Now in the military all commitments to do something carry an almost standard time factor.  “I’ll expedite it,” means nothing will happen for at least two weeks.  “I’ll do it right away,” means from a month to six weeks.  An answer like, “I’ll see what I can work out,” requires writing a memo that explains what the person was going to see if he could work out and sealing it in a time capsule for preservation so that when the answer finally does come through the future generation that receives it will know how it all started.  But I underestimated the efficiency of the Air Defense Command.  Inside of two weeks General Burgess had called General Garland, they’d discussed the problem, and I was back in Colorado Springs setting up a program with Colonel White’s 4602nd.

The 4602nd’s primary function is to interrogate captured enemy airmen during wartime; in peacetime all that they can do is participate in simulated problems.  Investigating UFO reports would supplement these problems and add a factor of realism that would be invaluable in their training.  The 4602nd had field teams spread out all over the United States, and these teams could travel anywhere by airplane, helicopter, canoe, jeep, or skis on a minute’s notice.  The field teams had already established a working contact with the highway patrols, sheriffs’ offices, police, and the other military in their respective areas, so they were in an excellent position to collect facts about a UFO report.  Each member of the field teams had been especially chosen and trained in the art of interrogation, and each team had a technical specialist.  We couldn’t have asked for a better ally.

Project Blue Book was once more back in business.  Until the formal paper work went through, our plan was that whenever a UFO report worth investigating came in we would call the 4602nd and they would get a team out right away.  The team would make a thorough investigation and wire us their report.  If the answer came back “Unknown,” we would study the details of the sighting and, with the help of Project Bear, try to find the answer.

A few weeks after the final plans had been made with the 4602nd, I again bade farewell to Project Blue Book.  In a simple ceremony on the poop deck of one of the flying saucers that I frequently have been accused of capturing, before a formation of the three-foot-tall green men that I have equally as frequently been accused of keeping prisoner, I turned my command over to Al/c Max Futch and walked out the door into civilian life with separation orders in hand.

The UFO’s must have known that I was leaving because the day I found out that officers with my specialty, technical intelligence, were no longer on the critical list and that I could soon get out of the service, they really put on a show.  The show they put on is still the best UFO report in the Air Force files.