Historical Incidents & Events

Bolender Memo (1969)

1969

Declassified Air Force memo recommending Project Blue Book's termination, on the grounds that it had not served a genuine intelligence function. Its most-cited line notes that reports of UFOs "which could affect national security" were handled through separate channels under JANAP 146 and Air Force Manual 55-11, and "are not part of the Blue Book system" — widely read since as an acknowledgment that a separate, non-public reporting channel existed all along.

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Connections (3)

confirmedCarroll H. "Rip" Bolender

authored the memo

Source: NICAP.org — Bolender Memo (1969)

reportedRoscoe Hillenkoetter

cited alongside other retired officials' claims about a broader UFO coverup

disputedProject Blue Book

recommended its termination while noting sensitive reports went through separate channels

Source: USAF Project Blue Book records; Ruppelt, Report on Unidentified Flying Objects (1956)

Part of The Red Thread Files — an independent, evidence-first investigation into the UAP, USO, and consciousness question. Confidence labels (confirmed / reported / disputed) are an automated approximation based on the wording and directness of each source, not a verdict. Corrections: [email protected].