Throughout the post World War II-era, there were many reported instances of UFOs interacting with nuclear facilities to disable equipment, including nuclear weapons. Nuclear facilities that were reported to have been visited include nuclear missile sites, nuclear weapon storage sites, and nuclear weapons test sites. Many former military personnel that were stationed at these nuclear facilities have reported orb or disc shaped UFOs in the immediate airspace of the nuclear facilities they were stationed at and equipment malfunctioning as a result.
An Illustration of a UFO near a nuclear missile.
Robert Hastings has interviewed hundreds of these former military personnel over a 30 year time span, and he has determined that is most likely this has been caused by an unknown civilization that has taken an interest in the developing nuclear age of our planet. Dozens of these individuals have even testified about their experiences in recent years. Typically they express surprise that the true story was never acknowledged officially.
One such incident occurred in 1967 at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana, but similar stories have been reported at other nuclear facilities across the country and the world. Several base personnel reported seeing a glowing red saucer-shaped UFO hovering outside the main gate for a manner of minutes. One officer stationed at the base was since-retired Air Force Captain Robert Salas, who worked as an engineer on the Titan III missile program and went on to work for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) after his time in the Air Force. Captain Salas reported that 6-8 individually powered nuclear missiles that were contained – began to shut down one-by-one at the same time the UFO was reported on base.
The fact that UFOs have reportedly disabled nuclear missiles on numerous occasions completely contradicts the official position put forward by Project Blue Book that UFOs pose no threat to national security. Furthermore, that these UFO encounters with nuclear facilities have never been officially acknowledged publicly, further signifies that there has indeed been a coverup of UFO-related information.
I recently noted the above commentary regarding UFO interference with ICBM sites at Malmstrom AFB in March 1967, and decided to correct a few misconceptions that the authors of the associated bits – in tandem with Robert Salas and Robert Hastings – seem to be so obsessed with. This apparently stems, for the most part, from their refusal to accept the claims of the only two people who were actually present at Echo Flight IN mARCH 1967: Eric D. Carlson, the commander of Echo Flight, and Walt Figel, his deputy commander. Both men have repeatedly asserted that UFOs were not involved with those events in 1967. Robert Salas, author of “Faded Giant”, and Robert Hastings, author of “UFOs and Nukes” have been repeatedly accused of lying about and/or embellishing details of these incidents by those military veterans who served their nation well during the hottest period of the Vietnam War and the coldest stretch of the Cold War. The fact that there is not even one single condition of evidence to prove the claims these men have addressed is a point that very few UFO proponents have shown any willingness to consider.
If you wish to know exactly what happened in 1967, and why the missiles at Echo Flight actually failed, and why the Oscar Flight claims are so pointlessly irresponsible, I encourage you to examine the following narratives:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/26641522/Americans-Credulous-by-James-Carlson
http://www.scribd.com/doc/42303580/Echo-Flights-of-Fantasy-Anatomy-of-a-UFO-Hoax-by-James-Carlson [this one is an examination of the issues for those unfamiliar with the case]
http://www.realityuncovered.net/blog/2011/08/strategic-editing/
I would also recommend that you examine the numerous interviews and articles at the Reality Uncovered website: http://www.realityuncovered.net/. Many of the articles discuss the events at Echo Flight and Oscar Flight in March 1967, and include interviews with both the commander and the deputy commander at Echo Flight on March 16, 1967. To this day, Robert Salas insists that both men confirm his claims of UFO interference, which both men deny strongly. Robert Hastings refuses entirely to discuss these matters in detail or to answer any questions regarding the testimonies of these two men, preferring instead to attack the integrity and credibility of those publically raising such issues. He refuses to offer anything substantial in the way of evidence, and fails entirely to explain the details of his claims or to answer any of the valid questions raised by his insistence. What he has done is rely on the craven use of blatant lies and baseless insults in regard to his critics without once managing to refute or even discuss their criticisms. Even worse, he has neglected to defend his own theories against numerous accusations of massive fraud and profiteering on a scale UFO proponent communities have only rarely been subjected to.
A lot information regarding these alleged “UFO” incidents can be found at the Reality Uncovered forum, in particular the Echo Flight Incident thread at http://www.realityuncovered.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=1688. Every single detail, digression, discussion or subject of argument asserted by both of these dishonest and irresponsible men has been explained and discussed in great detail in the documents and on the websites you’ve been directed to. Not one question has been left unanswered, a statement that neither Hastings nor Salas can honestly affirm. Both men, in fact, are proven liars who have created fiction and called it fact, something anyone willing to actually do the research can determine very readily for himself, as the events they’ve wrapped their pathetic clams around – contrary to their prior assertions – have been completely declassified since before 1980.
