- UFO intrusions in and around military
installations have been documented in many books and articles (i.e. "Above
Top Secret" by Tim Good, "The UFO Cover-Up by Lawrence Fawcett
and Barry Greenwood). The Loring (Maine) AFB incident in 1975 put eight
other U.S. Air Force bases as far away as the states of Louisiana, Washington
and North Dakota on alert. However, another intrusion that was touched
on in both of the afore-mentioned books has only now been brought more
into the open. The cable television program "Sightings" (Sci-Fi
Channel) earlier this year aired the story of how two entire Minuteman
ICBM launch-sites located near Malmstrom AFB (Montana) were completely
shut-down by the presence of a nearby UFO.
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- On March 16, 1967, deputy crew commander
Robert Salas of missile site "November" received a phone call
from a security guard at the site, indicating that he and several other
guards had seen UFOs near the site. Five minutes later, Salas received
a call from the same guard who stated that a red-glowing, saucer-shaped
craft was hovering just outside the front gate of the complex. It was at
this time that the missiles began to shut themselves down, going off "Alert"
and putting themselves in a "No-Go" status.
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- Twelve hours later, at missle launch
site "Echo", located 20 miles away, launch commander Don Crawford
suddenly found that his ICBMs were also shutting down. According to Crawford,
there is NO command in the launch capsule (bunker) to be able to turn these
systems off. He stated that there were no breakdowns in the systems, however,
he also stated that, three weeks earlier, a security guard at this site
had reported a UFO over the missle silos.
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- According to Salas, approximately three
hours after the missiles went down, the systems simply and suddenly CAME
BACK ON LINE, with NO repair work being done. No broken cables or damaged
hardware was found. Contractors for the Minuteman system (Boeing, Sylvania)
were called in to investigate, but they were unable to determine what had
happened.
-
- Recently, the USAF report on the incident
has been declassified (one part on 4/27/95 and the second part on 7/27/95)
and a copy was obtained by Salas and investigator James Klotz through the
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The report, relative to the 341st Strategic
Missle Wing, the 341st Combat Support Group, and the 15th Air Force, SAC,
Malmstrom AFB, indicated that the Air Force was mystified by the incident.
The possibility of an EMP (electro-magnetic pulse) was considered, but
the capability of anyone to induce EMP into the shielded cable system of
the Minuteman at that time did NOT exist (at least, not on this planet).
The report claims that the security guards were questioned and that NO
unusual activity or sightings were observed. The report also claims that
"rumors of UFOs during the time of the Echo fault were disproved".
Salas disputes this based on the calls he received.
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- Another reason for the incident, that
the shutdown was actually a training exercise to test the mettle of the
launch crews, was ruled out by retired Lt. Col.Jerry Rowess, who was also
involved with the sites. "You don't degrade your capability to fight
a war for a war-game exercise," stated Rowess, who also indicated
that the integrity of the security forces on duty would have to be "impeccable".
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- Veteran UFO investigator Ray Fowler,
a former Sylvania employee, said that Sylvania and Boeing representatives
went to the two sites and attempted to simulate the shutdowns, but that
they were never able to do so nor were they able to trace a reason for
"No-Go" status. Fowler has also touched on this incident in his
book "Casebook of a UFO Investigator" (Prentice-Hall, 1981).
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- The "Sightings" program brought
Salas and Crawford together for the first time. While they served in the
same program at close-by sites, they had only heard of one another during
their tours of duty and had never met. Both indicated that they would continue
to investigate the shut-downs.
-
- Just recently, the Winter, 1997 issue
of "UFO Universe" magazine (edited by Timothy Green Beckley)
further expanded on the crisis. In it, Salas stated that he has also been
in contact with many of the other Air Force personnel involved at launch-site
"November" and that they all confirm his version of the events.
Salas has continued to investigate the incident and is not happy with the
Air Force's refusal to tell the truth. He indicates that the Air Force,
in 1969, issued a letter that, based on the investigations by Project Blue
Book and by the Condon Committee, no reported UFO incident had ever affected
the national security of the United States. However, the "No-Go Crisis"
occurred in 1967, and Salas believes that the Air Force "blatantly
misrepresented the facts". He also has correspondence from SAC Headquarters
stating that the incident "was of very grave concern to this headquarters".
The article also carries a map showing the placement of the various launch
sites at the time.
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