Senate Briefing on The Skinwalker Ranch and AARO’s Sean Kirkpatrick

The Skinwalker Strikes Back

Former AARO boss get clobbered by friendly fire

"But the first question we should ask is, why is this guy [Sean Kirkpatrick] still doing press interviews in the first place? Is it vanity? Are there rhetorical or other scores he feels the need to settle with real or imagined antagonists?"

Well that interview didn’t go according to script, did it? See, this is what happens when an ostensibly smart guy like Sean Kirkpatrick surrounds himself with hand-picked beat reporters who, in pursuit of access to power and sourcing, swallow each and every pronouncement on faith and refuse to call him out on anything. Like Muhammad Ali, Kirkpatrick should’ve been preparing for the unexpected juke with sparring partners like Tim Witherspoon or

By Billy Cox Life in Jonestown

Larry Holmes, not the housecat palookas who softened him up for what should’ve been a non-event last week. Instead, the former director of the Pentagon’s wretched All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office got inadvertently tripped up by one of his own media allies – and now he looks like just another tired cliche.

But the first question we should ask is, why is this guy still doing press interviews in the first place? Is it vanity? Are there rhetorical or other scores he feels the need to settle with real or imagined antagonists?

The former CIA operator left AARO in December after 18 months for a job more suited to his impulses, i.e., Chief Technology Officer for defense and intelligence programs at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He no doubt checked the “Exceeds Expectations” box of his year-end review by ignoring the really weird UFO cases and hyping the explainable ones, which nobody gives a shit about. And for good measure, he dropped a floater in the punchbowl on the way out with that “Historical Report,” which scrupulously avoided any mention of (among many other omissions) nuclear-base incursions and WMD tampering. And the Tic Tac incident, which rejuvenated the global UFO conversation in 2017? Forget about it, nowhere to be found in that masquerade of an official record.

But Kirkpatrick set the table for last week’s snafu by joining several round-table discussions – December 2022, October 2023, and last November – with oblivious and largely legacy-media homies who either didn’t know about or failed to ask what AARO’s position was on two of the most conspicuous and well-documented UFO cases this century.

And, um, what did the pilots say?

The most visually intriguing, of course, is the 2013 Aguadilla encounter, involving footage of transmedium UFO activity off Puerto Rico recorded by Customs and Border Protection. It was declassified by the Department of Homeland Security in 2023. More portentous, however, are the implications from a radar data harvest reaped by the 2008 Stephenville incident.

Eyewitness accounts of the spectacular UFO that buzzed the Texas cowtown 16 years ago rated international coverage, in no small part because FOIA action by Robert Powell forced the Air Force to reverse initial denials and admit that 10 F-16s from Carswell AFB were operating in the Stephenville region that night, per numerous folks on the ground. Plus, the unknown radar target (no transponder) was cruising like a dorsal fin for the no-fly zone around President Bush’s residence in Crawford some 70 miles southeast of Stephenville. Inexplicably, by time the bogey hit the perimeter, no jet fighters were in the area. But radar records did track a surveillance plane, likely an AWACS, keeping an eye on things at 41,000 feet by flying figure-8 patterns for nearly four hours.

During Bush’s presidency, at least three illegal breaches of restricted airspace over Crawford’s “western White House” made headlines, with private pilots being forced down by F-16s. According to FOIA-acquired FAA records, a total of nine violations occurred during Bush’s term, all from 2001-2005. Every violator was apprehended and cited. There is no mention of the 1/8/08 visitor from Stephenville in the data provided by the FAA. One also wonders: where was the air cover that confronted the other guilty interlopers? Given some hairy historical precedents about what can happen when combat aircraft mount aggressive responses to UFO activity, might there be some tacit military policy to back off in the absence of demonstrably hostile intent? That’d be one helluva story.

But during Kirkpatrick’s media Q&As, not a single reporter asked what the pilots or crew members who participated in Stephenville or Aguadilla incidents – reconstructed with federal data – had to say. Because nobody dared to mention either case in the first place.

A ‘UFO religion’ in the Pentagon

Enter New York Post reporter Steven Greenstreet.

Greenstreet is a tenacious journo on a mission. The UAP mystery insults his intelligence. He dismisses researchers as “true believers,” “spooky hustlers,” and “paranormal crusaders.” For the last few years, he’s been engaged in his own crusade to goad Congress into investigating the Pentagon’s credulous engagement with the UFO issue. He describes the $22 million for the Advanced Aerospace Weapon Systems Applications Program (AAWSAP) in 2007 as a “misappropriation of funds.” The focus of his obsession is Skinwalker Ranch, a nexus of reported UFO and other paranormal activity in Utah, where ongoing investigations are now five seasons deep into a History channel reality series.

Greenstreet is, in other words, the perfect vessel for Kirkpatrick. In the interview he dropped last week, Greenstreet virtue-signals by blaming “the UFO hysteria of the past six years” on the New York Times. He accuses the media of being asleep at the wheel for failing to appreciate the sketchy (at best) UFO history report released by AARO in March. He attempts to score points with Kirkpatrick by describing AARO detractors as zealots.

“A UFO religion has infiltrated the Pentagon,” Greenstreet declares after getting Kirkpatrick to characterize even receptive DoD colleagues as part of “a religion,” a religion that even threatens national security. “This seems like front page news,” Greenstreet adds, “but you won’t find it on the front pages of the American mainstream media, who mostly ignored Kirkpatrick’s AARO report and who continued to publish stories about aliens and UFOs.”

