1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,120 The United States Air Force, in discharging its responsibility for the aerospace defense 2 00:00:07,120 --> 00:00:13,600 of the nation, is called upon to investigate reports of unidentified flying objects. 3 00:00:13,600 --> 00:00:19,240 Two Air Force officers have over the years been very closely associated with this activity. 4 00:00:19,240 --> 00:00:24,560 The Colonel Lawrence Stacker was formerly the chief spokesman for the Air Force on the 5 00:00:24,560 --> 00:00:29,880 matter, and Major Tector Quintanilla is now the chief of Project Blue Book. 6 00:00:29,880 --> 00:00:34,240 Major Quintanilla, what are the objectives of Project Blue Book? 7 00:00:34,240 --> 00:00:41,120 The objectives of the program are two-fold. They're the same as the happens in 1953 when the 8 00:00:41,120 --> 00:00:47,080 regulation was written. First of all, to try to determine if the UFO phenomena presents a 9 00:00:47,080 --> 00:00:52,840 threat to the security of the United States. And secondly, to determine if the UFO phenomena 10 00:00:52,840 --> 00:00:58,280 exhibits any technological advances which could be channeled to research and development. 11 00:00:58,280 --> 00:01:00,440 What's the record so far? 12 00:01:00,440 --> 00:01:08,840 Today we have over 10,000 cases of flight-patterson Air Force base, of which 646 of these remain 13 00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:15,760 unidentified. That's not to say that we could not have identified more cases if we had gotten to 14 00:01:15,760 --> 00:01:18,800 the observer quicker and checked the local activity. 15 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:24,000 The Air Force has been accused from time to time of hiding information about the UFO. 16 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:26,280 What are you going to have to say to that Colonel Patrick? 17 00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:32,440 These charges are absolutely untrue. Actually, the United States Air Force releases statistics 18 00:01:32,440 --> 00:01:37,760 on the UFO phenomena through the Department of Defense's press desk periodically, and 19 00:01:37,760 --> 00:01:43,160 we've always honored accredited media when they wanted to investigate a given specific 20 00:01:43,160 --> 00:01:44,160 sighting. 21 00:01:44,160 --> 00:01:45,160 There's nothing to hide. 22 00:01:45,160 --> 00:01:47,080 There's nothing to hide at all. 23 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:51,480 Is there anything in the files, either classified or unclassified, that would indicate that 24 00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:55,920 there may be extra-terrestrial visitors overhead? 25 00:01:55,920 --> 00:02:01,960 First of all, the project is completely unclassified. And there's nothing in the records which would 26 00:02:01,960 --> 00:02:06,840 indicate that we have been visited by any advanced civilization. 27 00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:11,520 How does the Air Force look upon people who make reports of UFO? 28 00:02:11,520 --> 00:02:13,400 Do they look on them as qualified observers? 29 00:02:13,400 --> 00:02:16,600 Yes, they do look on them as qualified observers. 30 00:02:16,800 --> 00:02:24,160 Actually, most people who report a UFO sighting are patriotic citizens who have been mystified 31 00:02:24,160 --> 00:02:30,480 by something that they've seen, and through a patriotic sense reported to the local law 32 00:02:30,480 --> 00:02:36,920 enforcement officials or to the United States Air Force base near them. 33 00:02:36,920 --> 00:02:41,960 What would you consider as a person qualified to interpret what he sees? 34 00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:48,360 Well, I consider astronomers a genuinely expert in their field. 35 00:02:48,360 --> 00:02:53,400 First of all, they have a tremendous advantage over the other physical scientists, and that 36 00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:58,920 is that they have powerful telescopes and photographic equipment to confirm their interpretation. 37 00:02:58,920 --> 00:03:02,720 Do astronomical laboratories make any contribution to the UFO program? 38 00:03:02,720 --> 00:03:07,480 In a negative way they do, because I've never received a UFO report from an observatory. 39 00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:08,480 Not a one. 40 00:03:08,480 --> 00:03:09,480 Not a single one. 41 00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:13,560 Well, how about the tracking and detection facilities that the Air Force itself has? 42 00:03:13,560 --> 00:03:15,080 How does this fit with the program? 43 00:03:15,080 --> 00:03:20,760 Well, actually, to begin with, the United States Air Force is charged by an act of Congress 44 00:03:20,760 --> 00:03:24,440 with the Air Defense of the United States, and the North American Air Defense Command 45 00:03:24,440 --> 00:03:30,520 and the Air Defense Command have space tracking facilities which are constantly on the alert 46 00:03:30,520 --> 00:03:32,120 24 hours a day. 47 00:03:32,120 --> 00:03:35,320 We're interested in anything that flies in our atmosphere. 48 00:03:35,320 --> 00:03:37,920 Well, how about UFO reports in other countries? 49 00:03:37,920 --> 00:03:38,920 How are they handled? 50 00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:41,920 Well, UFOs actually occur worldwide. 51 00:03:41,920 --> 00:03:49,200 However, the United States is the only country in the world that places as much emphasis 52 00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:51,240 on the phenomenon. 53 00:03:51,240 --> 00:03:55,680 Other countries place a burden of proof on the observer and not on their Air Force. 54 00:03:55,680 --> 00:03:57,920 That would make your job a lot easier if they did that here. 55 00:03:57,920 --> 00:03:59,920 This would work. 56 00:03:59,920 --> 00:04:01,920 Thank you, Colonel Parker. 57 00:04:01,920 --> 00:04:02,920 Major Quentinella. 58 00:04:02,920 --> 00:04:07,280 I would like to close by reading a very brief excerpt from the report of the Air Force's 59 00:04:07,280 --> 00:04:12,720 Scientific Advisory Board, which they made recently upon completing a detailed review 60 00:04:12,720 --> 00:04:15,120 of the subject of UFO. 61 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:17,080 This is a statement. 62 00:04:17,080 --> 00:04:22,040 The committee concluded that in the 19 years since the first UFO was sighted, there has 63 00:04:22,040 --> 00:04:27,440 been no evidence that unidentified flying objects are a threat to our national security.