Tim Hebert, an ex-USAF missileer himself, has also written some very enlightening articles regarding the Echo Flight case on his blog at http://timhebert2.blogspot.com/. You should probably take the time to read them, as the information they contain are important to those wanting to know the truth. He has written an especially enlightening series of articles on Robert Salas’ claims in regard to Oscar Flight that can be read at http://timhebert3.blogspot.com/. The fact that he is an ex-missileer himself gives his work an authority that those without such a background should take seriously. He has served his nation with far more responsibility than that mustered by Robert Salas, and he did so for longer than the USAF required for the education he received, an insistent point of fact that Salas is unable to equal, since he left the Air Force for a civilian career as soon as he met the lowest standards of his expected duty. While there is no moral assessment implied in this discussion, it is nonetheless hard not to recognize and compare the value that each man has placed on their duty. Robert Salas left the USAF as soon as he could legally do so, took his education and began a new career, while Tim Hebert continued to serve his nation, and learned much more in regard to those same missile systems that Salas has attempted to portray himself as having some expertise with. In addition, the fact remains that Robert salas failed to mention “UFO” is association with ANYTHING that may or may not have occurred at Malmstrom AFB for 30-years, and did so only after two very important asociated events took place: the complete declassification of the Echo Flight incident, and the attempts of an ignorant few to link that incident with a UFO sighting, report and investigation that never occurred. The fact that Salas has been unable to name even a single eye-witness to the UFO he has invented from nothing seems to have escaped the notice of those exhibiting the will to believe such irresponsible crap.
Dr. David Clarke, for many years an accepted expert regarding the British military forces’ investigations of the UFO phenomenon, has also discussed the Echo Flight case in the context of the “UFO and Nukes” connection asserted by Robert Hastings and Robert Salas. You can and should read his article on the subject at http://drdavidclarke.blogspot.com/2010/11/flat-earth-nukes.html.
The folk tales currently being spread by Hastings and Salas like so much infectious manure have not merely been dismissed as one “possible” interpretation of their claims; they have been repeatedly dismantled and shredded – proven as lies by witness testimony and documented evidence that many UFO proponents wish to ignore, since they continue to show themselves incapable of otherwise explaining in the context of a real flying saucer. There is no doubt whatsoever that Salas – with the assistance of Hastings – has created this UFO case outright. There were no actual UFOs involved; it is a lie and nothing more. Witnesses that both men have presented to the public have actually come forward to dispute the claims these men have made. They insist that their statements were taken out of context and distorted purposely in order to suggest the presence of UFOs where no such presence could otherwise be established. Salas and Hastings have perpetrated a UFO hoax of the worst sort, and have attempted to destroy the reputations and career service of better men than themselves.
The commander of Echo Flight on March 16, 1967, CAPT (Ret.) Eric D. Carlson, has released the following very definitive statement:
“Let me start by stating that, as best as I can recall, my only contact with Salas and Hastings has been on the phone. I did tell Salas that he could release my name to whomever he wished, don’t know why he needed my permission. I have talked to a newspaper writer in Great Falls, several years age, and a TV producer from one of those UFO shows. With both these individuals I denied any knowledge of any UFO’s at Malmstrom. In addition, I stated that there was no, repeat no, incident at Oscar flight as Salas maintains. The man is either lying or delusional.
“My only contact with Hastings was a call I received from him regarding his book. I stated that his book sounded interesting and he later sent me a copy which I read and gave away …. At no time did I mention anyone’s mental status; yours, mine, his, or Salas’, although in retrospect I could comment on Salas’.
“My memory is quite good regarding the events at Malmstrom and there is no doubt in my mind that there were no reports of UFO’s and no incident at Oscar flight. I will be willing to discuss this with anyone who is truly interested in the facts.”
His deputy commander at Echo Flight, COL (Ret.) Walter Figel, Jr., has insisted as well that UFOs were not involved, and adds that his version of this event has been distorted by both Robert Salas and Robert Hastings in order to give the impression that an actual UFO was involved. He asserts very strongly that no UFOs were involved, nor were UFOs ever reported. Regarding the comments made in the past by Robert Hastings regarding Figel’s impression of me or of the acts I have undertaken, COL Figel has never, throughout the years I’ve known him, accused me of lying, and has, in fact, been refreshingly open and definitive in regard to the events of March 1967, and has repeatedly confirmed all of the aspects of this story that I have published or otherwise made available and that my father, Eric D. Carlson, has repeatedly confirmed. No other assessment of my relationship with Figel or my father is necessary or has any bearing on the facts the three of us have publically addressed.
