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	Area 51


	- Area 51 expert Glenn Campbell discusses the secret base. Glenn Campbell - devoted many years to the investigation of UFOs, especially relating to Area 51.	Aerial photo of Area 51 taken on July 24th 2003.
	Click Play to listen: Glenn Campbell compares a "Black World" with a "free" world.	The mail boxes made famous by Bob Lazar when he stated that they were a good location for observing objects flown from Area 51.
	In the aftermath of the 2nd World War the U.S. in realisation that its intelligence gathering capabilities had been, historically, sadly lacking and the perceived threat from the Soviet Union, President Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947. This act set up the National Security Council and the Central Intelligence Agency (C.I.A.) and was followed in 1949 by the CIA Act which determined that the CIA's activities and budget would be classified and also stipulated that any other government agency could transfer funds to the CIA - without regard to any provisions of the law. The CIA Act also decreed that if any of its activities were exposed, the U.S. Government could "plausibly deny" any responsibility for the CIA 's actions. In the bid to improve methods of gathering "intelligence" regarding the military activity of the Soviets, Major John Seaberg, an aerospace development engineer at Wright Patterson AFB, conceived the idea of a very fast jet capable of over-flying Russia at 70,000ft. - well out of the range of Russian weapons. This jet would be equipped with the latest "intelligence gathering "equipment, cameras etc. and would be capable of obtaining highly detailed photographs from a safe altitude.
	An unidentified craft is caught on film by staff at Area 51 - listen to the commentary!	Large orb filmed by a news crew investigating reports of strange craft being seen in the area - 1992.
	This concept gained approval, however the administration of the project was allocated to the CIA. Initially Seaberg offered the contract to build the aircraft to 3 small companies but Kelly Johnson of Lockheed managed to outsmart him - Johnson took his design with a delivery date of 8 months directly to the CIA. and succeeded in obtaining the contract. The proposed aircraft was code named "Aquatone". Edwards Air Force Base was deemed not to be "secure" enough for the test of such a craft so Johnson gave his top test pilot, Tony Levier, the task of finding a suitably secure area in the Southwest where it would safe to do so. Levier checked a number of sites before arriving at a dry lake - Groom Lake in Nevada - adjacent to what was called the Atomic Energy Commission Proving Grounds (later re-named the Nevada Test Site). Groom Lake proved to meet the requirements of a testing site for a top-secret aircraft - a ready surface for landing, unpopulated and unattractive because of the pollution caused by radio active fall out. The controlled area of the AEC was expanded to include Groom Lake and the CIA set up a fake company - CLJ -to administer the sub-contractors who were hired to construct the base. Initially a mile long runway, hangars, a concrete ramp, a control tower and mess hall were constructed and although described as Watertown Strip officially, the base became known as "Paradise Ranch" or simply "The Ranch" by air crews. The first prototype "Aquatone" was flown (dismantled on a transport plane) out to groom lake on 24th July 1955 - later became known as the U-2.The Ranch, however, was administered by the CIA and Lockheed - it was not an Air Force base - and U-2 pilots when recruited had to resign from the Air Force and become employed by the CIA. Such secrecy was enforced by the CIA that the pilots who flew the transport aircraft bring U-2s to the base were not told where they were heading and for the latter part of their journey were guided in by radio. All personnel working at the Ranch used aliases whilst on duty - returning to their normal I.D.s when they left the base. The successor to the U-2, code-named "Archangel", required a much longer runway than that at Groom Lake. However, security was so good at the base that it was decided to extend the runway and in effect, build a small town which included a movie theatre, a bar and a baseball field. In 1962, Groom Lake or the Ranch was renamed, it now became known as "Area 51". To add even more confusion, Nellis AFB began calling the base by the call sign of its control tower - "Dreamland". At this time the restricted air space above Area 51 was extended to 600 square miles. The new aircraft, a high altitude reconnaissance plane, was originally called the RS-71 but due to a mistake by a president's aide it came to be known as the SR-71 and because it was painted black (part of its anti-radar protection), it became known as "Blackbird".
	The SR-71 was followed by the development of the D-21 Tagboard, an unmanned drone which was not a success and eventually AREA 51, in 1973, became the developing ground for "Stealth" technology - once again Lockheed obtained the contract to develop stealth aircraft, code-named "Project Harvey" after the invisible rabbit of the same name. From 1977 stealth aircraft - stealthy to the extent of being virtually undetectable by radar - have been tested at AREA 51and it is rumoured that "visual stealth" is now being developed which one such mysterious craft being called "Aurora" - the existence of a craft under that name is, however, highly debatable. See Aurora - covered on this site. One theory given for the name "AREA 51" is "because the CIA seems to have the ability to act independently of the U.S. Administration and because the base itself is completely autonomous, it has, in effect, become a self governing state - the 51st".

