UFO Briefing Training School USAF Historical Archives ASI{ASHAF-A) Maxwell AFB, Ala 36112 turn this information to the Office of Legis la- tive Liaison for reply to the inquiry. Process request s from congrci-'lsional sources in accordance with AFR 11- 7. g. ('ooperation. All Air F or ce acti"it ies will ope rate with Air Force UFO irwestigalors. to insure the economical and prompt s uccess of m- vestigations and annlyscs. When feasible, t hi s cooperation will inc lude furnishing air or ground transportation and other assistance. 4. Guidance. The thoroughness a nd quality of a r eport or investigation of UFO's a rc lirnitcd only by the skill and resourcefulness of thr per- son who receives the initial information and/or prepares the report. The usefulness a nd value of any report or investigation depend on the ac- uracy and t ime liness of its cont e nts. Following are a'ids for sc r eening, evaluatin g, and report- ing sightings: a. Careful study of the logic, consi tency, and cohe rence of the observer'!:> report. An interview with the observer by personnel preparing the re- port i especia lly valuable in dete rmining the source's re liability and the validity of t he in- formation given. Factors deserving particular attention arc the observer's age, occupation, and education, and whether hi occupatio n involYCs observation reporting or technical knowledge. A repor t statin~ that a witness is completely fa- miliar with ce rtain aspect of n. ighting s hould cate his or her specifi c qualifications. Theodolite measurements of changes or azimuth, and e levatio n and angular size. Interception, id entification, or ai r canh, if appropriate and within the s cope of air dcfcn c regulations. When feasible, contact with local aircraft control and warning (A CW) units, and with pilots and crews of a ircraft a loft at the time a nd place of s i ghtin g. AI o, contact with any other person o r org:anizations that may have factual data on the U F O or can offer corrobo- rating evidence-vi ual, e lectronic, o r othe r. c. Con ultation with military o r civilian weather foreca ters for data on track of weather balloons rclca cd in the area anrl any unusual meteorological activity which may have a bear- in g on the UFO. f. Consultation with navigators a nd astrono- he a rea to determine whether any as- tronomical body or phenomenon would arcount for t he sighting. Contac t with military and c ivilian tower operator, air operation units, and airlines to determine whether the ~ightin~ could han l)('cn aircraft. L ocal units of the Federal Aviation FAA) arc often of nssistnncr in this h. Contact with person>< who may know of ntal aircraft of unustHtl configuration, ocket and guided missile firinf!s, 01 aerial test!' in the area. i. Contact with photogrnphiC' units or lnhora- tol'ics. Usually, these installations have '(vrral cameras a vai lab lc for :-;pccializecl in t<> lligencc or investigative work. Photography is an irwaluablr tool for usc, where possible, in investigating and analyzing 1TF() sightings. (.'ec parngraph 18). j. Whenever possible, selecting as a rFO s ighting investigator an individual with a scien- tific or technical background as well a. expe- t'ls an imcstigator. k . Submissio n of reports on all sightings C\'Cn though identification may be as tnnccl hy the preparing officer unde r pnragmph 16 of this regu- 5. Reporting UFO Information. Both t.he As - s i!:llant Chief of , tafT, Intelligence, H eadquarter!! AF, and the Air D efense Command have a irect a nd immediate interest, in lhc facts per- taining to UFO's reported within the 1:nitecl 'tales. All Air F orce activities will conduct UFO irwestigations to Lhc extent ncce