Walt Figel has released numerous comments regarding the incidents of March 1967, including the following very definitive statement addressed to me and published by the Reality Uncovered blog:
“James,
“First – your dad has not lied about anything nor do believe that he is even capable of lying about anything at all. He was, is, and always will be an honorable man. You should remember that always – I will.
“Second – Bob Salas was never associated with any shutdown of any missiles at any time in any flight and you can take that to the bank. Just think about this for a split second. He is a person wrapped up in UFOs to the Nth degree. Yet he could not remember he was not at Echo. Then he thought he was at November – wrong again. Then he thought he was at Oscar – wrong again.
“Third – There is no record about anything happening at November or Oscar except in people’s minds that are flawed beyond imagination. Salas has created events out of the thin air and can’t get the facts straight even then. My best friend to this day was the flight commander of the 10th SMS at the time. He and I have discussed this silly assertion in the past couple of years – he thinks it is all madeup nonsense for sure. I put both Salas and Hastings in touch with him and he has told them both that an incident at November or Oscar never happened. In addition he was subsequently stationed at Norton AFB where the engineers tested the possible problems. No little green men were responsible.
“Fourth – I have always maintained that I do not nor have I ever believed that UFOs exist in any form at any place at any time. I have never seen one or reported that I have seen one. I have always maintained that they had nothing to do with the shutdown of Echo flight in Montana.
“Fifth – The event at Malmstrom has a hand written log from me that was turned in just like all the other logs that I wrote over several years. I would think that if I wrote something like that in the log, there would be copies, it would have been classified at the beginning and then released along with the classified SAC messages and base reports. Nothing in that urgent SAC message even hints of UFOs at all and I think that it would if the official logs or telephone calls had referenced that fact.
“Sixth – When it happened, neither your dad nor I were “visibly shaken” by the events. It was just another day with a unexpected event in our lives. It was rather underwhelming at the time. No one rushed out to see us, no one made us sign any papers, no one interrogated us for hours on end.
“There is no Air Force “cover-up” [of the events of March 1967]; it just did not happen the way Salas and [sic] has portrayed the course of events. I am sorry that you are all caught up in a pissing contest with these people, I really am. They are just not going to let go no matter what you say or do. He has made a 15 year career pandering about the country talking about things he has no knowledge about. I am not at all interested in taking them on – it’s not worth my effort – I have more important things to do with my life. I much rather just stay out of it.
“Hopefully, we can move on. I did read about a briefing on the 27th here in DC. I am here in VA about 10 miles away. Interesting. Hopefully this helps you and confirms to you at least that your dad is a straight shooter and does not lie to anyone.”
Robert Salas’ commander at Oscar Flight, Frederick Meiwald, insists that he doesn’t even believe in UFOs – a strange comment to make in light of Salas’ insistence that a UFO took out the missiles at Oscar Flight during an incident that resulted in an injury to one non-commissioned officer, requiring that man to be evacuated from the site by helicopter. When interviewed by Robert Hastings, he stated unequivocally that he doesn’t remember anything at all about a UFO. In fact, Robert Hastings himself has written:
“Meiwald then elaborated and said that he couldn’t support everything Salas has said about the incident because he had been resting/sleeping when the first missile or two dropped offline — which occurred moments after Salas received a report from the Oscar Flight Security Controller about a UFO hovering over the Launch Control Facility’s front gate.
“Although Salas had quickly told Meiwald about that telephone conversation, Meiwald says that he can’t remember it.”
In another interview conducted by Hastings, Meiwald is equally clear (RH is Robert Hastings and FM is Frederick Meiwald):
“RH: Okay. Now, when Bob, I think moments [after] he woke you up, or you got up and sat down at the commander’s console — he of course had received a call from the Flight Security Controller, saying that there was a bright red, oval-shaped object hovering over the security fence gate — my understanding is that is what he told you as soon as you were at your console, that he had received this call and, uh, that of course coincided with the missiles beginning to malfunction. Do you recall him telling you that?
“FM: I really don’t remember that portion of it, relative to the bright object. I remember an unusual condition [but] as far as the details, uh, I can’t elaborate on that.”
