Fig. 58. Present members
of the Holloman Balloon
Branch in front of the Balloon
Operations Center, Building
850, at Holloman AFB, N.M.,
(from left) TSgt. Roger J.
Welch, Mr. Joseph Fumerola,
Mr. Alvin W. Hodges, Mr.
Joseph Longshore, MSgt.
Ray A. Pitts, Sr. Amn. John
Witkop, and Mr. Harvey L.
Harris. (U.S. Air Force photo)
balloon launch facility at Holloman AFB, U.S. Air Force balloon crews
have recently launched balloons from numerous field locations in the U.S.
(including two sites in Roswell), as well as Alaska, Panama, and Antarctica.
Balloon and Payload Recoveries
UFO theorists support their claims of an extraordinary
occurrence in the New Mexico desert by describing mysterious U.S.
military personnel, operating a variety of vehicles and aircraft that always
seem to arrive shortly after the crash of a "flying saucer." When carefully
scrutinized, the descriptions of the mystery crews, their equipment,
methods, and the areas where the recoveries allegedly occurred-in
targeted high altitude balloon recovery areas-indicates that Holloman
Balloon Branch activities were most likely responsible for the claims.
To successfully recover high altitude balloons, balloon
recovery technicians regularly ventured far from Holloman AFB. In most
instances the balloons and their scientific payloads were recovered from
predetermined recovery areas. These regularly targeted areas, located in
Arizona, West Texas, and New Mexico, included the area surrounding
Roswell. 98 From 1947 to the present, the Roswell area has been the site
of hundreds of balloon and payload recoveries (including those that
carried anthropomorphic dummies). 99
The regularly targeted areas were the result of the evolution of
high altitude balloon control techniques developed at Holloman AFB. These
techniques were based on meteorological, geographical, and operational
conditions that exist in New Mexico. These factors, combined with ample
amounts of skill and experience of balloon controllers at Holloman AFB,
determined the impact points of Holloman high altitude balloons.
47