The media ignored AARO’s report with headlines like these: “Pentagon finds ‘no evidence’ of UFO technology in new UFO report” – NPR; “Pentagon study finds no evidence of alien life in reported UFO sightings going back decades” – Associated Press; “Pentagon report says most UFO sightings ‘ordinary objects’ and phenomena” – Reuters; “Pentagon says no evidence of UFO cover-up by U.S.” – NBC; “Alien, UFO mothership is not being hidden from you: Pentagon report” – USA Today; “Pentagon finds no evidence of alien visits, hidden spacecraft” – Washington Post; “Pentagon review finds no evidence of alien coverup” – New York Times. But to itemize Greenstreet’s myriad inaccuracies is beside the point.

Whoops . . .

Twenty-two minutes through the half-hour split-screen interview (see below) Greenstreet asks if SK had “any interest at all in UFOs” prior to his appointment to lead AARO in 2022. Kirkpatrick says not beyond the movies. “Before AARO, did you perform any duties regarding UFOs or paranormal phenomena?” SK says no. “Did you attend a 2018 Senate Armed Services Committee briefing on Skinwalker Ranch?”

Kirkpatrick gets this blank deer-in-the-headlights look like Trump did when asked six years ago if he knew anything about payoffs to Stormy Daniels. SK pauses, gaze climbing the walls, and says “Nnnno . . . I attended a briefing at the request of Senate Armed Services Committee on what was at that time associated with the AATIP/AAWSAP research that was going (on) as an independent outside, uh, reviewer, and I gave them my opinions at that time.”

Because that’s just what the Senate does – invite people who know nothing about a subject to share their uninformed opinions.

Kirkpatrick tries a little damage spin by clarifying “this was not a government briefing” and winds up sounding like Trump trying to explain why he did or didn’t favor Putin’s word over American intelligence at a summit in Helsinki. During Greenstreet’s trip to Skinwalker Ranch a few years ago, he explains to SK, ranch owner Brandon Fugal claimed he attended the very same SASC meeting — and Kirkpatrick was there too. Moreover, Fugal insisted, Kirkpatrick actually ran the meeting himself, informing attendees that he, Kirkpatrick, “was already fully aware of the reality of UFO phenomena.”

The dead end blues

Kirkpatrick denies leading the meeting, or making “aliens are real” statements. In a subsequent email exchange, SK tells Greenstreet “I did not know that it was about Skinwalker Ranch until later. I don’t recall it being referenced by that name during the briefing.” Greenstreet responds with slides from Fugal’s 2018 Power Point briefing, which feature logos that read “Confidential Briefing/Skinwalker Ranch/U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.” Kirkpatrick denies being in on that particular meeting – the one he attended, he assures Greenstreet, “was less polished.” Kirkpatrick doubles down by saying he didn’t, in fact, attend any such briefing on The Hill in 2018 – “I believe it would have been 2017.”

“I don’t recall ever meeting Fugal,” SK adds. “Maybe he’s confusing the two meetings.”

Fugal responds to Greenstreet’s followup email query with the exact date of the meeting – 19 April 2018 – along with assertions that he (Fugal) possesses photos, videos, and the names of every witness in the room. “This is all very confusing,” Greenstreet confesses at the end of his piece, “and at this point, I simply don’t know who to believe.”

Fugal settled matters last Thursday by releasing a photo (below) from the 2018 briefing – with Kirkpatrick staring into the camera.

On April 19, 2018, my team from Skinwalker Ranch was asked to provide a confidential briefing in Washington D.C. to the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence & United States Armed Services Committee. Sean Kirkpatrick was at the head of the table. It lasted 2.5 hrs. pic.twitter.com/1tkb9vnO5h

— Brandon Fugal (@BrandonFugal) May 9, 2024

Don’t expect Steven Greenstreet to go to the dark side – his dragonslayer shtick compelled him to bury the lead of this surprising interview with an intro that allowed Sean Kirkpatrick to proclaim his victimhood, once again, at the hands of UFO crazies. As for the former AARO boss, who could and should have disappeared quietly into shadowland five months ago, a little advice – if you’re actually enjoying this public figure gig, get better sparring partners than the stroke jobs who helped pave the road to this dead end.

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Skinwalker Transparency and Burden of Proof

The Uintah County Sheriff's Office (UCSO) issued a response to a records request that it shows no record or contact at the property popularly known as Skinwalker Ranch. Records are no longer kept on file that date earlier than 2007, the UCSO added in its response dated July 7. The request specifically sought all records cross-referencing or pertaining to Skinwalker Ranch, Sherman Ranch, Myers Ranch and/or the physical address of the property, which was provided in the request, with a date range of 1983 to present.

By Jack brewer The UFO Trail

The inquiry resulted from a June Twitter exchange with Brandon Fugal, in which the current ranch owner and television personality alluded to law enforcement responses to the property reportedly taking place during the 1980s. Following requests for citations, Fugal provided a link to an interview of an apparent former Uintah County Deputy Sheriff, Kris Porritt. I indicated I was interested in original law enforcement reports resulting from any such police responses, as compared to witness testimony. Fugal then provided me with the contact info of an associate he suggested I contact for further inquiry.

I subsequently had a series of email exchanges with the individual, who initially offered to speak by phone. I advised that I may not require that much of their time and attention, further explaining I was seeking either law enforcement records or information to assist me in submitting a request for such records. They clarified they do not have any police reports.

At my request, Fugal's associate helpfully provided additional information that would potentially support an effective records inquiry. It was after my email exchange with them that the request was submitted to the Uintah County Sheriff's Office. The person asked me to inform them of results, to which I agreed.

Saturday I emailed the individual a copy of the response from the UCSO and offered them an opportunity to comment for this blogpost. They responded that they respectfully do not wish to comment, nor do they give consent to use their name or any information they shared regarding the ranch. I opt to honor their request, curious as the circumstances may be.