The following exchange is also revealing:
“RH: Okay. He of course has also said that you two were, uh, when you were back at Malmstrom, you were debriefed by OSI and required to sign non-disclosure statements. Do you remember that?
“FM: I remember being directed to do that. But that was no problem. I’ve been one of these people, when told to forget something, I forget it—eventually [inaudible].
“RH: Right, well, is that a polite way of saying that you really don’t want to discuss this, even though you know more than you’re saying?
“FM: No, I’m saying I don’t remember.”
Even after these blatant and clear replies to his own questions, Hastings nonetheless insists that Meiwald confirms Salas’ UFO story “100%”. It’s difficult under any circumstances to interpret Hastings’ assessments as anything less than delusional or fraudulent. His continued allegiance to this ridiculous story that Salas is literally selling to the world is nothing short of pathetic, while his refusal to even discuss these points is mere arrogant confusion.
For nearly ten years Robert Salas was also using Meiwald as confirmation of an alleged UFO events at Echo Flight, stating that either my father or someone else called Meiwald on March 16 and told him all about the big bad UFO at Echo Flight. When interviewed by Hastings, Meiwald stated, “Whatever happened over at Echo, I have no idea.” Meiwald has rebuffed completely the attempts by Hastings and Salas to establish confirmation for the UFOs they’ve invented, and yet both men continue to insist that he has confirmed every aspect of Salas’ ridiculous UFO claims.
Meiwald has also clearly stated in other interviews with Salas that only 3-4 missiles failed during the one missile failures event he has recalled; he’s NEVER stated outright that the UFO story he told Salas in 1996 had anything at all to do with missile failures; it’s never even been mentioned in context. The plain fact is that Frederick Meiwald has NEVER associated the one instant of missile failures he recalls with a UFO. This association is a complete invention asserted by Robert Salas, one that Meiwald has never even hinted at in his clearly written discussions.
My father, the commander of Echo Flight in March 1967, was present when all ten missiles were taken off of strategic alert by an electronic noise pulse generated internally at the launch control facility at Echo Flight. This pulse interfered with the normal operation of the logic coupler on the guidance and control module for that facility, causing thereby the failure of the missiles, which were, in effect, simply turned off. The incident was very well documented and was thoroughly investigated, and every word that Robert Salas and Robert Hastings have ever said on the subject has been repeatedly discounted or proven outright to be little more than lies and embellishments created for the purpose of making money from the sales of their books, the sales of associated videos, and the speaking fees they charge as a matter of course when retelling their ridiculous little folk tales.
I’m not asking you to stop believing in UFOs. Such a response isn’t anywhere near the scope of these insistent facts that I’ve shared. I do ask, however, that you give some further thought to the silly little claims Robert Salas and Robert Hastings continue to make. You should be aware that there is another point of view in regard to these matters – one that has been repeatedly confirmed by those men who were actually involved with this singular event in USAF history, has been very well-documented through the years, and was very thoroughly investigated by the USAF for some months after the incident itself. It is due to this that any continued support for the claims these frauds have made will eventually be considered little more than the very poor judgment of a few very confused and ignorant men. It is entirely up to you whether you are to be included in that assessment. Your ignorance of such issues will have no bearing whatsoever on the eventual consideration of your own reputation; only your perceived support of these ill-considered claims will have any such effect.
There were only two witnesses at Echo Flight in March 1967: the commander of the flight, CAPT Eric D. Carlson, and the deputy commander, COL Walter Figel, Jr. Both men have publically affirmed that there was no UFO. Robert Hastings is merely an agitator – a liar and a fraud who has repeatedly misrepresented the claims of the men involved in these incidents. He started utilizing this methodology years ago, found out it was convincing to a few ignorant people, and continues his path of slander and disruption as a result of those past minor successes. In defense of his claims, he has decided to neglect any discussion of facts at all, and has satisfied himself that the best response is to slander these men who have served their nation for decades, attemptiong to destroy their reputations and to trivialize their careers and their patriotism in order to convince others that their credibility suffers from the purposeful dishonesty they have shown by denying that Robert Salas’ clams have any truth behind them at all. By adopting this strategy, Hastings and Salas can “safely” ignore the issues these men have addressed.