sary for their required reporting artion (sec paragraphR 14, 15, and 16). No nctivity hould carry an investiga- t ion beyond this point, unles5 the preparing offi- crr belie ves the magnitude (intelligence s ignifi- cance or public relations aspects) of the case warrant full scale investigation. Thr officer may contact the FTD of AF .. C (CLearwater 3-7111, ext 69216/ 66378) at Wright-Patterson Air Force B a c, Ohio, to obtain verbal authority for con- tinued ime~tigation. ECTIOX B -PUBLIC RELATI ON::;, IXFORl\IATlO~, CONTACT.', A);D RELEA. E,' 6. Maintaining Public Re latio ns. The Office of Information i re ponr;;iblc for: a. In coordination with the AF. C (FTD) when neccs a ry, maintaining contact with the public and the pre on all a. pectl' of the UFO program and it related acti,itic". b. Relea ing information on UFO ~i!!htings and results of in \'Cstigation . c. P eriodically releas ing information on this ubject to the general public. cl. P roccssing, answering, a nd La king art,ion on corres ponden ce received fr?m the J?;Cncr.al pub- lic, perbtining to the puhhc relatiOns! m tc rest , informati ona l aspects of t he subJCCL. (Sec pnmgra ph 8.) Thi~ offic~ will forward corr~ s pondcncc nnd qucr1es wh1ch a 1e purely tcchm- ca l a nd scientific to AF . C (FTD) for informa- t ion on which to base a reply . 7. Releasing Information. The Office ?f Tnfor- Office of t he Secretary of t he A1r F orce, release to t he public or unofficial perso ns or organizations all in forma t io~ ~r rc lea ses concer~ ing UFO's, regardless of on gm or na ture. TI11S includes replies to correspondence (excep t con- grcs iona l inquirie~) ubmitted direct to the AFSC (FTD) a.nd other Air F orce a ctivities by private indiviclual~ requesting commen ts or rc- ults of nna ly es a nd investigations o f sightings . 8. Exceptions. I n res ponse to loca l inquiric re- garding a ny UFO reported in t he ,icinity of a n Air F orce base, t he commander of the base con- cern ed ma v rclca!'c information to th e prc~s or genernl public only nfle1 po it i\'e irl<m tifira- t ion of t h<' sighting a!' a fa milia r Ol' known ob- The rommandN must excrci e ca r<' not to \'C' al any elassificd aspects o f t he sighting or na mes of person making reports. (, ec pa rngraph 17.) If the sight ing is unexplainah lc or cliffir ul t to ident ify, bcrnuse o f insufficient informa ti on or ineon~istencie:s, thr only st a te men t to be released is the fact that t he sigh ting is under in,esLign- ti on a nd information regarding it will be nx a il- hle nt a la ter d a te. A ftcr completion of inve - t igati " e a ct ion, the commn ndcr may rc I C'asc the act thnt the AF. c (FTD) will re,i cw a nd a n- a lyze th e I'C ult. of t he in\'t'Stigation. H e will tlwn refer a ny furt her inquiricl' to t he local Offire of Information. 9. Release hy Non-Air Force Sources. If news- men, writers, publishel ", or priva te inclhiclua ls desire to rclene unofficia l information concc m - a l:F O ::;ighting, Air Force activities will ry('I'Y effo;t to assure that the statements, t hcori<'s, ojlinion~, and allegation:< of thes<' incli- \'idua ls o1 groups a rc not a~sociatccl with or r<'prc entccl ns officia l information. 