Office Memorandum: Unidentified Flying Objects

This memorandum, dated March 31, 1953, and authored by F. C. Durant, addresses the internal handling of Unidentified Flying Object (U.F.O.) reports within the Office of Scientific Intelligence (O/SI). The document notes that Jack Heckert had recently informed the author that the Office of Current Intelligence (O/CI) was no longer tracking U.F.O. reports and wished to transfer their files. Durant observes that O/SI's interest in the subject is currently focused on Dave Stevenson of the Applied Science Division, who had been visited by Lt. Col. Fritz Cder of the Geophysics Branch of the R&D Division. To ensure the continued receipt and management of intelligence regarding U.F.O.s, Durant proposes a three-part plan: designating the Chief of the Applied Science Division as the coordinator for these reports, transferring the existing O/CI files to Stevenson, and having the O/CI Screening Panel, specifically mentioning Miss Lowry, route future messages to the Applied Science Division for review. Durant argues that this approach is the simplest method for O/SI to maintain a watch on the subject, requiring minimal time from Stevenson while providing a valuable mechanism for analysis should a future 'flap' occur. He concludes by offering to prepare the necessary directive memos if the plan is approved.