The irony of the turn of events is rather striking, given Fugal's consistent claims of transparency, combined with the fact it was he who recommended in the first place I consult his associate concerning my search for law enforcement records. In the event you're wondering, the information shared with me was not shockingly damning by any means, but suffice it to say neither did it strongly support urban legends associated with police calls to Skinwalker Ranch.

It was after I provided both Fugal and his associate the UCSO response, and after I informed Fugal of aspects of the email exchange with his associate (in order to offer Fugal an opportunity to comment on the specific circumstances), that the individual - who initially offered to speak by phone - advised me of their request to neither be named nor quoted. We can only speculate exactly how that evolved.

Offered an opportunity to address the circumstances, Fugal responded in a long message that he spoke to his associate and indicated they are concerned I have a "clear negative bias." According to Fugal, they therefore do not want their name associated with an attempt to disparage witnesses. Fugal suggested he applauds what I do "relative to calling out people who are exploiting the phenomenon or spreading disinformation and lies," yet alternatively went on to state I give voice to people who hide behind a cloak of hypocritical skepticism or self-righteous critical thinking. Some, he stated, are clearly dishonest. He also stated he hopes I am honest and not a disinformation agent.

Fugal was obviously much less inhibited about commenting than the person who will remain nameless who he initially recommended I hit up for info. Directing our attention back to his original statements about law enforcement records, Fugal stated the lack of corroborating records "doesn't make the fact that [Porritt] went on record regarding the multiple events that occurred and his relationship with Ken Myers any less real or true. For instance, I have closed billions of dollars of transactions going back to 1991, but in countless cases couldn't give you the exact dates of groundbreaking events, transactions closing or key meetings with leaders structuring some of the most important business deals in the Intermountain West. My testimony and track record stands."

I'll let the reader decide the tenability of the argument. Fugal further asserted they have interviewed other law enforcement professionals who "recall responding to incidents in the area" that predate the Sherman and Bigelow era.

"Furthermore," Fugal continued, "we have an interview with a respected professional who had a firsthand experience coming on to the ranch in 1984, who did provide exact dates, who happened upon a freshly surgically dissected cow in the same area on the property that other strange incidents have occurred in the field just south of Homestead 1."

The apparent respected professional and an accompanying friend were so disturbed, Fugal continued, they promptly reported the circumstances to law enforcement. Fugal hopes to obtain permission to release the account to the public, along with what he described as additional witness testimony, seemingly either ignoring or oblivious to the relative lack of value such material has to a more discerning research community not under the ether of Skinwalker lore.

Similarly, Fugal explained how a member of his security detail interviewed many retired officers who attest to strange and disturbing activity. Their accounts go back many decades, he contends.

"Since I know you have a tendency to give weight and voice to the criticism of people with no credibility or credentials, I encourage you to continue to interact with people who actually know what they are talking about. My professional track record and history is unimpeachable, as is the case with my principal investigator/physicist, ranch manager, law enforcement & superintendent."

Fugal's remark about me giving a voice to criticism may be related to my willingness to explore the arguments of those which include James Carrion. Fugal has previously expressed disappointment to me specifically about my interest in Carrion's perspectives. I identify Carrion's criticism of the Skinwalker saga and television series as worthy of consideration, particularly in the context of Fugal's persistent suggestions the show portrays legitimate scientific study. Related posts may be found at Carrion's blog in addition to the example linked above.

What would Fugal say to people who might feel he is attempting to stack the deck by suggesting he has documentation of law enforcement responses while no actual records of such responses, or what was originally recorded in them, is available?

"Transcribed interviews & testimony from former law enforcement stating they responded to incidents on the ranch in the mid-1980s constitutes documentation. We have verified that the people involved and cited were indeed acting in that capacity during that timeframe and have no reason to doubt their testimony or credibility. Although you were unable to obtain the actual records from the Sheriff’s office from that time period, you cannot say that the events did not occur."

Fugal directly denied he is trying to stack the deck, continuing, "My own firsthand experience (with multiple witnesses) coupled with countless events with data involving 3rd party experts has proven (so far) there is no conventional, prosaic explanation for past & present extraordinary events at Skinwalker Ranch. I respectfully request that you take a balanced view and appreciate you giving me the opportunity to respond & address your questions."

There are a number of people in addition to James Carrion who challenge several aspects of Brandon Fugal's stated positions, and one of those people is Erica Lukes. The outspoken host of UFO Classified understands the winding Skinwalker saga and personally knows the players about as well as anybody who rolls the UFO dice.

"When bold claims are made about a particular location having an excessive number of paranormal phenomena, the expectation for me is that they are not just narrative tall tales but are well-documented, testable events," Lukes responded. "Can the anomalous nature of these events be demonstrated beyond 'they came without warning and left without warning' that we always seem to get in such reporting?

"If they can’t rise above the usual level of narrative story-telling, there is a presumption that errors can be introduced into the events. After all, the usual method of relating the details is done verbally from the mouths of human beings, a notoriously flawed means of recording transient events. It’s a mistake to accept verbal testimony at face value without extensive testing of that information by means of questions designed to assess the accuracy and consistency of the related information."

Some people don't see the issue as a matter of verifying claims, but suggest those who do not unquestioningly embrace the stories must be calling the supporters of those stories frauds. What would she say to them?

"No, not frauds, at least initially," Lukes explained. "Fraud comes from deliberate intent to deceive. Supporters of the claims can simply be accepting bad information by not exercising due diligence at considering all the more possible mundane explanations before opting towards the unusual, sensational ones."

What does Lukes think is most important for people to keep in mind when considering claims associated with the ranch?

