Air Force Request to Declassify an OSI Paper on UFO's

This memorandum, dated 20 July 1966, documents a meeting between Mrs. Sara B. Hunt of the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force and Mr. D. B. Stevenson of the Office of Scientific Intelligence (OSI). The discussion centered on an Air Force request to declassify the February 1953 CIA/OSI report titled 'Report of the Scientific Panel on Unidentified Flying Objects.' Mrs. Hunt explained that this request was prompted by a 12 May 1966 television appearance on the 'CES Reports' program, during which Dr. H. P. Robertson, the panel's chairman, made references to CIA involvement in UFO analysis that subsequently caused a negative press reaction. The document notes that a previous declassification request in December 1957, approved by Mr. Phil Strong, resulted in a sanitized version of the report that excluded references to original meeting minutes, case histories, and CIA involvement. While the current Air Force request did not explicitly ask for additional declassification, Mrs. Hunt expressed that this was the ultimate intent, as the Air Force is currently attempting to declassify all U.S. Government work regarding UFOs. The author of the memorandum, David B. Stevenson, reviewed the original material and determined that significant deletions would be necessary to protect sensitive information. Consequently, he advised Mrs. Hunt to have the Air Force submit a formal second request if they wished to pursue the declassification of additional material from the minutes and case histories. The memorandum concludes by noting that a more specific request was expected in the near future and that Mr. Loomis was holding the current request pending further contact from Mrs. Hunt.