X Descending

by Christian Lambright

  It has been possible to digitally enhance the photographs Paul gave me to bring out more detail. I believe Paul may have diverted some of the excess light prior to taking the photographs (perhaps by adjusting the rotating prism) because several of the photos show much less glare and quite a bit more detail. In particular, the images of the largest vehicle reveal intriguing details and patterns.

  When I first heard that Paul’s films had been taken at night I had no idea what he had used or what the conditions were. Nighttime photography, though not necessarily difficult, still requires sufficient light and sometimes timed exposures. When I learned that he had used 8mm film and that the vehicles were quite some distance away, the combination seemed to suggest that the vehicles must have been extremely bright. The first person I met who had been in a position to see any of Paul’s pictures or films was a writer by the name of William (Bill) Moore. Moore, co-author of the book “The Roswell Incident”, had been in close contact with Paul since late 1980 or early 1981, and sometime in the mid-1980’s I happened to attend a presentation he gave. Afterward, I had an opportunity to speak to Moore and I made a point of asking if he had seen Bennewitz’s films and, if so, what the images showed. At the time it was a little disappointing to hear him describe them as, “just little lights”, a description that I would later come to think of as a major understatement. When I heard Paul’s description of the events and how the pictures were taken and finally saw some of the images for myself, it was obvious that what was shown in Paul's images were not just little lights.

  The equipment Paul used those nights on his rooftop included binoculars, the Hasselblad camera with a 250mm telephoto lens, a Canon 35mm camera mounted on a 3” Unitron refractor telescope (using either a 25mm or 18mm eyepiece), and an 8mm motion picture camera. The make and model of the 8mm camera was never specified. The only references to it that I found implied that it was usually handheld, that the lens angle was estimated to be 6 degrees, and, at the time of the Dulce trips and the December films from his rooftop, it was loaded with ASA 25 Kodachrome film.

  In the weeks and months after he filmed the “takeoffs”, Paul was busy documenting the events, including a fairly descriptive analysis of what he saw in the images.

  “…one can observe the origination of the power spike poled off center to the saucer edge opposite its direction of travel while in almost the same instance in the next frame, approximately 1/20th of a second later, the beam or spike has been poled dead center to the saucer. Knowing the approx. diameter of the saucer to be 18’ based upon optical measurements discussed, it can be extrapolated to find that the spike extends 300’ below the craft, which at that instant is both supporting the craft and probably propelling it upward.”

  And…

  “This brilliant intense light is also prevalent when the saucer is flaring to land, making the necessary transition from their field of gravity to ours. Apparently this transition requires tremendous amounts of power. It is also prevalent when power up for ascent. The intense light emitted makes a 37 foot vehicle look 100’ or so across when viewed with the naked eye. Airborne, they generally will translate precisely through a 90º angle from the perpendicular to horizontal flight at a violently high rate of speed.”

  Paul presented an interesting discussion of what he had seen and how it might relate to what he termed “slow light”, the description by some witnesses of beams or columns of light that seem to slowly extend, and even stop in mid-air. Studying his photographs and observing what he called “blue standing beams” and “force field spikes”, he suggested the possibility that a beam of energy, with visible ionization occurring within a power field around a disk, could give the illusion of slowly lengthening or shortening as the power field was increased or decreased.

  He also described a curious effect that occurred on the film whenever the vehicles turned in such a way that the “bottom power ring” oriented toward the camera. There would be large bursts of light on the film, or what appeared to be light, sometimes nearly overexposing an entire frame. To his naked eye, the take-offs and movements had appeared steady and smooth, so this burst of light was something of a mystery. It left Paul to theorize that perhaps “…the prime dipole is hitting the observer and camera directly on, exhibiting tremendous power even at a distance of two miles”.

  Paul’s description of the vehicles, along with his intensive effort to analyze the films, are strong evidence that when he turned his mind to thinking like a scientist, he was, as Ernest Edwards described him, “very meticulous”. It was no surprise then when he started thinking beyond the films. His early accounts of seeing the vehicles and studying the films included the first indication I found that he was also thinking of other ways to detect them. As he began to speculate on power, propulsion, and electrical and magnetic fields, he came up with ideas that led to the equipment he would build later, and two of his ideas in particular describe what he thought he should be able to detect.

  “Now - let’s look at the initial information we have gleaned.

  1. If they are using a magnetic energy or a voltage force field then that field should perturbate the weak 0.5 gauss earth field considerably if one should fly in your vicinity. That makes sense. Then, in theory, using present day sensitive magnetometers or maybe even ‘souped-up’ gauss meters one should be able to detect and track a saucer if it is within range.

  2. If - and it appears they are, they fly in synchronized formation then there has to be some type of synchronizing signal generated by one or perhaps all of the craft. This then says that in addition to a fluctuating Guassian field there probably is a signal impressed in some manner on that field and - unless it is ‘way out’ i.e. alien, it should also be readily detectable; say perhaps by some method of demodulating the Guassian field effects and obtaining the pulses.”