"It's critical to understand that as with any extraordinary assertions, the burden of proof is on those making the assertions and not on those raising questions about them. That is real science."

Conclusions

The lack of significant documentation of sensational Skinwalker claims continues to haunt the saga worse than a hitchhiking bipedal wolf. While a valid argument can be made that a lack of UCSO records does not completely negate the testimony of Porritt, the fact remains law enforcement visits to the ranch cannot be verified. More importantly, the extent anyone may have originally perceived the events as extraordinary cannot be verified. We are unable to examine descriptions of events and the interpretations of those involved as may have been entered into original police reports. This does not allow us to compare those reports to the possibly dramatic narrations recorded decades later for an entertainment-based television show. It seems the UFO subculture indeed often needs to be reminded the burden of proof is on the claimant.

As observable in various internet spaces, a concerning aspect of the online Skinwalker fan base and cast is their tendency to sensationalize until checked. They then encourage more patience for ongoing investigations, as if they have not been suggesting all along a supernatural presence is a foregone conclusion. They are promoting conclusions; many of them only deny it and urge suspension of judgment when called on it.

Investigations, by definition, must include systematic examination. That is particularly the case if framed as scientific activity.

One might get the idea the faithful would never tap the brakes if their claims went entirely unchallenged. When challenged, a typical response is to act as if a request for proportionate evidence is unreasonable, as if anything less than extending limitless patience and unquestioning belief is a disrespectful personal attack. All of this without so much as forming a hypothesis, identifying a sustained research objective, or proposing how progress will be measured. We're in for a long wait under such conditions.

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See Also:

	SKINWALKER RANCH: Original Owner/Family Member Sets The Record Straight
	SKINWALKER RANCH – Where There's Smoke, There's Mirrors
	Skinwalker Ranch Owner, Brandon Fugal Responds To Contrary Analysis of Paranormal Activity

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Caught Between Area 51 and a Gaslighting Billionaire

The term gaslighting means to manipulate someone by psychological means so they question their own sanity. Gaslighting is a form of psychological abuse for the purpose of control. Not just the individual but also the masses can be gaslit into believing that which is blatantly red, is white, or what is down is up, or what is plainly observed - never happened. This is not a possible Orwellian dystopian future – it is happening now. We live in a world of “alternative” facts, where truth itself has become subjective, forcing us to constantly ask ourselves - is

By James Carrion The UFO Chronicles 8-2-22

this real or does someone want us to believe it is real? Between foreign adversaries pushing disinformation on social media or domestic politicians manufacturing culture wars, or the entertainment media constantly feeding us fiction as fact; we find ourselves in the fight of our lives – not a physical brawl – but an all-out information warfare throw-down.

Each of these manipulators has an agenda for terraforming our reality. Adversaries and politicians seek to divide us, and the media companies look to reap mass viewership. But what if the manipulator is our own National Security apparatus and the manipulation is in the name of “freedom”? We can look at similar abuses in the past to understand that the ends don’t always justify the means. The Church Committee final report established that “Intelligence agencies have undermined the constitutional rights of citizens, primarily because checks and balances designed by the framers of the Constitution to assure accountability have not been applied.”

One example of such abuse is the very sad story of Paul Bennewitz, who was manipulated by Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) agent Richard Doty and UFO researcher William Moore into believing something about UFOs that was not real, contributing to Bennewitz’s mental breakdown. In Doty’s case, this was allegedly done in the name of National Security, and in Moore’s case, allegedly in the name of cultivating inside UFO sources. You can read all about it in Greg Bishop’s book: Project Beta: The Story of Paul Bennewitz, National Security, and the Creation of a Modern UFO Myth

But have you heard about the sad manipulation tale of Joseph Junior Hicks?

Junior was the co-author along with Dr. Frank Salisbury of The Utah UFO Display, a book that documented the numerous UFO sightings in Utah’s Uintah basin. A Jr./High School science teacher for 33 years, primarily teaching the local Ute tribe children, Junior began collecting close-encounter UFO stories from the local community where he had lived all his life. A confidant who never ridiculed anyone, Junior faithfully recorded, without judgement, what Uintah basin citizens recounted of their encounters with the other worldly.

I met Junior Hicks in 2009 when visiting the Uintah basin, at the invitation of Dr. Salisbury who was updating his co-authored book, and together we visited the neighbors that bordered the Skinwalker Ranch (SWR). This, after Billionaire Robert Bigelow, the then SWR owner, refused our request to visit the ranch itself. Those precious days spent with Dr. Salisbury and Junior had an enormous impact on me and directly led me to break ties with both Bigelow and MUFON over what I perceived to be manufactured manipulations of the UFO subculture. I wrote about my decision and reasoning in 2011 in this blog post Hunting the Skinwalker: Note that as Junior had told me in confidence, I did not reveal his name and called him “Brad” in the 2011 post.

At that time, Junior told me about his work on SWR, but what really piqued my interest was him recounting that after a cow was mutilated on the SWR property, strange metal rods were found nearby. Junior said that he was told by a NIDs scientist who happened to work at Area 51 (pay attention as this will be important later) that the rods were made of Element 115. If you are asking yourself, what is Element 115, then Google the Bob Lazar story and the bogus claims he made of allegedly working at S-4 (Area 51) and tales of reversed-engineered alien spacecraft. You can also read about it on this blog post I posted back in 2020:

But it was only after getting into a “who’s really telling the truth” contest with current SWR owner Brandon Fugal as told here that I began to fear that Fugal was trying to whitewash the SWR with a revisionist paranormal “forever” history.