Hastings is little more than a petty con-man and a fraudulent huckster, while Robert Salas is a proven liar and a fraud, a man who conceived of these UFO fictions in concert with James Klotz and Dale Goudie in order to convince actual USAF witnesses to come forward and assert their own claims. This strategy has proven to be a failure, although it has provided Salas with a second career to foster, which makes it an intolerable insult aside from the obvious insults he has already committed against my family and the families of the men they have slandered and continue to slander to this day.
Together, Hastings and Salas represent the very worst aspects of American UFOlogy. It is they and men like them who have proven to be the primary source of the stench normal humans – including those necessary to enable any well funded investigation of UFO phenomena – associate with the issues UFO proponents tend to support. In other words, if you truly want to persuade others to appreciate what you value sufficient to support your goals, you are going to have to show some measure of good judgment. When you give the impression of support for an obvious fraud, whether or not that support actually exists, you are presenting an impression that is injurious to your ultimate desires. In any case, do as you will. It is advisable, however, to take into account what others have already proven.
Most sincerely,
James Carlson
Albuquerque, NM
James, thank you for your thoughtful response. Here at World UFOs, we encourage everyone to conduct his or her own research in order to reach an independent conclusion based on the wealth of evidence and testimony available, including those articles you linked to. That being said, I think it’s important not to be condescending and resort to name calling in this case. That way we can encourage an honest and unbiased discussion.
For readers of this website, it’s important to note that Robert Hasting has replied to many of James Carlson’s accusations. An excerpt of one such response is below (originally posted on theufochronicles.com in 2012).
-Robert Hastings
originally posted on: http://www.theufochronicles.com/2012/01/new-reports-of-ufo-activity-near-fe.html
And here is another more recent response form Robert Hastings (November 2013) – http://www.theufochronicles.com/2013/11/the-echo-flight-ufo-incident-james.html
Yes, it’s another response that doesn’t answer any questions, and refuses to acknowledge the claims of his own witnesses that he’s a liar and a fraud. It’s just more insults and accusations and pointless slanders that do nothing to affirm his claims or to counter those that have been addressed others. Do you honestly believe that this crap presents a sufficient case argument? More to the point, if this is the type of argument that you’ve settled on, do you really believe that anybody will use such elements as motivation to conduct an unbiased examination of UFO phenomena? They will not — they’ll examine the testimony of the flight crews on duty and will immediately discount everything that Hastings has claimed. You don’t get those Congressional hearings by presenting evidence that is so easily countered. Anybody conducting such hearings won’t even bother to question him. They’ll question the witnesses who were actually present during the incidents described, and when those witnesses accuse him of dishonesty and detail his notably fraudulent acts, they’ll do what American jurists have been doing for decades: they’ll ignore everything else he’s ever bothered to discuss. And that means that once again the supported goals of Ufology will be dismissed, all because UFO proponents nation-wide will have once again shown themselves to be incapable of presenting evidence and witnesses who have been properly vetted and examined. If UFO proponents can’t tell the difference between fact and fiction, why in the world would anybody listen to them, or take their beliefs seriously?
The comment of Hastings’ is nothing but insult after insult. Where is his discussion of the Echo Flight and Oscar Flight claims? Where is his response to Figel’s and Carlson’s insistence that he and Salas are lying? The only thing I see are accusations of mental illness — not a measured response to the statements of his own witnesses. All he does is insult me and insist that he’ll respond more properly to the claims in the future — something he still hasn’t accomplished. What does he have to say about Meiwald’s statement that he doesn’t remember anything about a UFO at Oscar Flight? Why has he refused to comment on Figel’s insistence that he put Hastings and Salas in contact with USAF veterans who were involved in the Echo Flight investigation, but their conclusions were ignored? Why hasn’t he discussed the fact that to this very day, he and Salas still use Figel and Carlson as confirmative witnesses to a UFO tale that both men have repeatedly denied?
If this is your idea of an “honest and unbiased discussion”, you need to look a little closer. If he refuses to present any type of valid argument, preferring instead to rely on more slander and dishonesty, why would you even bother to repeat it? Is this really the type of argument you’ve decided to back? His own witnesses have repeatedly insisted that he is lying, and has presented a fraudulent case. Do you honestly believe the drivel you’ve reprinted above is a suitable answer to those charges? Are his promises of a future reckoning sufficient to explain his lapses? If this is the summary of his defense, it’s remarkable that you haven’t insisted on more. Well, it’s your belief system, I suppose; you back it with what you can It’s hard not to notice, however, that he doesn’t discuss the March 1967 incidents at all.
