The Roswell Report: Case Closed

Other descriptions, particularly those believed to be thinly veiled references to
deceased or injured Air Force members, are difficult to view as naive
misunderstandings. Any attempt to misrepresent or capitalize on tragic incidents
in which Air Force members died or were injured in service to their country
significantly alters what would otherwise be viewed as simple
misinterpretations or honest mistakes.
Finally, after reviewing this report, some persons may legitimately
ask why the Air Force expended time and effort to respond to mythical, if not
comedic, allegations of recoveries of "flying saucers" and "space aliens."
The answer to those persons is:
• Initially the Air Force was required to respond to an official
request from the General Accounting Office.
• High altitude balloon research, aircraft escape systems,
and other technologies that were misrepresented as part of the
Roswell Incident, accounted for significant contributions to the
knowledge of the atmosphere, to the quest for space flight, and
to the defense of this nation. The U.S. Air Force is exceedingly
proud of these accomplishments. Distorted and incomplete
descriptions of these activities do not pay tribute to these
important exploits or to the individuals who, often at great
personal risk, boldly carried them out.
• A sobering reality of the mission of the U.S. Air Force, as
evidenced by the aircraft mishaps described in this report, is that
defending this nation is a dangerous profession. On a daily basis,
members of the U.S. Air Force perform hazardous missions in
many locations throughout the world. Unfortunately, these
missions sometimes result in injuries or deaths. It is the right-
and indeed the duty-of the Air Force to challenge those who
attempt to exploit these human tragedies wherever, and whenever,
they are discovered.
• The misrepresentations of Air Force activities as an extraterrestrial
"incident" is misleading to the public and is simply an affront to
the truth.
This comprehensive further examination of the so-called "Roswell
Incident" found no evidence whatsoever of flying saucers, space aliens, or
sinister government cover-ups. But, even if unintentionally, it did serve to
highlight a series of events that embody the proud history of the finest air
force in the world-the U.S. Air Force. The actual events examined here,
rich in human and scientific triumph, tempered by the stark realities of the
dangers of the Air Force mission, are but one small portion of that history.
The many Air Force activities cobbled together in the ever changing collage
that has become the "Roswell Incident," when examined in the clear light of
historical research, revealed a remarkable chapter of the Air Force story. In
the final analysis, this examination simply illustrates once again, that fact is
indeed stranger, and often much more fascinating, than fiction.
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