President Bush makes statement on Groom Lake

In a complex statement to The House of Representatives and The President of the Senate on January 31/2001 - President George W. Bush restated the exemption of the classified facility at Groom Lake, Nevada from certain environmental disclosure requirements. "Information concerning activities at the operating location near Groom Lake has properly been determined to be classified and its disclosure would be harmful to National Security. Continued protection of this information is ,therefore, in the paramount interest of the United States " - President Bush wrote. This "operating location near Groom Lake " is, in fact, Area 51 .In using such terminology it is obvious that some U.S. Governmental and Military agencies refuse to acknowledge the existence of a facility that covers an area about the size of Switzerland - Groom Lake being the much smaller ,original base.
Since the 1980s rumours of "crashed UFOs " being held at what is now known as Area 51 or "Dreamland" were brought to light by Bob Lazar - claiming to be a Nuclear Physicist who worked for a while on an anti gravitational project at Area 51. Covert photo of Area 51

Entrance of Area 51

The dusty road to the entrance of Area 51 is now known as "The Widows Highway" - many of the workers there having succumbed to fatal conditions caused by the materials they work with. Due to the fact that these workers are sworn to secrecy they are unable to reveal to doctors etc outside of the base what substances they worked with. Despite prolonged legal activity the widows have been unable to seek justice through the courts - on the basis that Area 51 does not legally exist

Signs at the entrance to Area 51 - beyond this point you lose all constitutional rights

UFO

There have been numerous reports of unusual craft being observed or even filmed in and around Area 51 and there is evidence that these craft are devices outside of our technological envelope. UFO - photographed over Area 51 on 28th February 1990.

click on picture for larger size

Satellite photo of AREA 51 - Note the immense air strip. Reputedly most of the facilities are underground.

Area 51 is protected by an incredible array of sensors and detectors - including "Ammonia sensors" which can detect the presence of human beings.

August 2002 - The Area 51 Lawsuit Appeal originally filed by Jonathon Turley in 1994, a university law professor, continues - a three judge panel heard arguments from Turley (who represents unidentified injured workers and the late husbands of Helen Frost and Stella Kasza) and Roger Myers who represents the Las Vegas Review Journal. Their appeal, made on June 14th, argued that the U.S. Government is abusing its secrecy powers to prevent the release of embarrassing information about a top secret Nevada air base relating to their previous allegations that the plaintiffs were harmed by inhaling toxic chemicals at the base (Area 51) in the 1980s and the base violated environmental laws that prohibit open-pit burning of hazardous wastes. Government agencies argue that although they acknowledge the existence of a classified installation, Presidential Orders insist on strict secrecy regarding all information relating to the base. Turley later remarked:
"If the court upholds what the government did in this case, there would be no operating standard and no limitation - if the government can redact unclassified material, even public statements made by journalists in national newspapers, then there is no limit to the government's ability to conceal embarrassing or wrongful conduct". A ruling is awaited.

Pilots beware! - reputed to have "ground to air missile defences", the sky above Area 51 is a restricted area for aircraft

An un-marked, black helicopter photographed over Area51.

n a recent discussion with "The WHY? FILES", a resident who lives in the surrounding area of the top secret base stated: "Whether Bob Lazar told the truth or not, there is no doubt that most people in the vicinity think he was set up in court. What goes on in Area 51 concerns us - we have seen all sorts of objects fly out of there. We have been bothered by strange, bright lights and were told not to worry - it was the "Aurora Borealis". We follow a rule of thumb - literally. If an object flies out of Area 51, we hold our thumb up at arms length - if the object is bigger than your thumb nail, we get out of the way, fast!"

Bob Lazar captured this object in the skies over Area 51 in January 1990.

Circular object covertly photographed over Area 51[ video ]

Widow of Area 51 worker talks about her husband's experiences whilst working at Area 51.[ audio ]

V.L. Custer's account of his experiences and observations based on 12 year work period at Area 51

ST. LOUIS, February 3, 2004 - The U.S. Navy has accepted delivery of the 11th UHF Follow-On spacecraft, built by Boeing [NYSE: BA], following the satellite’s successful completion of its in-orbit test program.