Perhaps, in Fugal’s case, telling an unsubstantiated tale that SWR is “special” in the Uintah basin would justify for paid subscribers their access to the paywall/merchandise-hawking “Skinwalker Ranch Insider” site. Fortunately, the paywall has a free 7-day trial and so I subscribed to access the “exclusive” content that a “transparency” loving multimillionaire, for some reason just can’t make available free of charge.

On the site are seven video interviews with Junior Hicks from the year before he passed away on June 7, 2020, at the age of 92. I found two things enlightening about these video interviews. First, Junior discussed his interactions with former SWR owners Terry and Gwen Sherman and Robert Bigelow and present owner Fugal but did not once talk about any interactions with the Myers family who leased/owned SWR from 1934-1994.

Let’s put this first point into context. Junior lived his whole life in the Uintah basin, having been born in Cedarview, Utah on June 19, 1927. He was the UFO guy of the basin, the go-to confidant for anyone who had a UFO tale to tell. Junior collected over 400 close encounter cases during his decades in the Uintah basin, but somehow the X that marked the spot of paranormal central which the revisionists want you to believe is Skinwalker ranch is not the focus of his co-authored book. Junior’s time on the ranch can be only traced back to when after the Shermans bought it.

So, Fugal’s charm offensive at trying to prove a “decades” long paranormal history of the ranch fizzles because it simply can’t be substantiated, at least not by the guy who would know best – Junior Hicks. But that’s not even the focus of this story.

Second, Junior provided much more detail on the metal rods than he revealed in 2009. Let’s get back to Element 115 and why that is important.

When Junior told me the story in 2009, he called the scientist who gave him this information, a “NIDS scientist who worked at Area 51”. The video interviews elaborate:

The Rods:

As Junior recounted in the interview, the Shermans were raising hybrid cows on SWR. Terry Sherman asked Junior to come out one day to investigate a recent cattle mutilation on the ranch. Junior brought his daughter along on the mute investigation.

Before arriving at the ranch, Junior received a phone call from a scientist out at area 51, who told Junior of some of the things happening at the ranch and that there could be a portal that could open in the ground, warning Junior to be careful. The scientist told Junior to bring a compass along and to monitor the compass. If the compass needle froze in place, Junior needed to leave quickly because something was about to happen that would cause him harm and if it occurred where he was standing, he may not come back.

Junior examined the mute, and on his way back to the truck, the compass needle started rotating around and then stopped and got stuck. Junior told his daughter to run to the truck.

Later, Terry Sherman, when examining the mute, found a 6 inch long, 1 inch diameter metal rod on the ground that was heavy, and he put in his pocket. Junior returned to SWR the next day and Terry showed Junior the rod. Terry tried to whittle the rod with his pocketknife to no avail and tried to hit it with a hammer but all it did was nick the hammer and the anvil. Terry heated the rod with a torch, and after taking the torch away, the rod would become cold again. Terry called Bigelow and Bigelow flew out on his private plane. There were three scientists there at the same time and Bigelow took the rod to be analyzed.

Bigelow came back after a few days and Junior asked if the rod had been analyzed. Bigelow responded that it was a part from an old-fashioned battery. Junior told Bigelow he didn’t believe that because a battery part could be whittled. Bigelow responded that he didn’t want people to get excited about it (apparently to explain why he lied).

Then Bigelow lined up all the scientists in a line on their hands and knees, to crawl across the pasture to see what else they could find in the direction of the mute. Five more rods were found in the search, with three of them shorter than the rest (about 3 inches long and the diameter of a pencil).

Junior later asked Bigelow if these newly found rods had been analyzed and Bigelow said they were parts from an old searchlight used during WW2 to spot aircraft. Junior just happened to have a friend that had one of these old spotlights and he confirmed it could not have come from that. Junior went back to Bigelow and said that’s not the answer. Bigelow said we will have it analyzed for sure, but we don’t want a lot of people to know about it.

In the meantime, Junior got another call from the Area 51 scientist who told Junior that the rod that had been found was called Element 115 and that it was the power source for the UFOs.

Bigelow wanted to borrow Junior’s case files and compare them to cases from the ranch. Bigelow picked out 30 that he thought were like NID’s files. Junior thought Bigelow was covering up what was going on at the ranch and he (Bigelow) didn’t want anyone else to see what was going on. Junior also said he thought that the scientist at area 51 knew more perhaps than Bigelow did.

Every time Bigelow came to the ranch from Las Vegas, he would take Junior to dinner to discuss the ranch. Junior told Bigelow the rods were element 115 and powered the craft and when they were depleted of their power, they were ejected from the craft. Bigelow was skeptical and said he didn’t know anything about that. The rods then disappeared but Terry Sherman had taken a picture of the first rod and Junior still had the photo.

Bigelow told Junior that he had positive proof that there was an underground base under the ranch, but the base was now abandoned. What is left is just paranormal activity in the absence of the UFO drivers. Junior believes the paranormal and the UFOs are connected. Junior himself hadn’t witnessed himself much at all. Junior also said he had never signed an NDA.

Gaslight Pilot

So here is what I find intriguing in Junior’s video interviews. First, that Junior had an alleged inside source at Area 51 who was feeding him information about the ranch. Information that Junior would then relay to Bigelow. Yet, in 2009 he called this source a “NIDS scientist” who happened to work at Area 51. So, I was surprised to learn that Junior considered this unnamed scientist to be independent of Bigelow and who allegedly knew more than Bigelow about what was going on.

Second, Bigelow can’t stop gaslighting Junior on the rods. First, they are a car battery part, then parts from an old WW2 searchlight, then they disappear altogether. Meanwhile the alleged NID’s/Area 51 scientist is telling Junior exactly what they are – a non-existent at the time Element 115. To add psychological insult to injury, Bigelow then tells Junior about the definitive underground alien base under the ranch.

