Military Personnel who have commented on UFOs and the possibility of Extraterrestrial Life

There are a number of cases involving military personnel that have garnered particular attention. These individuals, with their professional training and access to sensitive information, bring a unique perspective to the ongoing discussion. We look at statements of various military figures who have commented on or claimed encounters with UFOs, providing insight into their perspectives on this enigmatic phenomenon.

1. General Douglas MacArthur: General MacArthur, in his 1955 speech at West Point, spoke about the potential for an interplanetary war and the need for nations to unite against a common threat from outer space.
2. Lt. Colonel Charles I. Halt: A former deputy base commander at RAF Bentwaters in the United Kingdom, Halt was involved in the Rendlesham Forest incident in December 1980. He reported seeing unexplained lights and wrote an official memo describing the event. Halt has since become an advocate for UFO disclosure.
3. Colonel Robert Friend: As the head of Project Blue Book from 1958 to 1963, Friend was responsible for investigating and documenting UFO sightings. While he did not confirm the existence of extraterrestrial life, he believed some UFO sightings remained unexplained and warranted further research.
4. Captain Thomas F. Mantell: A Kentucky Air National Guard pilot, Mantell tragically died in 1948 while pursuing an unidentified flying object. His death has become one of the most famous UFO-related incidents and has fueled speculation about the nature of the object he was chasing.
5. Major Jesse Marcel: An intelligence officer stationed at the Roswell Army Air Field in 1947, Marcel was one of the first military personnel to examine debris from the alleged Roswell UFO crash. He later claimed that the debris was extraterrestrial in origin, and his testimony has become a key part of the Roswell UFO narrative.
6. Lieutenant Colonel Kevin Randle: A former U.S. Air Force intelligence officer, Randle has become a prominent UFO researcher and author. He has written extensively about the Roswell incident and other UFO-related topics.
7. Admiral Lord John Hill-Norton: A former Chief of the Defence Staff in the UK, Lord Hill-Norton was vocal about his belief that some UFO sightings were genuine and deserved serious investigation. He also advocated for the release of classified information on the topic.
8. Major General E. B. LeBailly: A former director of British Naval Intelligence, LeBailly stated in a letter in the late 1960s that the “phenomenon of UFOs does exist” and suggested that they might be extraterrestrial in origin.
9. Colonel Philip J. Corso: A former U.S. Army intelligence officer, Corso claimed in his book “The Day After Roswell” that he was involved in the recovery of extraterrestrial technology from a crashed UFO near Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947. His claims have been met with skepticism and have not been independently verified.
10. Captain Edward J. Ruppelt: Ruppelt was the first head of Project Blue Book, the U.S. Air Force’s official investigation into UFO sightings from 1952 to 1969. While he did not confirm the existence of extraterrestrial life, he expressed the opinion that some UFO sightings could not be easily explained by conventional means.
11. Commander Graham Bethune: A former U.S. Navy pilot, Bethune claimed to have witnessed a UFO while flying over the Atlantic Ocean in 1951. He later became an advocate for UFO disclosure and testified about his sighting at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
12. Colonel William Coleman: A former U.S. Air Force officer and the official spokesman for Project Blue Book, Coleman later became a producer for the TV show “Project U.F.O.” He claimed to have witnessed a UFO while piloting a B-25 bomber in 1955, and has since advocated for more transparency on the topic.
13. Dr. John Alexander: A retired U.S. Army colonel and former military intelligence officer, Alexander has conducted research on UFOs and other unexplained phenomena. He has advocated for a more open and scientific approach to studying UFO sightings, but has not claimed direct evidence of extraterrestrial life.
14. Captain Robert Salas: A former U.S. Air Force officer, Salas claims that a UFO sighting in 1967 was responsible for disabling nuclear missiles at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana. He has since become a vocal advocate for UFO disclosure and has testified about his experiences at various public events.
15. Major George Filer: A former U.S. Air Force intelligence officer, Filer claims to have witnessed a UFO during his service and has since become a prominent UFO researcher. He publishes the “Filer’s Files” newsletter, which documents UFO sightings and related news.
16. Lieutenant Frederick Fox: A former U.S. Navy pilot, Fox reported witnessing a UFO while flying near the coast of Florida in 1958. His account has been cited as one of the more credible pilot encounters with unidentified aerial phenomena.
17. Admiral Roscoe H. Hillenkoetter: A former director of the CIA and a member of the U.S. Navy, Hillenkoetter was involved with the Robertson Panel, which investigated UFO sightings in the early 1950s. Although he didn’t publicly confirm the existence of extraterrestrial life, he was quoted in a 1960 New York Times article as stating that “behind the scenes, high-ranking Air Force officers are soberly concerned about the UFOs.”
18. General Carlos Castro Cavero: A high-ranking Spanish Air Force officer, General Cavero publicly expressed his belief that some UFO sightings could be evidence of extraterrestrial technology. In a 1976 interview, he stated, “I believe that UFOs are spaceships or extraterrestrial craft.”
19. Colonel Ariel Sánchez: A former Uruguayan Air Force officer, Sánchez served as the president of the nation’s official UFO research commission, CRIDOVNI. He has discussed UFO sightings in Uruguay and has called for increased international cooperation in studying the phenomenon.
20. Major Donald Keyhoe: A former U.S. Marine Corps officer, Keyhoe became a leading UFO researcher in the 1950s and 1960s. He authored several books on the subject and argued that the U.S. government was covering up evidence of extraterrestrial visitation.
21. Lieutenant Colonel Lawrence J. Coyne: A U.S. Army Reserve helicopter pilot, Coyne reported a close encounter with a UFO in 1973 near Mansfield, Ohio. The sighting, known as the “Coyne Incident,” is considered one of the most well-documented military encounters with an unidentified flying object.
22. General Vasily Alexeyev: A former high-ranking officer in the Soviet Air Defense Forces, Alexeyev has spoken about his interest in UFOs and his belief that some sightings could be evidence of extraterrestrial technology. He has called for increased study of the phenomenon and greater openness in sharing information about UFO sightings.
23. Colonel L. Gordon Cooper: A former U.S. Air Force test pilot and astronaut, Cooper claimed to have seen a UFO while stationed at Edwards Air Force Base in 1957. He later advocated for the U.S. government to release classified information about UFO sightings and was one of the original members of the “Disclosure Project.”

Numerous military personnel have made claims or commented on UFOs and the possibility of extraterrestrial life. The testimonies of these military figures serve as a reminder that the UFO phenomenon continues to captivate people from all walks of life, and that the search for answers is far from over.