  Based on the material he sent me, it is clear that he had written this several months after he filmed the night “take-offs”, which seems to suggest that he had not yet built the equipment he was describing. But it must not have taken much longer, because in a log transcript written by Ernest Edwards after meeting with representatives from Sandia Labs (more on this in the next section), Edwards states:

  “Related to them what Paul had told me of his data collection. Measurement of disturbances in local magnetic fields and correlation to actual sightings. Explained use of linear recorders and showed them copy of strips dated 27 May 80, night of first full briefing by fireplace in Paul’s home…”

  Obviously, by May of 1980, Paul had equipment set up and running to detect magnetic field fluctuations. His motivation to try to detect these fluctuations stemmed from his analysis of what he had seen and filmed months earlier. Unfortunately, whether he was actually succeeding in correlating instances of magnetic field fluctuations with sightings of similar vehicles is unknown.

  Whether Paul continued to see the same vehicles that he had initially filmed from his roof is also unknown. In the months afterward, he was certainly studying the films and was clearly in touch with the Air Force, but I found no mention of any substantive photos or films taken after December 1979. The photographs he displayed at the meeting in November 1980 (see Attachment D) were primarily taken from his original rooftop films, along with a few of the images he had obtained near Dulce. In all the information I received from him however, there were no other images I found to be as compelling as those that came from his first films of the “takeoffs”.

  In the following years, he did take other photographs and, at times, claimed to have captured images of other strange objects around Albuquerque. One relatively well-known image is a daytime photograph that he claimed was taken in Coyote Canyon and shows Ernest Edwards standing by a vehicle in the foreground. A strange shape is visible in the sky but, regrettably, the slightly blurry photo does not offer much to work with. Paul also mentioned pictures he had taken of strange objects that sometimes flew near aircraft taking off from the Albuquerque airport (one of these pictures appears in Greg
Bishop’s Project Beta). Whether these later images did represent something anomalous and significant may never be known.

  Regardless of what he might have seen near the Archuleta Mesa, Paul’s decision to call Kirtland Air Force Base was motivated solely by his concern over the vehicles he had filmed over the weapons storage area and what they might represent. He called to alert the base to what he believed was a potential threat, and that phone call put him in touch with Major Ernest Edwards. At that time, Edwards was in charge of the Air Force guards responsible for security inside the electrified fence and on the mountains. His first contact with Paul came in January of 1980, within weeks of the “landings” Paul had filmed (more on this in the next section.)

  Despite the confusion surrounding Paul’s experiences, particularly misinformation and disinformation spread by Air Force personnel (and other agencies that were likely involved), the images from his December 1979 films are indisputable. Seeing and filming these vehicles was what led him to build the equipment he used to try to detect them in other ways, and, undeniably, he was capable of doing that. After taking these films—and definitely by the time he had begun trying to detect magnetic field fluctuations—the Air Force was well aware of what he was doing. He had called them in good faith, not realizing he would pay such a heavy price for it.

  “Quis custodiet ipsos custodes.”

  (Who will guard the guards?)

  — Juvenal

  I once asked Paul if it had occurred to him that when he called the Air Force and told them what he had on film, he was letting a dangerous cat out of the bag. I could tell that he felt strongly that, either from a sense of duty or patriotism, he had to do it—doing nothing was not an option. But his reply was, “you can’t be too paranoid”. It was an answer I have thought about many times over the years because I have always wondered whether he fully appreciated the complexity of his situation. Did it dawn on him before he made that call, that he might be seen as a threat from a counterintelligence perspective? How could he have known that his own beliefs would be used against him?

  By the mid-1980’s suspicions were fairly widespread that someone in the Air Force, or at least working through AFOSI, was actively spreading disinformation—much of it through very questionable documents. Why this was being done was unclear. When Bill Moore finally admitted that he and Richard Doty had been an active part of it, a number of things came into perspective, including the involvement of the AFOSI Counterintelligence branch. It all pointed to a much wider and more serious interest in Paul than many had believed. And yet, only superficial and tenuous explanations have ever been offered for that interest and for why Counterintelligence became involved at all. According to one rumor, Russian spies masquerading as UFO researchers were the reason for all the concern. More often, Paul’s electronic recording equipment has been pointed to as the source of his troubles (more on this below). It seems more likely now that all of this is part of the disinformation campaign. To this day, questions remain about who managed the operation, when it actually began, what was really being protected, and from whom.

  Over the years, as new information has surfaced, the chronology of events and the appearance of certain individuals have come to appear far less circumstantial than ever before. The more I have learned, the more I have become convinced that a professional and effective Counterintelligence organization, whether AFOSI or any another, would have resources and assests in place to call on when necessary. This chapter takes a closer look at the events and the individuals involved from the time Paul first called the Air Force Security Police until the operation to ‘defuse’ him and deter everyone else went into action. It may have been far more contrived than anyone has imagined.