Third, much to my surprise, Junior had not signed an NDA. I would venture probably the only person ever to be affiliated with Bigelow not to have signed one. So, when Junior told me in 2009 in confidence about the NIDS scientist and Element 115, I assumed he was doing so because he was under NDA, but it turned out he was not. Evidently, Bigelow did not mind at all who Junior was talking to.

What kind of game was being played here?

Whatever the “play” was, it appears that the thrust of it was to convince Junior of the bogus Bob Lazar story as having some basis in fact. Whether to simply add on to the UFO folklore pile or as part of a counter-intelligence campaign to obfuscate the real down-to-earth high-tech aircraft that Area 51 was harboring, the alien mythology of both Area 51 and SWR were being shoved down Junior’s throat in a good-cop (the transparent Area 51 scientist) / bad cop (gaslighting, secretive, concealing Bigelow) back and forth, aimed at manipulating Junior’s beliefs in the process.

So, in the end, how did this affect Joseph Junior Hicks? Unlike Paul Bennewitz who already suffered from a mental illness that Doty/Moore helped nudge over the edge, Junior was too centered, honest and sure of himself to cause any real psychological damage. But the intent was to manipulate his beliefs and from that perspective it succeeded - an abuse perpetrated on an honest American.

And therein lies the problem. How many thousands of Joseph Junior Hicks have had their beliefs similarly psychologically manipulated in the process by forces who believe the ends justify the means? These are the central questions that must be honestly examined and answered by the UFO fact-finding mission that Congress suddenly finds itself on. A reckoning is long overdue.

VISIT JAMES BLOG ►

See Also:

	Goodbye Ufology, Hello Truth
	UFOs: Distinguishing Fact from Opinion
	UFO Perceptions

REPORT YOUR UFO EXPERIENCE

SKINWALKER RANCH – Where There's Smoke, There's Mirrors

In the natural world, where there’s smoke there’s normally fire. But in the world of the paranormal, filled with extraordinary claims of UFOs, poltergeists, demons, and other weird phenomena: where there’s smoke, there’s often only mirrors. These mirrors only serve one purpose: to focus your gaze on a shiny new extraordinary claim that makes you exclaim Wow! Ooh! or Ah! Meanwhile, the claimant hopes that with your attention on the novelty and the mystery of the claim, you won’t notice that the corroborating data is non-existent, made up, or baselessly correlated as proof.

By James Carrion The UFO Chronicles 12-4-21

Most TV shows making extraordinary claims are clearly just about the entertainment value, but now we have a TV series that is alleging true science investigation of their high strangeness stories. Factor in that the series will still live or die based on viewer ratings, and it now has the basic ingredients for a pseudoscientific menagerie that can be best described as “science gone wild”. This in a nutshell is the 18-episode-two-season self-proclaimed “scientific docuseries” known as The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch.

From the very first episode, unsubstantiated assertions are flung at the viewer, starting with the biggest whopper of all, that “Skinwalker Ranch has been a center of UFO and paranormal activity for 200 years.” Never mind that the paranormal tales of the ranch can only be traced back to when the Sherman family moved on the ranch in 1994.

Or that the ranch is “downwind” from nuclear testing in Nevada, with ranch crewmember Thomas Winterton baselessly stating that “the Uintah Basin was a hot spot for the downwind” radiation and that “some of the highest concentrations measured were just 30 miles from here.”

This is at odds with what is reported officially here. with the southern part of the state getting the highest nuclear fallout readings from the 100 nuclear tests conducted at the Nevada Test Site.

Downwinders, those exposed to nuclear testing fallout, can be compensated via the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA), if they live within one of the Utah affected areas as shown on this map. Note that the Skinwalker Ranch in Uintah County, in Northeast Utah, is not included.

I am not proposing that Uintah County received zero radiation from the prolific Nevada nuclear testing, but the true downwind hot spot is the southern part of Utah. By failing to accurately state this, the series starts off on the wrong scientific foot.

The ranch is likely affected by one known environmental source of ionizing radiation. This article describes how although Utah has one of the lowest smoking rates in the country, it has a high incident rate of lung cancer, most likely due to Radon exposure. Uintah County is one of seven counties in the state with the highest Radon concentrations. Now, Radon gas may kill you after years of exposure, but it is not going to suddenly strike you down like a lightning bolt nor cause the strange manifestations allegedly occurring on the ranch.

Yet, despite there being no real reason to bring up the radiation angle to begin with, Dr. Travis Taylor describes in the first episode how radiation exposure could cause people to have strange symptoms including hallucinations and then suggests digging a hole for radiation measuring. It is at this juncture that science gets reality checked by the paranormal.

Because of the ranch lore that digging on the ranch causes bad things to happen, Taylor’s idea is shot down. Exhibit A is Thomas Winterton who allegedly experienced a life threatening and strange brain injury after digging on the ranch. Exhibit B is Dr. Travis Taylor himself who in a later episode claims he received a high dosage of ionizing radiation that caused immediate medical effects to his body, not while digging, but taking a cover off a cistern.

So, despite showing no direct repeated observations that digging on the ranch causes bodily harm, the “no digging” theme is emphasized until it falls way to “cautious digging”. And when the digging finally does occur with a drill rig going to depths of 100 feet, no discernable bodily injuries occur. This is unscientifically explained away as the ranch choosing the time and place when it decides to mete out human punishment for daring to disturb its dirt.

