Las Vegas: Airman Mendez receives UFO tracking document
In October 1981, USAF Airman Simone Mendez at Nellis AFB received a classified document from a coworker claiming NORAD tracked UFOs entering Earth's atmosphere. She faced intense FBI and AFOSI interrogations, polygraphs, emotional distress, and loss of clearance after attempting to return it.
Background
Background
Simone Mendez, a 21-year-old USAF telecommunications specialist with top security clearance, was working at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, Nevada in October 1981. A colleague handed her a copy of a top-secret document reporting that NORAD had tracked unidentified objects entering the earth's atmosphere.
Course of Events
Mendez kept the paper until January 1982, when she tried to return it. She was questioned by the FBI and AFOSI, including polygraph tests, which she failed under severe stress. This led to breakdowns, hospital stays, and medication. Further questioning followed, but the Air Force cleared her of any offence, while withdrawing her clearance and transferring her.
Significance
The document later proved to be a forgery, as FOIA records confirm. The case illustrates military responses to UFO-related leaks and the psychological toll on those involved. Mendez had previously had UFO sightings of her own.