- As UFO books go, Dan Sherman's "Above
Black: Project Preserve Destiny" seems like a relatively quiet addition
to the current literature. A short read (it took me less than four hours),
it is bereft of sensationalistic speculation, monumental revelations and
self-aggrandizement. But the story that this technical staff sergeant tells
is a remarkable and disturbing one.
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- Sherman says that he was recruited into
a U.S. Air Force program in the early 1990s that trained its members to
communicate telepathically ("intuitive" is Sherman's term, though
he concedes it is essentially undescriptive) with aliens and act as a conduit
between them and unseen patrons at the National Security Agency. The purpose
of PPD, says Sherman, was to develop a mode of communication that would
help the government survive after an impending EMP (electromagnetic pulse)
event that the aliens (whom he nicknamed "Spock" and "Bones")
said would render all electromagnetic communications useless.
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- Sherman's abilities came in part from
training and in part from genetic manipulation while he was in the womb.
While he served as an electronic intelligence officer, he performed duties
in a number of super-secret ("Black") programs as a matter of
routine and transmitted alien communications ("comms") through
another system when and where they came in. Most of his communications
were strings of alphanumeric data that he relayed through an NSA-monitored
computer system, though he also developed an ability to communicate "informally"
with his alien contacts and frequently asked questions of them.
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- After a couple of years of stifling secrecy
(and the unsettling development of being provided abduction information
to pass along), Sherman became disillusioned and managed to be discharged
from the Air Force, although under trying and contentious circumstances.
He has since become the focus of intense interest among members of the
UFO community on the Internet, and to date, the information he has revealed
(at least regarding his role as an intelligence officer in the Air Force)
has stood up well under investigation. In an exclusive interview, Sherman
talks about the book, his experience and his leap into the raging waters
of UFO insidership.
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- His book is currently available only
through his own publishing company. His Web site is: www.aboveblack.com,
and the ordering page can be found at www.aboveblack.com/order.htm. (Or
order directly by calling 888-240-1825.) It is $18, plus $4 for shipping
-- and worth every nickel.
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- David Kirby: I have trouble imagining
how extensive the IC ("intuitive communicator") training was
at the time you were in active duty. You seem to indicate that you were
among the very first, but you also refer to a statement by Captain White
on Page 26, to wit: "Everyone I have had to tell this to has had the
same concern ..." Could you venture a guess how many ICs were actually
working or training in the period of time you were in the program?
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- Dan Sherman: The only reason I believed
I was "one" of the first is because my handlers or commanders
at each assignment had seemed to be a bit green. My first commander was
the only one who seemed to have a clue as to what was going on. So he was
probably a central figure inasmuch as he had been the one to initially
brief all the ICs. Of course, the term "one of the first" is
a relative term.
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- DK: Why didn't the Air Force address
itself to the obvious risk of burnout or severe stress-related symptoms
that would seem inherent in a position like this? It seemed that all they
did when you asked for a discharge was refuse it; why didn't they offer
a carrot to coax you to stay in the program? Was there any way they could
have convinced you to stay?
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- DS: I don't believe they thought I would
be able to get out. I've thought about this as well. I really don't know
why they treated me the way they did. Actually, the escalation of my anger
happened via e-mail to my commander. Perhaps they would have handled it
differently in hindsight -- maybe sending my commander to talk with me
about wanting to get out and the motives I had for getting out.
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- The only thing I can offer in explanation
is that we are all human and make mistakes. Perhaps my commander made a
mistake in the way he handled the situation. However, after that final
straw dropped -- when he told me I wouldn't be able to get out, period
-- nothing they could have done from that point on would have salvaged
the situation. I became quite revengeful, I'm sorry to say.
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- DK: You have stated that the reasons
for your discharge are publicly available. If so, why not state them in
the book?
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- DS: I have chosen to not address this
issue because I do not want to be publicly quoted as saying anything attesting
to its truth or non-truth. Everyone will just have to find out for themselves
if it is that important to them. All I will say is that I received an honorable
discharge from the U.S. Air Force. The military even placed the wrong terminology
on my discharge papers, technically speaking. The reason really has no
bearing on the validity of my experience.
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- DK: Was there any concern that any side
effects (psychological, physiological) of long-term work in the PPD program
might interfere with your non-PPD duties?
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- DS: I had no concerns about this. My
abilities were a natural part of me. However, as with anything considered
in the long term, you never know until that span of time has happened.
But I never worried about it.
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- DK: Do you believe your non-PPD superiors
knew about your PPD activities?
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- DS: I'm 100 percent positive they did
not.
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- DK: UFO investigator Bob Huff has speculated
you were stationed near here, at Buckley. Can you confirm or deny?
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- DS: Yes, I was stationed at Buckley.
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- DK: Since the book's release, have you
been approached or contacted by any other ICs? Seems like they could find
some comfort in your story and your public release of this knowledge ...
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- DS: I have waited for this to happen,
but it hasn't. I've said before, however, that I believe I'm the only IC
who has gained a discharge from the military so far. So, unless there is
another one who has been discharged, I don't expect any to come forward.
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- After my discharge, they may have changed
some things as well regarding the way they treat the others. They may have
begun to make them feel like they are an important part of the big picture.
That was one of the problems in handling me -- I increasingly became an
isolated part of the picture and I didn't know where I fit in. Hence, I
became more disillusioned than I would have if I had been made to feel
an important part of the mission.