Another example of paranormal lore taking a front seat to science is the unsubstantiated statement that exposing the ranch to new people triggers strange stuff to happen. This is tested by a constant influx of experts brought on to the ranch including radiological surveyors, thermal imaging surveyors, rocketeers, soil resistivity and ground penetrating radar experts, LIDAR and laser experts, magnetometer surveyors, veterinarians, a petroglyph expert, an oncologist, and a tesla coil expert. To supplement the technical experts, a Ute tribal elder and a Jewish Rabbi are brought in.

Also paraded on to the ranch are Uintah basin UFO investigator Junior Hicks’ family, an extended member of the Sherman family, as well as others who claimed to have had firsthand high strangeness experiences on the ranch. Finally, paranormal investigator Ryan Skinner (Mormons are anti-UFO) and investigative journalist Linda Moulton Howe (she of a 1000 unsubstantiated claims) show up for good measure of “science”.

Despite this constant influx of new human subjects, not to mention “biosensors” in the form of a new herd of cattle and a couple of alpacas, no interdimensional portals open up, no monsters crawl out, no cattle are mutilated, no metal rods materialize unexpectedly, and no dogs get evaporated into gooey puddles within the two-year period that the series is filmed – roughly the same length of time that the Shermans lived on the ranch. Ditto for the three-year period that Brandon Fugal owned the ranch prior to TV cameras setting foot on the property.

What takes the place of the very high strangeness as documented in the George Knapp/Colm Kelleher book Hunt for the Skinwalker are very unimpressive blobs of light in the sky, strange lights on the mesa, cattle running scared, alpacas being attacked by “some animal”, suddenly discharged batteries, cell phones randomly acting strange (inexplicably called hacking) and a myriad of geiger counters, trifield meters, lightning detectors and other instrumentation recording “crazy” anomalous readings while beeping away for the cameras. In other words, the ranch showed its most impressive side from 1994-2016 and for the last five years appears to be hibernating in low-activity mode. Perhaps at season 3 or 9, it will rear its paranormal nastiness back to bio-level 5 once again.

The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch is part Jurassic Park (we spare no expense), part Ghostbusters (anomaly detectors at the ready), part Paranormal Activity (cameras pointing in every direction), part The Keep (strange room keeping something in), mixed in with what seems to be every sci-fi/horror movie theme known (aliens, werewolves, bad spirit tricksters, mysterious energy sources and time-space warps).

When science can’t explain the bad things that the ranch may conjure up, and the armed guards carrying AR-15s and shotguns appear to be the most skittish and fearful of the group, then it’s probably best to throw in a Mormon prayer, a native American blessing, and a Jewish rabbi’s chant for added protection, as seen in later episodes.

Is it entertaining? Absolutely! Is it science? Not in the least. It has taken on the mantle of science but without following the scientific method of coming up with hypothetical explanations for what has been directly observed, instead relying on past unsubstantiated observations. This reverse logic is seen throughout the series as we are reminded of the high strangeness that Native American lore, the Sherman family, and the Bigelow NIDS and BAASS studies allegedly observed on the ranch and using these stories as the basis for formulating hypotheses. When a blob of light is seen in the sky, and ground instrumentation pick up anomalous energy readings, the narrative immediately turns to underground alien bases and interdimensional portals.

It takes this reverse approach by “poking the hornet’s nest” to see what can be observed, without first defining what the hornet’s nest is or even why it’s being poked to begin with. If the poking results in something that seems to confirm the past unsubstantiated observations, that is presented as proof of a correct “scientific” approach. It is upon these unsubstantiated past and not current direct observations that predictions and experiments are conducted.

This can be seen when Dr. Travis Taylor proposes that the sum of all the observed strange phenomenon can be explained by a wormhole bending time and space, without first considering other more mundane and less exotic possibilities. It is the deductive equivalent of the ancients dropping a virgin into a volcano to appease the gods, hoping to ward off a drought, failed crops, and a famine. If the drought never comes, then it must have been that human sacrifice that was the cause to the effect.

The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch is a never-ending paranormal roller coaster ride of uncorrelated observations to prove preconceived beliefs about a place whose best thrills are long past their heyday. In one of the most memorable lines from the series, as the Skinwalker crew towers above a dead cow that per a local veterinarian died of natural causes, but somehow still manages to get a paranormal explanation, Dr. Travis Taylor exclaims: “It’s just dead." "It’s hard to kill a cow.”

And I predict that this cow of a series will be just as difficult to kill off and will be with us for some time. Perhaps, even as many seasons as The Curse of Oak Island where I fully expect the Lagina brothers to pop through to China in season 20, or perhaps as many seasons as Ancient Aliens, with its incessant faux history lessons.

If you are open-minded and curious about the paranormal, yet long for real science to solve the mystery of what’s really going on in the Uintah Basin, you will probably feel exasperated by The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch. If science is not your thing and you are only here for the thrills, then hang on and enjoy the ride.

Avi Loeb, if you are reading this, we are sending out to you a science SOS! Please rescue us from this televised land of science ignorance and smoke and mirrors.

VISIT JAMES' SITE ►

See Also:

Skinwalker Ranch Owner, Brandon Fugal Responds To Contrary Analysis of Paranormal Activity

Claims of Paranormal Activity at Skinwalker Ranch, Campfire Tales?

