Staff Study: Transfer of USAF Aerial Phenomena Program

This document is a staff study dated 28 September 1959, originating from Air Force Intelligence (AFCIN), concerning the status and future of the USAF Aerial Phenomena Program (Project 5771, also known as Blue Book). The study argues that after twelve years of investigation, the program has failed to produce evidence that unidentified flying objects constitute a threat to national security or provide significant scientific or technical value. The author notes that the program has evolved away from its original intelligence-focused mission and has become an unproductive burden on the Aerospace Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC), consuming manpower and resources while generating unfavorable publicity. The study highlights that approximately 80% of the effort is directed toward public relations, which is deemed detrimental to the prestige of the intelligence community. It identifies 50 private organizations in the United States that exploit UFO reports for financial or religious gain, often causing friction with the Air Force and leading to Congressional complaints. The study proposes transferring the project from the intelligence community to the Air Research and Development Command (ARDC), which possesses the scientific and technical capability to handle the subject. The goal of this transfer is to disassociate the project from intelligence, strip away its 'aura of mystery,' and eventually eliminate it as a special project. The document includes various tabs detailing statistics, manpower estimates, and a list of private UFO organizations. Subsequent correspondence in the file shows that Major General James Ferguson of the ARDC rejected this proposal on 5 February 1960, stating that more than half of the program relates to phenomena of a non-scientific nature and that the remaining portion is of limited scientific value, thus not warranting the transfer to ARDC.