10. Contacts. Pri,a tc incli\'idua ls or organiza- t ions rlrsiring Air F orce inte rviews, briefings. e:::, or prhntc eli cus~iom on l"FO's will d i- rect their requests to t he Office o f I nformat ion , Office o f the Secretary of the Air Force. Air F ore<' personnel, other than those of t he Office o f In- formation, will not co ntact p rhate incli\'iclua ls on 'CF O cases, nor will they discu their oper- ations und functions with unaut horized persons nle.s so directed. a nd then only on a ' n ee d-to- , E CTION C-PREP ARJNG AND ScBMITTING REPORTS 11. Gen e ral Information: n. Parngrnphs 2 a nd 5 will serve a: aids a nd guida nce to screcnings, investigations, and re- ing:. P a mgraph 14 con tains a n out line of tlw reporting f orrna t . Acti vi t ics init ially rccei \'i ng of aerial object::; a nd phenomena wi II screen t he information to rletcrminc whether tlw report concern s n valid UFO wit hin the defini- t ion of pa ragmph 1 h. R epo rts not wit hin t hat definit ion do not require further acti on under t he provision o f this regulation. b. T o assi:;l ncti,it ics and personnel rcspon- ible for handl ing, crccning, and processing in- it ia l, incoming UFO informa ti on, a s umma ry llow o f the genera l sourers anrl types of rc- ( l ) C encrally . init ia l UFO reports originate from t wo sources: Ci,ilian lnil'linc, pl'iYatc, a nd p ro- fessiona l pilots, to\\'er operator::, technical per- casua l obl'cn c rs, a nd t he public in gen- ), by rol'l'c. pondence, telephone o1 perso nnl inte rview ; ( b ) 1\l ilitnry units a nd per onnel (p ilots, obs<'rYels, ra da r operators, a i rem ft co nt rol and waming unit., etc.), by te lephone, electri cnl mes- or per:;ona l intCI'\'i e\\'; ( 2 ) Generally, UFO reports recci \'('(I f1om ci\'ilia n sources a rc of t wo types: (a) Tho e referring . tl'ietly to nn oh- C'I'ved U FO. conta ining r it her delnilNI or meager in forma ti on ; ( b ) T hose referring only in part to an observed l'FO. but primarily reque~ting infor- mation on sonw aspect of t he l F O p1og1am. r. R eports co n::idcred to fall primarily in a pu blic rela tions or informati on senice category (sec pa ragr aph:-: 7, 8, 9. n ncl b (2) above) a rc of p rimary intcre:-;t to the Office of I nformation. UF O datn :;ufficient for investigation and/ or a na lysis may b<' extracted before referra l to that 12. Methods for Transmitting Re ports : a. T ogether wit h a ny nece~sary scrc<'nings and imcstigntion~ prcpnra tory to reporti ng, report nil informa ti on on t;FO's promptly. Electri cal t ransmi::::ion with a "Priority" prccedcnec is au- t horized for report:: under 3 day from dntc of sighting. Electrically t ra n mittcd report~ o,c r 3 days old hould carry a ''R outine'' precedence. b. Submit written reports of s ighting O\'CI' 3 dnys old on AF F orm 112. '' I ntC'IIigc ncc R eport," and AF Form 112A, "Supplement to AF Form 112" (sec paragraphs 14 and 15); however, keep the usc of these forms to a minimum in reporting initial sightings. The delays often involved in processing and transmitting AF Form 112 through channels may make followup investi- gations difficult, producing only limited usable information. This factor is a necessary consid- eration. Reporting by electrical means will elim- ate delays. If requested by the AFSC (FTD), AF Form 112 will provide a followup and/or complete report of all sightings initially reported electrically. 13. Where To Submit Re ports: a. Elect1ical R eports. Submit multiple ad- dressed electrical reports to: (l) Air D e fense Command, Ent AFB, Colo- (2) Nearest Air D ivision (Defense) (For United tates only) Force Systems Command, Forcign T echnology Division, Wright-Patterson AFB, (4) H eadquarters, USAF (AFCIN), Wash (5) ec retary of the Air Force ( AFOl), Wash 25 DC b. W1itten Repo1ts (Basic letters and AF (1) Basic Letters. Submit all letter report direct to the AFSC (FTD). The AFSC (FTD) will distribute the report to interested Intelli- gence activities in the United States and to the Office of Information, if necessary. AF Form 112. Submit original report, as prescribed in "Intelligence Collection Instruc- (lCI)," .June 1954, direct to HQ USAF (AFCIN) Wash 25 D C, and a copy to AF C c. Reports front Civilians. Where possible, ad- vise civilian source contemplating reporting UFO's to submit the report, for processing and transmission, to the neare st Air Force base. 14. Basic Re porting Data and Format. Show the abbreviation "UFO" at the beginning of the text of all electrical reports and in the subject of written report s. I nclude the required data in ports, in the order hown below: a. Description of the Object(s): (1) Shape. ize compared to a known object (usc one of the following terms: Head of a pin, pea, imc, n ickcl, quarter, ha,lf dollar, si I vcr dollar, baseball, grapefruit, or basketball) held in the at abou~ a rm's length. (3) Color. (4 ) Number. (5) Formation, if more than one. {6 ) Any discemiblc features or details. (7) Tail, trail, or exhaust, including sizr of same compar ed to size of objcct(s). (8 ) Sound; if heard, describe sound. (9) Other pertinent or unusual features. b. Description of Course of Object(s): ( 1) What, first called the attention of ob- server (s) to the object(s)? (2) Angle or elevation a nd azimuth of oh- ject(s) when first observed. (3) Angle or elevation and azimuth of ob- s) upon disappearance. (4 ) Desc ription of Right path and maneu- vers of object(s). (5) How did t he objcct(s) disappear? Cin- c;tan tancously to the North, etc.) (6 ) How long (were) the object(s) pecific, 5 minutC's, 1 hour, etc.) c. Manner of Observation: (1) Usc one or any combination of the fol- items: Ground-visual, air-vi ual, ground- electronic, air-electronic. (If electronic, specify type of radar.) ( 2 ) Statement as to optical aid (telescopes, binoculars, etc.) used and de cription thereof. If the sighting occuned while air-borne, give type of aircraft, identification number, tude, heading, peed, and home tation. 'Time and Date of. ighting: (1) Zulu time-date group of sighting. (2) Light conditions. (Usc one of the follow- ing terms: Night, day, dawn, dusk.) e. Location of Observer(s). GiYe exact lati- tude and longitude of each observer, and/ or geographical po ition. In electri cal reports, give a position with reference to a known landmark 2mi N of Dccvillc"; " 3mi SW of Lake." Typographical errors or often occur in electrically transmitted mes ages, location plots difficult or impossible. f. ldentif11ing I nformation 011 Obseruer(s): ( 1 ) ' ivilian-Namc, age, mailing addrcsR, O('Cupntion, and estimate of rcliabilit.y. (2) 1\l ilitary-Nnmc, p;rndc, organization, duty, and cst.imatc of rC'Iiubilit.y. g. Weather and Winds- Aloft Conditions at T ime and Place of. ight ings: ( I l Ob er,cr ( s) necounl of weather concli- ( 2 ) R cport from ncu rc:-~t. A W. or u. \\'cnthC'r Bureau Offict of wind direction a nd clocity in deg ree a nd knots nt surface, 6,000', 80,000', if a.\'ailable. (3) Ceiling. ( 4 ) Visibility. U> l Amount of cloud <'O\'tr. 1 G 1 Thunderstorm:-in ana and quadrant in which located. 17 1 Vrrlical temperalun gmclicnt. h. Any other wnumal artivillf or condition, mt'leorologica l, a tronomical. or ot.herwi e, which might account for the sight.ing. i . Interception or identification action taken (such artion is authorized whenc,e r fen ible, a nd in compliance with exi~tin~ a ir defense dinc- j. /,ocation. c1ppro.rimat c altitude. and general uf flight of any nir t rnffic or balloon rclca:-C's in the nrea which might po::;sihly account. for the ighting. k . PoNilion title and comme11ts of the prepar- inu officer. including hi::; preliminary analysis of tlw po:<~ibll' cau~e of the ~i~hling(~l. kec parn- t.:mph 16. I I. E.nstence of phusical et idencc. :ouch a . ma- terials nnd photographs. 