James – despite your relentless posting on what appears to be every website devoted to this story, there are many comments that conflict with your version of events, including the records at MUFON and NICAP…
http://www.mufon.com/video-testimonies-2/in-1967-ufos-disabled-nuclear-missiles-in-silos-at-malmstrom-air-force-base-in-montana
http://www.nicap.org/malmstrom67dir.htm
It is obvious that you are very passionate about this subject and that you have a strong hatred of Robert Hastings and anyone that supports him. I merely posted his rebuttal to your attacks so that readers could get a balanced perspective, considering the amount of information you shared above.
Also, there is that recording of Robert Hasting telephone interview with Col. Walt Figel, linked to above, that appears to corroborate his story. Do you have recordings of the conversations you have had that you claim prove the contrary?
Those conflicting comments you mention came directly from Salas and Hastings — they are not the comments of additional witnesses, and they certainly don’t come from NICAP and MUFON as evidential. Do you really think that when MUFON and NICAP merely reprint the claims of Hastings and Salas that this qualifies as well-vetted evidence? They simply repeat the same old garbage that they’ve refused to examine! All NICAP, MUFON and any other interested parties had to do was go speak to the witnesses that Hastings and Salas have used to confirm their ridiculous claims, but not one UFO proponent has ever done that. I did it, and they immediately told me that the stories were false and Hastings and Salas were lying. This is not a hard lesson to learn; it shows that UFO proponents have never tried to confirm a single story they’ve heard, preferring to rally behnd a series of lies and fictions without even examining the evidence presented. And now you want to bring up the same crap published by NICAP and MUFON and call it conflict with actual witness reports? Of course it conflicts! They were written by Salas and Hastings! This isn’t even an attempt to confirm the UFO stories — it’s just rewriting what Hastings and Salas have already claimed! If Hastings and Salas have imagined all of it, NICAP and MUFON would never know, because NICAP and MUFON have never examined the claims.
As for how I feel about Hastings — it isn’t even relevant! I didn’t say a word about his claims for 15 years until he started publishing that my father was a liar and that he had shamed himself and his USAF career by refusing to go along with Salas’ pathetic little UFO claims. Not one UFO proponent bothered to defend this man who served his nation well, but as soon as I stood up to do so, my character was attacked. Hastings went so far as to publish claims that he interviewed my father, and that my father told him I was delusional and shouldn’t be trusted, that my credibility couldn’t be relied upon because I was going through a nervous breakdown that had my family terrified I would kill myself! Are these the statements made by a man who has a genuine case to make, or are they the acts of a desperate man who has no valid response but nonetheless wants to protect his little cash cow?
More than anybody, I would be completely justified if I “hated” Robert Hastings, but I don’t. He continues to publish lies and slanders that are thin and can be seen through easily, and as long as he does, I will respond by presenting valid evidence that anybody can examine. Nobody does that out of hate — it’s done out of a refusal to allow him to own this story. It’s an intolerable insult to my family that needs a response — that’s all. I think he’s a horrible, dishonest and insulting person, but for me to actively “hate” him, I would have to invest a lot more time into examining his personality than I’m willing to invest.
No offense, but your claim that you “merely posted his rebuttal” to my “attacks” is a little disengenuous as well. I didn’t “attack” anybody; I published the statements of witnesses that he uses to confirm Salas’ UFO claims. I published a series of sources that readers could access in order to learn the truth behind the drivel he’s published. I’ve presented validated evidence that will allow you and any other interested parties to examine all of the numerous details, documents, and witness statements that Robert Hastings and Robert Salas have neglected or purposely ignored. These hardly qualify as “attacks”. And the trash you published above hardly qualifies as a “rebuttal” either. They are attacks that insist I’ve got mental problems, that I’ve lied and that my claims are untrue, but nowhere do they present a “rebuttal” to the claims I’ve addressed. That first piece of slander you’ve published doesn’t even talk about the March 1967 cases, for God’s sake, so how is that a “rebuttal”?
