The Air Force was advised to bring in scientists, but officials at a Pentagon meeting couldn’t decide whether to hire a university or individual researchers.
The Air Force was advised to assemble a scientific team to investigate selected reports of unidentified objects. At a meeting on how to carry out the recommendation, officials couldn’t decide whether to hire a university or individual researchers.
A US Air Force program for investigating reports of unidentified objects in the sky.
The documents provided don’t say whether the team was formed or what it found.
At a Pentagon meeting in April 1966, US Air Force officials discussed how to investigate reports of unidentified objects in the sky. The recommendation was clear: have scientists outside the military examine selected reports in depth.
The Air Force accepted the recommendation. But when officials tried to turn it into a plan, they hit a basic question: Who, exactly, would oversee the investigation? It was also unclear whether universities would agree to take on a subject considered sensitive.
The discussion followed a scientific committee’s review of Project Blue Book, the Air Force program for investigating reports of unidentified objects. The committee examined the program’s methods and findings.
It recommended forming a scientific team affiliated with universities. The team would investigate selected reports in depth, allowing scientists outside the Air Force to examine them, too.
On April 5, 1966, the Secretary of the Air Force accepted the committee’s recommendations and tasked the Air Force with organizing a scientific team. About two weeks later, Air Force personnel and others met to discuss how to carry out the assignment.
The participants couldn’t agree on who should sign the contract: a university or scientists affiliated with one. The distinction had practical implications. If a university led the effort, it could coordinate the researchers. If individual researchers were selected, officials would need to decide how they would work together.
There was also concern that universities might not want to participate. The meeting summary described the subject as sensitive and said participants discussed possible reactions. One suggestion was to sound out university leaders in advance about how they might respond to such a request.
One participant proposed that the University of Dayton lead the work because it was close to the Air Force base that ran Project Blue Book. That option didn’t resolve all the questions, either. The meeting ended without a clear agreement on how to choose the researchers.
The documents provided don’t say whether such a team was ever formed, who investigated the reports, or what they found. They note that the Air Force accepted the recommendation but don’t explain how the questions about carrying it out were resolved.
The scientific team was supposed to investigate reports from the sky. But before it could begin, officials still had to decide who would serve on it.