15. Negative or lnapplicahle Data. Even though thr so utrc doc not provide, or nn inter\'i cwer ha~ not n:5ked for specific information, do not u e the word " negati,e" ot " unidentified" before exhau:-tin~ all logical lends to obtain the informa- tion outlined under pamgmph 14. F or example, information on weather ronditions in the area, ... requested in parag raph 14~, i~ obtainable from tlw local military or cidlian weather facility. C:-e the phrase " not npplicabl<' ( X / Al" only wh('n the que tion doc:< not apply lo t hC' par-ticu- lar :-ighting under ill\c:-tigation. 16. Comments of Preparing Officer. The pre- paring officer will mnke a yrcliminnry ~naly.l:lis and a comment on the po:-;t5thle cn.us<' or tdcnltty of thC' objert he i::; rC'porting, together with u 8lal<mcnt. suppor-ting his co mment and analysi:-;. H e will ma ke every effort to obtain pertinent. of information and Lo t.csl nil possible ttuls r lucs, and hypoLhcsrs conceming lhe identity or explanation of the sighting. (, 'ec p:nagraph 5.) T he prep a ring offircr who receive the report initially i in a much better po~ition to conduct an "on-the-spot" sur\'('y or followup su bsequent invtslig~tthe personnel nne! a nalysts, who may be far removed from the nren, mny arri,c loo late to obtain Yilnl datu or tl w missing i 11 f ormnl ion ll('('(.':-;sary for firm 17. Class ification. Do not. classify reports un- less data requested in parngraph 14 rC'quirC' da~!'ii firalion. Cia ' ify repol'ls ptimnl'ily to protect: n. Names of sources reporting UFO's and principals inYoiYccl, if so 1eque.~ted by the.~e pen;onl! or considered necessary; h. T ntelligcnce, in\'eslignlhe, intercept, or ana- lyt ical method. or procecluns; r . L ocation of mdar nnd olhct clnssificd sites, units, nnd equipment; d. Information on ce rtain types, charartcl'i - nncl capabilities o f classified airrraft, mis- siles, or deYicc that may be invohed in the :-<ighling. 18. Reporting Physical Evide n ce. R eport promptly thC' exi tence of phy. ical e,idencc (photographic or malctiul). :\Jnrk all physical c\ickncc forwarded to the AF. (' 1FTD) for tlw of T D-E. Aerial Phenomena Bra nch. n. Photographic: I I l t ill Photograph.~. F orward the ncgatiYe print . Title the print~ nne! the ncgathc::. or indicate the place, time. and date of the inci- .lf olion Pict ures. Obtain the original film. Examine the film stri p for apparent cuts, alterations, obliteration$, or defects. I n the re- port comment on a ny inegul a ritics, particularly t hor-;e rccci ,eel from othc than officin I :<ou rccR. ( 3 ) ttpplemental Photographic Informa- tion. Negathc and print often arc insufficient pro,idc certain Yalid data or to permit firm conclusion . ( ee AF~I 2D0-9-a clas~ificd docu- ment rccei\'ing limited dLtrihution.) I nformation that will aid in plottin~ OJ' in c timating di~ tances, apparent si ze and naturC' of object, proh- abll' \'C'iority, a nd monment. inrluclcs: (a) Type and make of camera, (b) Type, focal length , and make of lens, Brand and type o f film, (d) Shutter speed used , ens opening used; t hat is, (f) Filters used, (g) Was tripod or solid stand used, as ttpanning" used, (i) Exact direction cam era was pointing w it h re lation to true north, and its a n g le wit h espect to t h e ground. (4) Other Camem Data. If supplemental information is unobtainable, the minimum cam- era data required are t he type o f carnem, and t h e sm allest and largest "f" stop and shutter- speed re adings of t he camera. (5) Rada1. Forward two copies of each still- amera photographic print. Tit le r a d a rscope photogr aphic prints in accorda nce with AFR BY OnDER OF T H E SECRETARY OF THE Am F o RcE: 0FFJ ClAL: R. .J. P UGH Colonel. USAF i?ecto1 of Administmtive