	SKINWALKER RANCH: Original Owner/Family Member Sets The Record Straight
	History Channel's, The Secret of The Skinwalker Ranch Reviewed
	Hunt for the Skinwalker & The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Connection

REPORT YOUR UFO EXPERIENCE

Skinwalker Ranch Owner, Brandon Fugal Responds To Contrary Analysis of Paranormal Activity

Editor’s Note: Researcher, writer, author, former International Director of MUFON and longtime contributor here at TUFOC, James Carrion recently got into lively debate re alleged paranormal activities at the Skinwalker Ranch, with a SWR researcher, et al on Twitter. This precipitated an article by James and prior to its publication and in fairness, he reached out to Brandon Fugal, the current owner of the ranch and a producer of History Channel’s, The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch for his input. The latter has repeatedly declared that the docuseries is focused on the current scientific investigation of alleged paranormal activities at the ranch, and is resolute in his position that the supernatural is indeed occurring there. Alternatively, Carrion has personally been involved with research re The Skinwalker Ranch since (at least) 2009 and has written about it extensively—concluding that the alleged paranormal activity is simply not happening.

Given that TUFOC is a home for James’ penscript, and as usual, we published the article in question, I felt it only fair that we publish Mr. Fugal’s responses via the email exchange with James (Initially posted at James’ site) and he graciously granted permission. (See below)—FW.

JC: Hi Brandon, Before I publish the attached article on my blog, I am extending to you the courtesy of reviewing it and correcting any mistakes, for the record. Regards, James BF: James:

By Brandon Fugal & James Carrion The UFO Chronicles 11-23/24-21

I appreciate the opportunity to respond and provide clarification and correction. I do not understand why you are trying to provoke contention or disagreement. I invited you in open public forum to come meet with me and visit the ranch, and I have responded to your statements and concerns with facts and respectful dialogue.

I am relying on living, first-hand witnesses to strange activity on the ranch pre-dating the Shermans. This also includes members of the Locke family, and visitors to the ranch in the early 1980s, that have requested that I not involve them. You are calling Kris Porritt, Gwen Sherman, Junior Hicks and anyone else that has stepped forward with an account that contradicts Garth Myers a liar. Why are you doing this?

Can you please help me understand why you are trying to be adversarial, and cast me in a negative light? I am eager to resolve your concerns and provide you further information and perspective.

Best,

Brandon Fugal

JC: Brandon,

I am not sure why you perceive this as adversarial. I am a truth seeker like you and in the end, it is the truth that matters. I am not accusing anyone of lying but showing that their versions of events are not the only ones. You can help clarify the truth by making public Hicks’ video interviews.

If the Skinwalker Ranch has real activity that can be scientifically investigated, then why would the paranormal history of the ranch need to be proven?

Dr. Garth Myers, Dr. Frank Salisbury and Junior Hicks deserve to have their reputations defended. Surely you can understand that.

Regards, James

BF: James:

You claim to be a truth seeker, yet you dismiss the testimony of many people, including law enforcement, which calls into serious question the narrative you keep pushing. That’s not truth seeking, that’s confirmation bias.

I do not understand why you would want to continue to illuminate the fact that the testimony of one person who is no longer living contradicts the testimony of several that are living (including recent testimony from the co-author of the very book you continue to cite), with first-hand experiences.

You bring up a good point, in that the history of the ranch really has little impact on the legitimacy of our current investigation, or the reality of what we have been documenting. But that data may be important, in that demonstrates a potential pattern. In reference to Junior Hicks and his testimony, we had Ward Hicks (Junior’s son, who is current faculty with BYU-Idaho, and well respected) ask Junior directly on May 22, 2020 (two weeks before he died) whether there were accounts of UFO activity and strange cattle mutilations on the ranch during Myers ownership. Ward replied in writing the following day on May 23rd stating, “I talked with Dad tonight and he remembered the Myers, and he said yes there were episodes when Myers were on that place”.

Have you watched my docuseries? I am a truth seeker. I have a proven track record. I have never defaulted on anything in my life, and after closing thousands of significant transactions, I have never been sued. I currently represent billions of dollars in projects, including Fortune 500 companies, significant institutions and entities throughout both the public and sector.

I acquired the ranch as a skeptic, and had even funded past ventures requiring scientific rigor, discipline and resources to investigate extraordinary claims, and ultimately disproved them. Based on that experience, I truly did think there was a 95% chance that anything unusual reported regarding Skinwalker Ranch had a natural, prosaic explanation. I also believed that it had been most likely an adult scientific snipe hunt of sorts. The data and evidence collected under my stewardship proves otherwise.

What does the data relative to your history in this arena illustrate? Should I investigate that, since you seem to insist on attacking me and questioning my integrity and those involved with my scientific investigation? You also attack and call into question the professionalism and integrity of the scientists and researchers involved in my investigation, which I have a serious problem with. Calling them “pseudoscientists” is not only inaccurate, it’s libel.

JC: Brandon,

I haven’t dismissed anyone’s testimony, I simply pointed out the discrepancies.

I am not sure why you believe this is an attack on you personally, as it is not. It is a fact, that you came out and publicly called Garth Myers a liar and based that on what others have said. You don’t know for certain Garth was lying. You just believe the conflicting voices are the ones telling you the truth. The fact they are still breathing doesn’t make their voices more credible.

As to whether pseudoscience or science is being pursued on the ranch, so far you have only cited people’s credentials as proof of sound science. If the current Theranos trial shows us anything, it is that having many credentialed people on staff, does not establish that science is being pursued.

I am not sure why you are pursuing investigations on the ranch in the manner that you are. Perhaps once you have published your data and others in the wider scientific community have had a chance to review the data, it will all make sense.

Regards, James

VISIT JAMES' SITE ►

SEE THE HISTORY CHANNEL'S, THE SECRET OF SKINWALKER RANCH ►

See Also:

Claims of Paranormal Activity at Skinwalker Ranch, Campfire Tales?

	SKINWALKER RANCH: Original Owner/Family Member Sets The Record Straight
	History Channel's, The Secret of The Skinwalker Ranch Reviewed
	Hunt for the Skinwalker & The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Connection

REPORT YOUR UFO EXPERIENCE