Albuquerque: Bennewitz meets Doty on alien claims
On October 26, 1980, Paul Bennewitz met AFOSI agent Richard Doty and Jerry Miller at his home to discuss his beliefs in alien control via electromagnetic means, UFO flights near Kirtland AFB, and an underground base near Dulce.
Background
Background
Paul Bennewitz, a businessman and UFO researcher, had spent months collecting evidence that he took to indicate extraterrestrial interference. He believed that aliens were manipulating people by electromagnetic means and regularly flying objects near Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, the Manzano Nuclear Weapons Storage Facility, and the Coyote Canyon test area. He was also convinced of an underground base beneath Archuleta Peak northwest of Dulce, New Mexico.
The Meeting
After failing to convince the APRO organisation, which considered him deluded, Bennewitz contacted AFOSI special agent Sgt. Richard Doty at Kirtland AFB. On October 26, 1980, Doty and Jerry Miller, scientific adviser at the Air Force Test and Evaluation Center, visited Bennewitz at his home. They discussed his findings on the sightings and his theories.
Significance
This event marks the beginning of intensive interactions between Bennewitz and Air Force representatives, which were later linked with disinformation campaigns. It points to the proximity of sensitive military sites and to the escalation of ufological beliefs in the 1980s.