UFO's and Nukes
Sorry I wasn’t able to attend the session on this topic, as I had intended to comment. Over a 33-year career with a robotics and remote-handling systems manufacturer, I visited most Department of Energy (DoE) National Laboratories and Weapons Program sites. I also worked at Argonne National Laboratory in the early 1970s and for a Nuclear Navy prime contractor in the mid-to-late 1970s.
Throughout that entire period, the only discussion I ever heard about UFOs or UAPs related to the DoE sites came from local media. Two examples stand out: Sometime in the summer of 73' (if I recall correctly) a Illinois State Highway Patrol Officer reported that he saw a UFO hovering over a highway near Argonne in the Chicago area, then reported by local radio media, and in the early 1990s, local media in Washington State’s Tri-Cities reported a crop circle near Kennewick, close to the Hanford Site. I knew many people at both locations and heard nothing from them—no comments, not even joking.
The most substantive conversation I ever had came from a coworker who had been a Navy Nuclear Submariner. He described their detecting high-speed underwater “somethings.” When I asked if they were Russian Subs, he said they were not submarines. I asked whether they could be whales misidentified due to acoustic phenomena; he said no, noting that whales don’t travel at 40–60 miles per hour and there were no acoustic issues. When I asked how often this occurred, he said “often enough.” That was all he knew—or was willing to say.
Overall, personnel at DOE national labs and weapons sites such as Pantex, Sandia, LANL TA-55, and (before its closure) Rocky Flats were completely closed-mouthed on the subject. The conversation with the submarine veteran was the most I ever heard, and even that was limited. I’ll never know whether they had heard of similar events, had been coached to remain silent, or simply had no interest in the topic. Wish I had more after over 30 years, but, that is it during my time working with DoE sites and discussion with Naval Nuclear persons.
Very Interesting, good to know and thank you for sharing. My cousin over at the pentagon, airforce, she said they joke about alien topics in the hallways and have their co-worker conversations- I once updated her on some weird alien dream stuff and she said with what she hears in the hallways, anything is possible. Knowing the culture behind the scenes of these facilities is good, as well as how much do people actually hear and know. Interesting how popular the ufo/nuclear activity stories are, yet seems the stories go silent behind the walls. The ocean and nuclear facilities seem to have the most consistent participation in story references.