Beavercreek: Lt. Col. Kellerstrass hosts Aviary UFO talks
In fall 1986, USAF Lt. Col. Ernie Kellerstrass invited key UFO researchers and intelligence figures to his Beavercreek home near Dayton, Ohio, to discuss extraterrestrials, Area 51, and alien studies. This initiated the informal 'Aviary' network using bird codenames amid surveillance concerns.
Background
Meeting and Participants
USAF Lt. Col. Ernie Kellerstrass (codename Hawk), who worked in the Foreign Intelligence Division at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio, invited several people to his home in Beavercreek in the autumn of 1986. Among them were Harold E. Puthoff (Partridge), John B. Alexander (Chickadee), C. B. Scott Jones (Hummingbird, assistant to Sen. Claiborne Pell), USAF Capt. Robert M. Collins (Condor), William Moore, and Jaime Shandera. The group met several times to discuss subjects such as UFOs, extraterrestrials, and Area 51.
Claims and Revelations
Kellerstrass spoke of knowledge about USAF Lt. Col. Robert R. Hippler, said to be involved in a top-secret Air Force UFO project. He mentioned physiological examinations of genuine aliens and an alien base at Area 51. The discussions centred on military UFO activity.
Aviary Network
Moore and Shandera suspected telephone surveillance and introduced bird codenames. Further Aviary members: Christopher Green (Blue Jay, CIA forensic specialist), Dale E. Graff (Owl, DIA), Harry Rositzke (Falcon), Richard C. Doty (replacement Falcon, USAF OSI), and Raven (possibly Jack Verona, Richard Helms, or Henry Kissinger). This network influenced UFO research through insider contacts.