In regard to Figel’s claims, if you had actually examined the sources above that I offered, you would know that Figel himself has insisted that those recording were doctored. You would know that Hastings has even admitted to editing the tapes you consider a valid UFO confirmation. You shoud instead examine the unedited statements that Figel has written in response to those tapes. They prove conclusively that Hastings is relying on doctored, and edited transcripts and recordings, that he reaches conclusions Figel insists he never made, and that he attributes to Figel claims that Figel has stated are untrue. If you’re going to ignore actual witness statements in order to accept as true the irresponsible claims of a man who has already admitted to editing tapes, and who has reached conclusions that were never attended by facts, than of course you’re going to find conflict! But instead of accepting the claims made by Hastings without once bothering to examine them, a man who really wanted to know the truth would go back to the witness and ask him what happened. NICAP never did that. MUFON never did it. You very obviously never did that. On the other hand, I did that — and all three of the witnesses I examined and talked to – my father, Figel and Meiwald – stated outright that the claims attibuted to them by Hastings and Salas are untrue. It is an absolute fact that all three witnesses have stated that they don’t even believe in UFOs. This is the evidence you’ve chosen to ignore?
Walt Figel does not corroberate Robert Hastings’ assertions. Robert Hastings is lying to you, and Walt Figel is the one making that charge. Doesn’t it seem even a little bit odd to you that Robert Hastings went back and interviewed Figel three times, and was unable to get that single statement that a UFO was present and caused the missiles at Echo Flight to fail? I was on the phone to Figel for less than 5-minutes before he admitted that Hastings had made claims that were untrue. I didn’t even have to ask him about it; he volunteered the information. If this is what you consider to be a convincing and valid UFO confirmation, I would suggest that you take that revolutionary step that NICAP and MUFON and every UFO proponent allegedly publishing their exhaustive examinations of these incidents have neglected to do: go talk to the witnesses yourself before accepting every word that Hastings and Salas have written about those witnesses as the absolute truth. You take that one little step — own that one attempt to confirm what you’ve been told — and you will very quickly be forced to conclude that what you’ve been told is a fiction that has no place in the real world we inhabit.
Just to be clear, that last sentence should NOT be applied to UFO sightings and reports on a general basis; it applies only to the March 1967 incidents.
All I can say is WOW. This is two grown men venting about they perceive they or their father was wronged. I cannot place blame with either man but it certainly surprises me to see them go to all this effort to play the game of he said she said. I do not know which one is right and which one is wrong because I personally do not care. But to go to the effort of writing all that is here to argue a perceived wrong surprises me. That is my two sense worth.
This definitely appears to be a sensitive issue (understandably). On the one hand you have a small group of people claiming that UFOs were observed at the same time the missiles went offline. On the other hand, there are some other potential explanations for why Echo flight may have shut down, and the testimonies for both reported observers has been called into question (albeit both are recorded).
I haven’t reached a conclusion yet either, but just want to make sure all sides of the story are heard. Stay tuned, I will plan on posting an update to this post in the future.
If you don’t care than why the hell are you even reading it? When I come across a topic I don’t care about, I move on to another subject. You, on the other hand, stick around long enough to try and cheapen the motives of men you don’t know while admitting outright that you don’t care about those motives. Do you consider this a reasonable response? Your “two sense [sic] worth” hardly meets its assumed value.
It’s not a game of “he said she said”. It’s a disgusting attempt by a very select group of individuals seeking profit and enthusiastic public approval by selling dishonest claims — claims that have publically slandered a group of good and worthy men, while denigrating the worth and the honor of their military careers — to a targeted market specifically selected because of its characteristic need to believe outrageous claims without appropriate examination. In most cases, these men were attacked only after they had died and could no longer defend themselves. And the fact that these attacks have been championed by a large class of UFO proponents who have refused to examine the cases under discussion, have resorted to the cheap advocacy of reprinting these unexamined claims while neglecting to even mention the numerous errors of fact that accompany them, and have openly mocked, insulted, slandered, and reproached every single person who has come to their defense is intolerable. These men have been attacked and have had their lives cheapened for only one reason: so that others can profit from the tawdry lies they have and continue to publish. And the fact that those lies are given far more credence than they deserve by a bunch of UFO fanatics who attack those disputing these claims before taking a little time out of their day to examine the points of the argument being presented is nothing short of contemptuous. It is behavior that deserves and desperately needs public examination and discussion.
Add to that notably public contempt your apparent need to cheapen the motivation of those disputing such claims before examining them for yourself, and you just might understand for a change an issue that your two cents’ worth fails to take into account. Nobody asked for your opinion, and yet you’ve invested the time and the effort to offer an insulting response to an argument that you insist you don’t care about, and that you obviously don’t understand — a response accompanied by the implication that it’s an issue unworthy of that very time and effort! So go waste your time examining the motivations of someone else — you have that freedom, and the invitation is an open one. I sincerely hope that you and your father are never exposed to the same intensity of insult and slander that my family has experienced. And should you choose to defend yourself against such a publically insistent level of contempt, I hope you don’t have to consider as well the expressed opinions of those who don’t care about the matter and have failed to examine it in any real detail, but feel they should nonetheless toss their own two cents’ worth of contempt into the mix.