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- DK: In your informal contacts with Bones,
did you ask where these beings were from? Did you get any kind of a comprehensible
reply?
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- DS: I never did get an impression of
where they were from. I began to assume what I would read in the papers,
that they were from Zeta or some far-off place like this. I did ask where
they were from, but never got an answer. Their method of travel was such
that I believe they could travel great distances in a short time, though.
I explain this further in the book.
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- DK: You indicate that you were forced
to question many things about your career and yourself during this experience.
Did you ever seriously question whether the alien aspect was a ruse, that,
even if you were communicating with someone "intuitively," it
could have been with another IC or a human source at NSA?
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- DS: I have been asked this many times.
What you say is possible, I can't deny that. But if you had experienced
the communications, you would have no doubt in your mind either that this
was not of human origin. The communication had a completely different structure
to it. This is frustrating to me, because this part of my experience is
the most difficult to explain.
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- I have likened it to a tapestry, that
is, rich in sensory stimuli. You can focus in on one part of the tapestry
and look at a detail, but at the same time, you can still sense all the
color and fabric around the detailed part. This is the closest I can come
to describing what it was like in communicating with Spock and Bones.
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- DK: Did the alien contacts ever indicate
that the secrecy about their presence and the government's interaction
with them was a mutually agreed-upon arrangement? If so, is this an indefinite
one?
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- DS; Yes, I believe the "arrangement"
was mutually agreed upon. I also believe they have a separate agenda apart
from their cooperation with the government. I was never able to put my
finger on it, but this was the impression I got over time. I am unsure
as to the time frame.
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- DK: Did you ask Bones why the aliens
were abducting humans? Would his answer in any way have made you feel more
comfortable about receiving/transferring the abduction data?
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- DS: To tell you the truth, I can't remember
asking him about the abduction sequences I was reporting. You have to remember
that our "discussions" were few and far between. I do remember
being reluctant to bring up the topic -- probably, looking back on it now,
because I didn't want to know more. It was like an "if I ignore it,
it'll go away" type of thing. In a perfect world, I would have asked
why, they would have told me, and I would have been happy with their explanation.
It didn't work this way, though.
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- DK: Was there any mention in your informal
comms of the technology swap deal with the military that many UFOlogists
have speculated on? (We provide genetic material, they provide technology
...)
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- DS: The only thing remotely close to
this was when I was told they contributed to many human societies in history.
I wasn't told which ones and if this even meant our modern-day society.
It is my guess that they have contributed to ours ... perhaps involuntarily.
(i.e., seized crafts, etc.)
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- DK: How many books have you sold? More
or less than you thought? Any indication that Air Force is coming after
you in any way?
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- DS: I'd prefer to keep the sales numbers
private. We are negotiating with some companies for distribution rights
at present. I can say that no one is getting rich from the sales. We have
sold more than what we had anticipated, however. We didn't expect to have
to order more until March or April of next year, but we had to order another
printing after only one month of release.
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- There has been no indication of being
contacted by any government agency. I do believe they are monitoring the
situation, however, waiting for a miscue on my part about the Black information.
Many of the letters I have received from people have already been opened.
This could be coincidence, but I do believe they are attempting to monitor
what I say.
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- DK: Do you think you have been fairly
treated by investigators and the UFO community at large? Do you think they
have any real hope of forcing information like this into the open?
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- DS: Our society is so inundated with
UFO stories nowadays that it is difficult for insider experiences such
as mine to surface and be seen. I have been treated fairly so far, and
I appreciate it. I knew that coming out with my experience -- telling people
that I communicated with two aliens for the NSA -- would be highly suspect.
I wouldn't believe it! So I have to expect a bit of questioning. I've welcomed
it, actually.
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- As far as forcing it into the open, it's
going to be difficult for the mainstream press to pick this up. This is
unfortunate because it would force a searchlight upon the government and
its alien involvement. I don't feel my revelations are going to change
the world, but I'll sure try to raise the awareness bar one more click.
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- DK: You said you believe the government
is releasing information very slowly about their knowledge of UFOs. Have
you been accused of being (or are you) simply a government information/disinformation
agent authorized to disseminate this information?
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- DS: I have been accused of this, and
no, I am not. Of course, if I were, I probably wouldn't tell someone anyway
... so we're stuck in a quandary, aren't we? The slow release of knowledge
is inevitable, but the public will only get that knowledge which is of
no use to the government anymore and that won't jeopardize current operations.
Our only hope is that it will get so compartmentalized they start confusing
one another and releasing things they shouldn't.
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- DK: Besides selling this book and doing
interviews, what are you doing now? And by the way, how old are you?
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- DS: I work in the high-tech industry.
I'm attempting to go to school full-time with no success as of yet. I am
33 years old. I'll be speaking at the International UFO Congress Conference
in Laughlin, Nev. The conference will be held from February 1-7, 1998.
I will be there the whole week, and I am scheduled to speak the night of
the 6th. Col. Philip Corso is speaking the same night. It should prove
to be an interesting conference.
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- Editor's note: Col. Corso, in his book
"The Day After Roswell," has stated, among other things, that
he was involved in the dissemination of alien technology acquired from
a craft which allegedly crashed near Roswell, N.M. in 1947.
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- For background information on both Sherman
and Corso and current postings on this subject, check out www.ufomind.com.
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