Documents / FOIA release

roswell

Office of the Secretary of Defense · 993 pages · text from the file's own layer

The Roswell Report: Fact versus Fiction in the New Mexico Desert was published in 1995 by Headquarters United States Air Force. It was written in response to Representative Steven H. Schiff's request and a General Accounting Office audit, and it contains Col. Richard L. Weaver's report and 1st Lt. James McAndrew's synopsis, along with attachments, appendices and photographs. The report says researchers found no evidence of an extraterrestrial craft or crew. It concludes that the 1947 debris came from a Project MOGUL balloon train.

  • p. 28 …at Roswell Army Air Field, Major Jesse A. Marcel, had recovered a "flying disc" from the…
  • p. 38 …Marcel, MD (son of the late Major Jesse Marcel; 11 years old at the time of…
  • p. 39 …and Maj Jesse Marcel. Capt. William E. Anderson said it was from a flying saucer. After…
  • p. 75 …The base Intelligence Officer, Jesse A. Marcel. and a Counter Intelligence Corps Officer, Sheridan Cavitt, went…
  • p. 159 …I did know both Jesse Marcel and Bill Rickett very well (both are now deceased). I…
  • p. 163 …Did you know a Major Jesse Marcel who was the Intelligence Officer during Roswell at that…
  • p. 167 …The first picture is actually with Jesse Marcel and that's General Blanchard and ... SC: I…
  • p. 172 …Jesse Marcel was one. "The intelligence and the CIC responded to the phone call. Jesse Marcel…
  • p. 173 …I remember we were at the Marcel's house and I can remember Jesse had something…
  • p. 185 …Neol (Marcel's wife) apparently was not able to give any infonnation after Jesse died.
  • p. 188 …He wouldn't have known anything with Jesse? SC: No. No. Jesse didn't trust Don…
  • p. 217 …Army Airfield who actuall} went out with Jesse Marcel to recover some material that has b…
  • p. 219 …and had a few beers and that Jesse Marcel just took a piece and stuck it…
  • p. 379 …originally gave tbe'<information of Jesse_. A. Mateel and a m~n In up the tinfoil…
  • p. 990 …Jesse Marcel. Crashed saucer theorists allege that the debris depicted with Major Marcel is not the…
resulted therefrom. Besides the obvious irregularity and illegality of keeping such
information from the most senior Air Force officials, it would also be illogical,
since these officials are responsible for obtaining funding for operations, research,
development, and security. Without funding, such a program, operation, or
organization could not exist. Even to keep such a fact "covered-up" in some sort
of passive "caretaker status" would involve money. More importantly, it would
involve people and create paperwork.
The aforementioned March 1, 1994, SAF I AA tasking generated negative responses
(Atchs 6-12) from all recipients; i.e., all offices reported that they had no informa-
tion that would explain the incident. Consequently, these negative responses led
to an increase in the already ongoing historical research at records centers and
archives.
The extensive archival and records center search was systematically carried out
by the SAF I AAZD Declassification Review Team. This team is composed entirely
of Air Force Reserve personnel who have extensive training and experience in
large scale review of records. (Previous efforts include the Southeast Asia
Declassification Review, declassification of POW /MIA records, and the review of
the Gulf War Air Power Survey records.) The team members all had the requisite
security clearances for classified information and had the authority of the
Secretary of the Air Force to declassify any classified record they found that might
be related to Roswell. SAF/ AAZD conducted reviews at a number of locations,
including the National Archives in Washington, DC; the National Personnel
Records Center, St. Louis, MO; the National Archives, Suitland MD; the National
Records Center, Suitland, MD; Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC;
Federal Records Center, Ft Worth, TX; the INSCOM Archives, Fort Meade, MD;
National Air and Space Museum, Washington, DC; Air Force Historical Research
Agency, Maxwell AFB, AL; Center for Air Force History, Bolling AFB, DC;
Phillips Laboratory, Hanscom AFB, MA and Kirtland AFB, NM; Rome Laboratory,
Griffiss AFB, NY; and the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
A listing of the specific record areas searched is appended as Atch 13. The areas
included all those subject areas logically believed to possibly contain any
reference to activities at Roswell Army Air Field during the period of time in
question. It is anticipated that detractors from this effort will complain that "they
did not search record group x, boxy, or reel z, etc.; that's where the real records
are!" Such complaints are unavoidable and there is no possible way that the
millions of records under Air Force control could be searched page by page. The
team endeavored to make logical searches in those places where records would
likely be found. They were assisted in this task by archivists, historians, and
records management specialists, including experienced persons who have
continually worked in Army and Air Force records systems since 1943. The team
also searched some record areas that were recommended by serious private
researchers such as Robert Todd, who had independently obtained almost
encyclopedic knowledge of the complexities of Air Force records systems,
particularly those related to this subject area.
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FOIA release, from the osd collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is under it. 993 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.