Persons who have followed this thread over time may be interested to know that an excerpt from my nearly-completed documentary film, UFOs and Nukes: The Secret Link Revealed, has been posted at my website: http://www.ufohastings.com/support.
The budget for the project is nearly exhausted and my colleagues and I have just implemented an appeal for public funding to help complete it. This approach was utilized in 2010, in conjunction with my “UFOs and Nukes” press conference in Washington D.C. which CNN streamed live. A full-length video of the event may be viewed at http://www.ufohastings.com.
As with the press conference, the film presents the on-camera testimony of several U.S. Air Force veterans who were involved in incidents during which UFOs maneuvered near and hovered over nuclear missile sites. In some cases, the ICBMs inexplicably malfunctioned when the disc-shaped craft were in the vicinity.
One such incident, at Malmstrom AFB’s Echo Flight, on March 16, 1967, resulted in all ten missiles malfunctioning. One of the launch officers on alert that day, now-retired Col. Walter Figel, has confirmed on audio tape—on four separate occasions—that he received a report from one of his missile guards of a “large, round object” hovering “directly over” one of the missile launch facilities, also known as silos, just as the missiles began dropping off alert status.
A frequent contributor on this thread, James Carlson, has endlessly claimed that nothing of the sort happened. His father, Eric Carlson, was the other launch officer at Echo during the incident, and the elder Carlson has denied that the launch crew received any UFO reports that day.
Despite these claims by the father-and-son duo, Col. Figel has made it quite clear that he did indeed receive such a report—of a UFO hovering at low altitude over one of his missiles—and that the report was confirmed by members of a Security Alert Team that he had sent out to investigate. Figel further states that he and Eric Carlson were debriefed back at Malmstrom AFB later that day and told never to discuss the incident.
Col. Figel’s 1996 telephone conversation with another former USAF missileer, Robert Salas, and his 2008 telephone conversation with me, may be heard at http://www.ufohastings.com/articles/the-echo-oscar-witch-hunt. All of the statements made above are confirmed in one or both of the taped excerpts.
Unfortunately, Figel later waffled on some of his previously-recorded statements—telling me that he did not want to be thrust between James Carlson and myself during our ongoing online dispute. Nevertheless, the colonel’s taped statements are on-the-record and he has never asked me to take down the links to them at my website. (One of his comments about UFO activity at Echo Flight appears in my upcoming film.)
James Carlson’s unending stream of reality-detached utterances—claiming that Salas and I are liars and frauds; that Figel never said that he had received a UFO report; that Salas’ missile commander, the late Col. Fred Meiwald, never supported the accuracy of Salas’ comments regarding their own UFO-related missile shutdown experience, at Malmstrom’s Oscar Flight, eight days later—are insupportable fantasies.
Carlson also avoids mentioning the fact that Col. Figel, in a 2009 telephone conversation with me, stated that James “has an ax to grind” and that his claims are “off-base”. Nevertheless, one may hear those comments to me at http://www.ufohastings.com/articles/telephonic-interviews-with-colonel-walter-figel-usaf-ret.
Now James is claiming that I have publicly said that his family is concerned that he will kill himself. This is simply untrue. What I have stated, and will again state under oath, is that during an October 2008 telephone conversation with his father, Eric told me that “James has some problems”. That comment was in response to my question, “Why is James so over the top when he attacks me and Bob Salas?”
Furthermore, that same month, a colleague of mine also spoke with Eric on the phone, at which time Eric said that he was “concerned that James will have a nervous breakdown.”
While James presumably knows whether his family is concerned about him harming himself, I certainly don’t, and have never made any statement whatsoever regarding the matter.
BTW, I have noticed in some of James’ recent posts, at various blogs, he still maintains that his father is being truthful when he says that no UFO reports were received by the launch crew at Echo Flight.
However, in other posts, James admits that Walt Figel did in fact receive a UFO report that day but, according to James, the guard who called Figel was supposedly only joking about the “large, round object” hovering “directly over” one of the Echo missiles.
So, James, how does that work exactly? On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, your dad is correct when he says that no UFO reports were received by either he or Figel, but on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, Figel did get the call from the joking guard?
What a complicated universe you live in, James.
—Robert Hastings
http://www.ufohastings.com
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