Jack Brewer's Blog, page 2

Hall, Keyhoe and the FBI

    Richard Hall served as Donald Keyhoe's assistant in the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena. He is credited as the driving force behind The UFO Evidence, a 1964 report embodying some 750 of what NICAP deemed its most compelling cases. The organization compiled over 5,000 UFO reports by that point in time. 

Hall largely ran day-to-day NICAP operations with a typically understaffed office. Keyhoe is remembered as an off-site manager, perhaps most effective at pursuing public r...

Pulp UFO Writers and the FBI

     Ray Palmer was an editor and distributor of pulp magazines during the mid 20th century. He got in my sights while I was researching and writing WAYWARD SONS: NICAP and the IC. Palmer distributed pulp fantasy and sci-fi on a wide scale and is considered to have significantly contributed to the public perception of flying saucers and conspiracies during his era. Suffice it to say Palmer was not overly concerned with accuracy in his magazines as compared to getting eyes on the pages.

Maj. Donal...

UFO Activism and Congressional Hearings, 1960s Style

    Below is an excerpt from Chapter 10 of WAYWARD SONS: NICAP and the IC. The excerpt explores the efforts of Maj. Donald Keyhoe and his National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena to generate Congressional hearings on UFOs during the 1960s. There are many similarities to events happening in today's overlap of politics and UFO advocacy. While Keyhoe's efforts may have initially appeared successful, his lobbying may arguably serve as more of a cautionary tale than cause for celebration...

UFO Faux Journalism

    I'm not a journalist. I write about stuff I find interesting.
Journalism is a profession consisting of skilled investigators and reporters. Many are educated in its disciplines, although its protocols are often undermined by hobbyists. I think calling myself a journalist would devalue the work invested and dues paid by those who earned the title through years of college and employment. I just like to conduct research and then write about my findings, and I have been fortunate enough to be abl...

Debate or Advocacy?

     There are different kinds of arguments. Some have the potential for resolution while others do not. 

Arguing opinions provides opportunities to express ourselves and widen our horizons through the consideration of perspectives held by others. Often, however, debating opinions that contradict one another does not result in any type of resolution, particularly pertaining to circumstances surrounding UFOs. It just goes in circles, as has been the case since the dawn of the modern UFO era.

Maj. D...

Reporters Say They Were 'Purposely Misled' About AATIP

    Bryan Bender, Senior National Correspondent at Politico covering defense who was one of the reporters credited with breaking the AATIP story in December 2017, recently stated on Twitter he was "purposely misled" about the project. "I was misled early on on what AATIP was and wasn't," Bender wrote:  

Bender specifically referenced the controversial Luis Elizondo in his series of tweets, adding, "No one is clean in this and been fully transparent or truthful. No one.":

Parts of the AATIP story g...

Show People, Don't Tell People

     Let's do an exercise. I'll describe some types of people in the UFO fray, and then we'll decide whose personal statements out of the group should be accepted as fact. Whose statements of the following can we rely on to be factual?

The Intelligence Official

    They were a longtime employee of the federal government and climbed their way to a position of responsibility in an intelligence agency. They were issued a security clearance and it's a given they were read into various classified proje...

The UFO Injury Study That Wasn't

    Due to the considerable length of this post, it is available in pdf for those who might prefer to store and read it in another medium. Thank you to the many people who contributed valuable insight, assistance, and comment during the creation of this blogpost.

    Longtime staple of the UFO subculture and author of a paper submitted to the AAWSAP, Dr. Kit Green, indicated during an April 6 telephone call he believes cases reviewed in his injury study did not represent people harmed by paranorm...

DIA Releases More AAWSAP Files

     The Defense Intelligence Agency filled three more FOIA requests Friday, bringing to five the number of final responses issued this week on requests pertaining to AAWSAP-related material. The Advanced Aerospace Weapons System Application Program has been confused with a variety of project names, and even the purpose and scope of the program are matters of debate. Ongoing FOIA requests have been used to clarify matters, and among the items emerging as most significant may be the absence of se...

DIA Further Verifies AAWSAP Award to BAASS, Fails to Locate Skinwalker Report

     The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) issued final responses to a pair of FOIA requests by email today, one of which further substantiates Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies was awarded a contract in the Advanced Aerospace Weapons System Application Program (view the documents). The contract award was previously established in 2019 at The UFO Trail through the FOIA after acting on a lead uncovered by researcher Keith Basterfield.

The most recent documents provided by the DIA consist of...