blue Book, the interest in UFOs never completely faded.<\/p>\n

The 2016 CIA article archived below offers insights into the methods and mindset required to properly investigate UFO sightings. The document provides ten tips and recommendations, each providing valuable insights into the meticulous and grounded approach that the agency takes towards such investigations.<\/p>\n

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The CIA’s Office Article, as published by the CIA (unedited):<\/h3>\n

\"image\"<\/a>Southbound on a lone desert highway, police officer Lonnie Zamora was in pursuit of a speeding car outside the town of Socorro, New Mexico, when he was startled by a loud roar<\/i>! Seconds later, he saw a large flame rise from the ground and pierce the sky above a remote patch of desert southwest of the highway. Fearing a nearby dynamite shack might have exploded, Zamora let the speeding car go, turned right, and drove down a bumpy gravel road that ran alongside the shack.<\/p>\n

Zamora\u2019s cruiser clunked along the rocky road until he came upon a steep hill. Rising from behind the hill was a smokeless fire that glowed in a funnel of blue and orange tinted flames. The hill obscured the origin of the flames, so Zamora attempted to drive up it. His cruiser\u2019s tires slipped and swayed on the loose gravel, but after three attempts, Zamora finally made it to the top.<\/p>\n

A shiny object, the size of a sedan, sparkled in the late afternoon sunshine about 150-200 yards from where Zamora was perched on the hilltop. At first glance, he thought it was a car overturned in an arroyo (dry creek bed), but when he drove closer, it appeared to be aluminum in color, not chrome, and oval-shaped like a football.<\/p>\n

Zamora drove toward the object, along the hill\u2019s crest, for about 50 feet and then stopped the car. He radioed back to the sheriff\u2019s office that he would be busy checking on a wreck \u201cdown in the arroyo,\u201d and then he descended on foot down the hill toward the object.<\/p>\n

Roooaaarrr! <\/i>Zamora was startled again by a very loud rumble, not exactly like a blast but also not steady like a jet engine. It started at a low frequency, with the pitch slowly rising. The flame appeared to be coming from the underside of the object, glowing light blue on top and orange at the bottom. Zamora panicked, afraid the object was about to blow.<\/p>\n

\"image<\/a>He ran to take cover but turned back to look at the object as he fled. He noticed a red symbol on the side, shaped like a point that was about 2 inches high and 2 inches wide. The object was smooth, a shiny white aluminum, with no visible windows or doors. There appeared to be two metal legs, slanted outward, supporting it.<\/p>\n

Zamora sprinted to his car, hit his leg on the fender, and crashed to the ground. He got up, ran another 25 feet or so, and when he looked back again, he saw the object begin to rise.<\/p>\n

It rose to the level of the car, then higher, about 20 to 25 feet in the air.<\/p>\n

Zamora ran another 50 feet from his car, just over the edge of the hill, and ducked. Kneeling as close to the ground as he could, he covered his face with his arms for protection. Suddenly, the roar stopped. In the uneasy silence, Zamora lifted his head and looked.<\/p>\n

The object sped away from him, toward the southwest, appearing to go in a straight line at about 10-15 feet off the ground. It cleared the eight foot tall dynamite shack by about three feet and then continued in a southwesterly direction, until it went over the high desert mountains and disappeared…<\/p>\n

Hector Quintanilla, the last chief officer of the US Air Force\u2019s famous UFO investigation program, Project BLUE BOOK, was in charge of the Zamora case. His team was convinced that Zamora was telling the truth, and despite an extremely thorough investigation, they were unable to locate the object or its origins. In an article for Studies in Intelligence<\/i> called, \u201cThe Investigation of UFO\u2019s,\u201d<\/b><\/a> Quintanilla says that the Zamora sighting is \u201cthe best-documented case on record.\u201d It remains unsolved.<\/p>\n

Project BLUE BOOK was based at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio. Between 1947 and 1969, the Air Force recorded 12,618 sightings of strange phenomena \u2014 701 of which remain “unidentified” like the Zamora case. Although the CIA was not directly affiliated with Project BLUE BOOK, the Agency did play a large role in investigating UFOs in the late 1940s and early 1950s, which led to the creation of several studies, panels, and programs. Former CIA Chief Historian, Gerald K. Haines, wrote an in-depth article looking at the Agency\u2019s role in studying the UFO phenomenon for Studies in Intelligence<\/i>. In his article,\u201cCIA\u2019s Role in the Study of UFOs, 1947-90,\u201d<\/b><\/a> Haines says that \u201cwhile the Agency\u2019s concern over UFOs was substantial until the early 1950s, CIA has since paid only limited and peripheral attention to the phenomena.\u201d<\/p>\n

With over 20 years of investigations, from the late 1940s until Project BLUE BOOK\u2019s termination in 1969, the CIA and USAF have learned a thing or two about how to investigate a UFO sighting. While most government officials and scientists now dismiss flying saucer reports as a quaint relic of the 1950s and 1960s, there\u2019s still a lot that can be learned from the history and methodology of \u201cflying saucer intelligence.\u201d<\/p>\n

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10 Tips When Investigating a Flying Saucer:<\/b><\/h1>\n

1. Establish a Group To Investigate and Evaluate Sightings<\/b><\/p>\n

Before December 1947, there was no specific organization tasked with the responsibility for investigating and evaluating UFO sightings. There were no standards on how to evaluate reports coming in, nor were there any measurable data points or results from controlled experiment for comparison against reported sightings.<\/p>\n

To end the confusion, head of the Air Force Technical Service Command, General Nathan Twining, established Project SIGN (initially named Project SAUCER) in 1948 to collect, collate, evaluate, and distribute within the government all information relating to such sightings, on the premise that UFOs might be real (although not necessarily extraterrestrial) and of national security concern. Project SIGN eventually gave way to Project GRUDGE, which finally turned into Project BLUE BOOK in 1952.<\/p>\n

2. Determine the Objectives of Your Investigation<\/b><\/p>\n

The CIA\u2019s concern over UFOs was substantial until the early 1950s because of the potential threat to national security from these unidentified flying objects. Most officials did not believe the sightings were extraterrestrial in origin; they were instead concerned the UFOs might be new Soviet weapons.<\/p>\n

The Project BLUE BOOK team, according to Quintanilla, defined three main objectives for their investigations:<\/p>\n

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