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Wednesday, April 19, 2000
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
Pentagon makes official denial:
No extraterrestrials aid military
Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- Believe it or not, the Pentagon denied on Tuesday that extraterrestrials participate in classified U.S. military programs.
Spokesman Ken Bacon was responding to reporters' questions about Monday's Internet posting of the first detailed satellite images of Area 51, the classified Air Force test site in Nevada that UFO buffs think holds alien technology.
Asked whether the Internet posting revealed military secrets, Bacon said he was "not aware that any information was revealed that compromised" military activities.
"Since Sputnik, we have operated in a world of overhead surveillance, and we have had more than 40 years to learn how to deal with overhead surveillance," he said.
Asked to confirm or deny whether alien spacecraft or anything extraterrestrial has ever been stored at the facility, Bacon did not answer directly.
"I think I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that we have no classified program that relies on aliens from outer space," he joked.
His comments parallel those made Tuesday by a former worker at the Groom Lake base, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
When asked whether parts from unidentified flying objects were hidden at the base and being copied for U.S. prototypes, the former Area 51 worker said such a claim is "absolutely not true."
Like Bacon, the former worker said base officials are diligent about keeping certain aircraft out of the view of satellites.
He said the base has a standard procedure for hiding aircraft by either keeping them in hangars or putting them into "Scoot-N-Hide" sheds on runways while foreign satellites orbit in view of the base.
Raleigh-based Aerial Images Inc. -- with Kodak, Digital Equipment Corp., Autometric Inc. and the Russian agency Sovinformsputnik -- posted five images of the desert proving ground on the Web at http://www.terraserver.com.
"This is the first glimpse into the most secret training and testing facility for the Air Force," said John Hoffman, president of Aerial Images.
On the Net: Air Force: http://www.airforce.com
Also on the Net: UFO fans: http://www.ufomind.com/area51
Review-Journal writer Keith Rogers contributed to this report.
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