Documents / FOIA release
This July 1994 Department of the Air Force package, from SAF/AAZ to the Secretary of the Air Force, covers a report written to support a General Accounting Office audit requested by Congressman Steven Schiff. The Air Force searched its offices, archives and records centers and interviewed witnesses, including Sheridan Cavitt. It found no evidence of an extraterrestrial event, alien bodies or a cover-up. It concludes that the debris recovered near Roswell in 1947 most likely came from a Project MOGUL balloon.
“Roswell”27 pages
INTRODUCTION Throughout the latter half of the twentieth century the subject of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) has evoked strong opinions and emotions. For some, the belief in or study of UFOs has assumed the dimensions of a religious quest. Others remain nonbelievers or at least skeptical of the existence of alien beings and elusive vehicles which never quite seem to manifest themselves. Regardless of one's conviction, nowhere has the debate about UFOs been more spirited than over the events that unfolded near the small New Mexico city of Roswell in the summer of 1947. Popularly known as the Roswell Incident, this event has become the most celebrated UFO encounter of all time and has stimulated enthusiasts like none other. Numerous witnesses, including former military personnel and respectable members of the local community, have come forward with tales of humanoid beings, alien technologies, and government cover-ups that have caused even the most skeptical observer to pause and take notice. Inevitably these stories coming from the desert have spawned countless articles, books, films, and even museums claiming to have proof that visitors had come from outer space. In February 1994, the Air Force was informed that the General Accounting Office (GAO), an investigative agency of Congress, planned a formal audit to ascertain "the facts regarding the reported crash of an UFO in 1949 [1947] at Roswell, New Mexico." 1 This task was delegated to numerous agencies, but the focus was on the U.S. Air Force, the agency most often accused of hiding information and records on Roswell. The Presidential Science Advisor had also expressed an interest in the investigation. Thereupon, the Secretary of the Air Force directed that a complete records search identify, locate, and examine any and all information available on this subject. From the outset there was no predisposition to refute or overlook any information. Moreover, if any of the information discovered was under security classification, it was to be declassified, and if active or former Air Force officials had been sworn to a secrecy oath, they were to be freed from it. In short, the objective was to tell the Congress, and the American people, everything the Air Force knew about the Roswell claims. Subsequently, researchers conducted an extensive search of Air Force archives, record centers, and scientific facilities. Seeking information that might help to explain peculiar tales of odd wreckage and alien bodies, the researchers reviewed a monumental number I. Memo, Marcia J. Van Note, DODIIG, for Distribution, subj: General Accounting Office (GAO) Letter Dated February 9, 1944 ... , Feb 23, 1994. 1
FOIA release, from the osd collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is under it. 31 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.