  Counterintelligence is a branch of the intelligence service charged principally with keeping sensitive information from an enemy and deceiving the enemy when necessary. For such an operation to be mounted against a civilian and the public at large—and potentially maintained indefinitely—something extremely sensitive must have been at stake. How critical would the planning and execution be, and how much manpower might be required? The following example provides a glimpse of what a more normal operation might involve.

  In his recent book, In Pursuit Of Shadows, Thomas M. Slawson ,himself a former AFOSI Counterintelligence agent, gives an example of an operation in which he was personally involved. His job was to provide security for a distinguished visitor to a foreign country. During his term as Deputy Secretary of Defense, David Packard, co-founder of Hewlett-Packard, was scheduled for a trip to Italy. Slawson was sent to plan and supervise the security operation for Packard’s visit.

  Though distinguished visitor protection is routinely provided around the world on a daily basis, Slawson clearly took his responsibility very seriously. For what could be seen as a fairly routine visit by a public official to a foreign country, Slawson scoured AFOSI offices for personnel, coordinated the operation with the Carabinieri (the Italian National Police), was in contact with the Navy at the local naval facility, and arranged for as many vehicles and as much communications equipment as he could get his hands on. In his words:

  “Five days before the Secretary’s arrival we had 100 OSI agents, over eighty Carabinieri officers, plus about fifty Policia Stradale, the Italian motorcycle police. 49”

  Though the trip itself was not a secret, 100 OSI agents were involved, not to mention scores of others who assisted in one way or another. What if the task had been to protect an incredibly sensitive secret, but without being seen as protecting it, knowing about it, or even caring about it? Is there any reason not to expect that an operation like that would have warranted even more extensive plans, contingencies, and extra 'assets'? If Slawson himself exemplifies the thoroughness of AFOSI Counterintelligence agents, then what considerations, planning, and manpower would have gone into the operation that descended around Paul Bennewitz?

  With a little insight and analysis it is possible to identify distinct parts of the process. The primary and most obvious goal was to convince everyone that Paul was not credible when it came to anything even remotely related to UFOs. A good amount of effort went into ensuring that outcome. Equally important however, was a secondary goal of diverting attention away from Paul, if not the entire Albuquerque area. This would be done in part by intriguing documents that mysteriously began to appear, as well as other sightings and witnesses. But it also included pushing stories of an alien base near Dulce. Third, and less obvious, was an effort to obscure and dilute Paul’s role and the significance of what he saw. There was a deliberate attempt to shift the perceived time frame of his sightings, creating the impression that his films and his call to Air Force Security had come much later than they actually did. It was a coordinated effort utilizing confusion and diversion—and having the right people in place to carry it out.

  Generally speaking, any investigation of an incident, from a crime to a UFO sighting, sets out to determine Who, What, Where, When, and Why. These were certainly questions that I had in mind when I began to look into Paul’s experiences, as I am sure others did also. However, someone tasked with keeping the truth from investigators must anticipate these questions as well, but for the purpose of designing answers that will satisfy but mislead or deceive, anyone who comes to investigate. We will come back to these questions shortly.

  During conversations I had with Paul in the mid-1980’s I was always uncomfortable with his matter-of-fact certainty that he had uncovered an alien presence. What could have convinced him to believe something like that so completely that he would accept it over other more 'earthly' possibilities? Paul was in contact with Jim and Coral Lorenzen of APRO, the Aerial Phenomena Research Organization based in Tucson, Arizona and one of the most highly regarded UFO organizations in the world at that time. They certainly did not foster wild speculation about aliens. But Paul was apparently willing to talk to anyone who would listen and, for better or worse, that made him accessible.

  In early 1980 he was still
studying his films and photographs, with an eye on the technological aspects of the vehicles. Those original images were the only real proof he had that he had seen disc-shaped vehicles over the weapons storage area. Then, apparently during the first few months of 1980, something happened to shift his focus from the films and what was in them, to strange ideas of communicating with aliens, deciphering their signals, and coping with alien attacks aimed at him and those around him. Where he got such ideas and what fostered them is unclear, but by May, and notably in May, a scenario that could not have been better made to push an alien agenda began to play out at his home in Albuquerque.

  In an amazing set of circumstances, a woman who claimed to have been abducted by aliens in northern New Mexico was led directly to him. Her arrival is significant because with her appearance came virtually all of the more bizarre aspects of Paul’s later claims. The full story of Myrna Hansen is not important here, the details can easily be found on the Internet (and in Project Beta), but the strength and believability of Paul’s rooftop sightings was suddenly weakend by a tale of potentially hostile aliens operating in northern New Mexico. Little more was heard about the vehicles he had seen and filmed as he became engulfed in a frightening scenario of implants, aliens projecting beams through walls, and the possibility that an alien race had built an underground base somewhere on the Archuleta Mesa. Needless to say, Paul’s credibility began to wane under the weight of these bizarre ideas.

  The all too convenient appearance of people and information virtually tailor-made to catch and divert Paul’s attention should have been viewed with some degree of suspicion. At that time, only a few people outside Albuquerque knew about his experiences. Even today most people still think he did not come to the attention of the Air Force until later in 1980—but nothing is farther from the truth.