It wasn’t slick, but it was undoubtedly sincere
Three elderly men, now in their eighties, took it in turn to speak about what they had been involved in many decades earlier in the 1960s. As each one shuffled past the other to speak at The National Press Club in Washington DC last Tuesday, they knocked against the microphone. It wasn’t the slickest of presentations. But, ultimately, this didn’t matter because the sincerity of these ageing ex-US servicemen - plus a fourth, who joined the press conference via video link - could not be doubted. What they had to say should be taken seriously.
US Air Force Captain Robert Salas - the principal speaker - was the on-duty commander of an underground launch control facility assigned to Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana, on 16th March 1967. Captain Salas was stationed 60ft (18m) underground in a concrete capsule when the guards above saw a large, glowing, pulsating red oval-shaped UFO arrive over the facility. As the UFO hovered above, all ten nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles went into a “no go” condition - meaning that they were temporarily shut down at the same time and couldn’t have been launched. Salas said this was “a near impossibility” because the ten nukes purposely had separate guidance systems.
Robert Jamison - a former US Air Force Captain and Combat Targeting Officer - was involved in a similar incident shortly afterwards on 24th March 1967, when another ten intercontinental ballistic missiles became inoperable. Jamison said: “Well, this is very, very unusual. I don’t know if there were any incidents where two missiles went off alert at the same time, but for ten missiles to go off alert for no reason at all, it doesn’t happen really.” Again, Strike Force security guards reported seeing a UFO overhead.
Retired US Air Force Captain David D Schindele began his contribution to the press conference by saying “I’m very proud to have served my country”. He explained: “In September of 1966, I was a Minuteman ICBM Launch Control Officer and Deputy Commander of a launch crew stationed at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota. I was involved in a UFO incident at that time, where a flying object tampered with and took down a total of ten nuclear-tipped ICBM missiles by rendering them unlaunchable.” A UFO, estimated to be 80-100ft (24-30m) wide, silent, with flashing lights, had hovered close to the ground in front of the facility’s main gate. It was seen by eight military personnel over several minutes, before the unknown object rapidly flew off, disappearing within a second. Everyone was ordered never to speak about what they saw - to keep their “lips zipped”, as if the incident “had never happened”.
David Schindele continued: “We missileers all possessed top-secret clearances and we were under constant review and training to ensure that our technical skills and ability to follow complex procedures met high, stringent requirements. We were well-educated, psychologically profiled, and responsible for nuclear security and operational readiness in maintaining our nation’s primary line of defence.” At the end of his presentation, Schindele added: “Robert Salas is very special to me. I wouldn’t have come out and started talking if it wasn’t for him…I found an article on the Internet describing Robert Salas’ incident and when I saw that I said ‘Oh, my God, it’s been verified’. The incident that he had was almost identical to the one I had, and I experienced just a joyful freedom. And I was finally able to tell my wife my secret.” There were tears in his eyes as these final words were spoken.
Illustration showing the UFO’s movement and size in relation to Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, 1966 (Credit: With thanks to Robert Salas for both photographs and illustration.)
On 14th September 1964, Robert Jacobs was a US Air Force First Lieutenant filming an Atlas D missile test launch in California using a large, mobile telescope. But it wasn’t until two days later, summoned to a meeting with his commanding officer, Major Florenz J Mansmann, that he realised something extraordinary had occurred. The film showed the test flight was proceeding as planned, until a saucer-shaped UFO flew into frame, towards the missile’s dummy warhead - which was travelling at 8,000 mph - then flew around it, emitting a beam of light at it, several times, before rapidly flying off in the same direction it had come in. The dummy warhead tumbled abruptly from the sky, several hundred miles short of its intended target.
Jacobs was as shocked as anyone else, having just viewed the film for the first time, unable to provide an explanation. Two (or possibly three) men in suits from a three-letter government agency were also present at the meeting. Jacobs was told to deny knowledge of what had happened. In the late 1980s, Major Mansmann (now deceased) wrote two letters confirming the meeting in his office had occurred, recalling what had been captured on film - adding that he had watched the film a total of four times. The men in suits took the relevant section of film away with them after the meeting. Jacobs added his testimony via video feed to the press conference.
Robert Salas concluded: “I fully realise the acceptance of this phenomenon is a giant leap for a lot of people. We all tend to be comfortable with what we already think we know and don’t want to rock the boat or change our perception of things. But we humans have had to deal with all sorts of new things in our evolutionary path. In the coming days and months, I think we’ll all have to deal with this reality - because there is abundant and sober evidence, past and present, for the reality of UAP. It’s undeniable.”
Written by Callum Cushen & Victoria de las Heras, 25th October 2021