SUBJECT: The Majestic Twelve FILE: UFO1061 PART 18 The recent issue of JUST CAUSE also contains the statement by Larry Fawcett and Barry Greenwood that they have been told that this document is actually a retyped version. This fact was reportedly revealed in 1983 to Peter Gersten by an Air Force officer and was either forgotten or over-looked until just recently. However, the Air Force source who is cited is said to be none other than Richard Doty himself. In light of the fact that it has recently become common knowledge that Mr. Moore does (for his own reasons) delete documents which he obtains, and that he is rather aggressive in his research, I believe that Mr. Moore did in fact retype or have this document retyped. But does this negate the value of the document, or indicate that it is a hoax? Perhaps this explains why no one can verify if the document is genuine, because technically it is a forgery. It would appear that it is up to Mr. Moore to reveal a clean, accurate version and to finally reveal the facts behind its acquisition. According to film producer and director Linda Moulton Howe, she has had independent confirmation of MJ-12 and reportedly was shown a set of documents containing much of the same, if not identical, information. However, the actual name of the group in question was not "Majestic" but another similar sounding word containing the letters M and J. Could it be that the term "Majestic" was a substitution in a clever attempt to withhold a key bit of information which only someone with true inside information would be able to identify? If there is reason to question the accuracy of the information pre-sented in the original AQUARIUS/MJ-12 document as well as the information in the recent documents pertaining to MJ-12, does this logically imply that the 1980 Kirtland/Bennewitz events should be considered questionable? Any single-witness UFO sighting has always been somewhat questionable, this is exactly why we look for multiple witnesses and any other supporting evidence. If Richard Doty, or Paul Bennewitz were alone in reporting these incidents then the Kirtland events would never have become as major an issue as they have. However there were numerous individuals involved not only in the events precipitating preparation of the documents themselves. A brief summary of the incidents is as follows:- Early 1980, Paul Bennewitz becomes involved in observing and filming objects which he has sighted on the ground and in the air near Kirtland AFB and the Manzano range. Reportedly his wife was also present to witness some of the first landings he witnessed and filmed in the Coyote Canyon area. Subsequently he contacts Earnest Edwards of the Kirtland Security Police who, over the period of the next few months, becomes concerned and requests the guards on the Manzano Weapons Storage Area report to him any sightings of unusual aerial lights. At the beginning of August 1980 three guards report sighting an aerial light which descends on the Sandia Military Reservation. This is the first sighting described in the complaint form signed by Richard Doty. Edwards reports the sighting to Doty unaware that Doty has already heard from Russ Curtis (Sandia Security Chief) that a Sandia Security guard sighted a disc-shaped object near a structure just minutes after the sighting by the three Manzano guards. Doty includes these reports and several others in his Complaint Form and forwards the report to AFOSI Headquarters in Washington. From this point on many other persons became involved. Bennewitz was called down to a meeting at Kirtland AFB at which several major Air Force officers and Sandia personnel were present, including a Brigadier General. Earnest Edwards has confirmed that the three guards under his command reported what was described, and that the meeting took place. Bennewitz has confirmed that Doty and Jerry Miller came to his home to view his materials and there is a document signed by Thomas A. Cseh, Commander of the Base Investigative Detachment, to confirm this. Finally there is the complete set of documents which were released by AFOSI Headquarters under cover of the Department of the Air Force relating to the described events. There seem to be only two possibilities to consider. One: that this is one of the most profound deceptions that has been undertaken with the sanction of the USAF, involving a civilian, for purposes which can only be imagined. The other: that the events happened as described and that the intervening years, subsequent developments, and misguided researchers, have only clouded the facts. Perhaps there was also some effort made on an official level to defuse the sensitive nature of the events. Would Richard Doty have perpetrated a hoax, involved other officers in his deception, sent the hoax on to AFOSI Headquarters, and then spread certain information to civilian UFO researchers? For what purpose? And would he still be in the Air Force if he was discovered, knowing the public relations catastrophe that could result from AFOSI in Washington releasing the subsequent documents? It seems inconceivable that the Base Investigative Detachment, and the Department of the Air Force, would not have quickly and easily discovered the hoax and subsequently labeled the entire matter as such, knowing their previous predilection to do just that. A few simple telephone calls have served to clarify much of the truth of the initial incidents. We must avoid the temptation at times to "shoot first and ask questions later" which can result in spreading misinformation ourselves. It is advisable to use tact in approaching witnesses as we have no God-given right to call up strangers and demand that they answer questions, particularly when sensitive matters may be involved. Is it any surprise that some of these people may not want to be bothered by every person who plies them with questions? end of part 18 ********************************************** * THE U.F.O. BBS - http://www.ufobbs.com/ufo * **********************************************