"OPREP-3" - A Classified US Military Reporting
Channel For UFO Incidents?
Part 2
In Part 1 of this series “OPREP–3 - A
Classified US Military Reporting Channel For UFO Incidents?” I discussed a US
military–wide reporting channel known as the “Operational Reporting” system,
shortened often to “OPREP”. I highlighted that one category of OPREP, namely
category 3, is defined as a serious “Event/Incident”, and that UFO, or
UFO–like events, had been reported directly to the highest levels of command in
the 1970’s. Those events included the reporting of intrusive “unknown
helicopters” and “objects” from nuclear–armed United States Air Force (USAF)
Strategic Air Command (SAC) bases including Loring AFB, Wurtsmith AFB,
Malmstrom AFB, and a host of others. Also, the United States Navy’s (USN)
Pinecastle Electronic Warfare Range suffered a mysterious UFO event that was
reported via the OPREP–3 system. Most importantly, these cases are not hand–down–rumours,
but are supported by hundreds of officially release records obtained under the
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by researchers. I made specific efforts to
image those records, and will continue to do so
in this Part 2.
OPREP–3 reporting instructions are laid
out in a variety of publications at different levels of the US military.
Perhaps the highest level doctrine to mention OPREP–3’s are those promulgated
by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS). One recent example is a
manual titled “Joint Reporting System
Situation Monitoring Manual”, and was promulgated on the 31st of January,
2011. It is coded “CJCSM 3150.05D” and is unclassified in entirety. Beneath the
CJCS, all the Unified Combatant Command’s (UCC) and Major Commands (MAJCOM) of
the US Armed Forces publish their own versions of OPREP–3 doctrine, each slightly
different.
For example, US Northern Command
(NORTHCOM) maintains a 16th of April, 2009 instruction titled “US Northern Command 10–211 Operational
Reporting” (NCI 10-211). Chapter 2, is headed “OPREP-3 REPORTING PROCEDURES” and the first paragraph states, in
part:
“The
OPREP-3 reporting system is used by military units at any level of command to
report significant events and incidents to the highest levels of command.
OPREP-3 reports use command and control channels to immediately notify
commanders of any event or incident, which may attract international, national,
or significant news media interest. Reports must be timely, concise, and
include sufficient information to allow action addressees to fully understand
the situation and provide information to other levels, as required. The report
is established to provide time-sensitive information on which to base an
appropriate response to any significant event or incident that has occurred or
is in progress…”
Another example is titled “Air Force Instruction 10–206 Operational
Reporting” (AFI 10–206), and promulgated by the Secretary of the United
States Air Force (SEC–USAF) on 15th October, 2008. Chapter 3, titled “Event/Incident Report (OPREP-3)”,
states, in the opening paragraph:
“Command
Posts use the OPREP-3s to immediately notify commanders of any significant
event or incident that rises to the level of DoD, AF, or MAJCOM interests.
Submit the applicable OPREP-3 regardless of whether or not the event is being
reported through other channels…”
Furthermore, there are different
“categories” of OPREP-3’s that, while not mandatory, can be chosen by for
specific events or levels of interest. Those categories are distinguished by
certain “flagwords” that are attached to the OPREP-3 report. Paragraph 3.2. of AFI
10–206 states:
“OPREP-3
reports categorize events or incidents according to their nature. FLAGWORDs
associated with each category aid prompt transmission, processing, and
distribution of the reports by alerting people to their importance. The
following flag word reports make up the OPREP-3 system.”
Of interest to us are the flagwords “PINNACLE” and “BEELINE”. Another one, used only by the United States Navy
(USN), is “NAVY BLUE”. When fully typed out, these flagwords will appear
immediately after the term “OPREP-3”. An example would be “OPREP-3 BEELINE”.
Often, the full term is shortened so the flagword appears as a single letter.
“OPREP-3 BEELINE”, hence, is shorted to “OPREP-3B”. It is also important to
note that these flagwords, and their meaning, has barely changed in forty years. The category which may be the most
important to us is a called a “PINNACLE”, or “OPREP-3P”. AFI 10–206, Paragraph 3.2.1. states:
“PINNACLE
(OPREP-3P). This message is used by any unit to provide the National Military
Command Center (NMCC) and, as appropriate, combatant commands and services with
immediate notification of any incident or event where national-level interest
is indicated…”
The Instruction goes on to state the
kinds of “incidents” or “events” that would cause the transmission of an OPREP-3P. Of interest is Paragraph 3.2.1.6. states:
“Involves
unidentified objects detected by a missile warning system.”
Of course, we have seen an
OPREP-3 PINNACLE used for “unidentified object” intrusions before. As I
highlighted in Part 1 of this series, the Command Post at Loring Air Force
Base, Maine, sent an “IMMEDIATE” telex to the Military Command Center (NMCC),
and other commands, on November 1st, 1975, which contained this line of text:
“JOPREP
JIFFY 0092/FFDPO0/IN/OPREP–3 PINNACLE”
And, below that, the message stated:
“…A
VISUAL SIGHTING OF AN UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT WAS REPORTED AT LORING CRC 4NM NNW OF
LORING AFB.”
There is no ambiguity here.
OPREP-3P reporting of UFO events is clearly something that the US government
would prefer to stay tightly within its control. The question is, just how many have there been in the last
four decades?
Another category of OPREP-3 which we have seen before is a “BEELINE”, or “OPREP-3B”. AFI 10–206, paragraph 3.2.12. states:
Another category of OPREP-3 which we have seen before is a “BEELINE”, or “OPREP-3B”. AFI 10–206, paragraph 3.2.12. states:
“BEELINE
(OPREP-3B). Used to report any event or incident that requires Air Force-level
interest, but not requiring OPREP-3 PINNACLE reports. Although the report
normally remains within US Air Force channels, commanders may add other
addressees, as appropriate to avoid duplicate reporting. AF may make BEELINE
information available to agencies outside the Air Force (e.g., NMCC, State
Department) based on the situation.”
We have seen the flagword “BEELINE” before.
On the 30th Oct, 1975, Wurtsmith Air Force Base, Michigan, the former home of
nuclear-armed 379th Bomb Wing, endured an event involving low flying,
“unidentified aircraft” which unexpectedly encroached into the “no fly”
airspace above the base. A number of OPREP-3’s were sent from the Wurtsmith AFB
Command Post to SAC Headquarters, and other areas of the USAF, and, indeed, one
of them was an OPREP-3 BEELINE, for which we have the actual telex documents
for. The key line of text states:
“UNCLASSIFIED
JOPREP JIFFY OC65 /FFD640/IN/OPREP-3 BEELINE/7 6-02 1-01”
There are other OPREP-3 flagwords that
could potentially be used when submitting a UFO incident to higher commands.
One is a special type of OPREP-3 PINNACLE called a “NUCFLASH”, or “OPREP-3PNF”.
Paragraph 3.2.2. of AFI 10–206 states:
“PINNACLE
NUCFLASH (OPREP-3PNF). Used to report an event, accident, or incident that
could create the risk of a nuclear war. This message has the highest precedence
in the OPREP-3 reporting structure. Report any of the following as an
OPREP-3PNF:
3.2.2.1.
Ballistic missile launch or space launch.
3.2.2.2.
Space objects reentering the earth’s atmosphere.
3.2.2.3.
Loss, potential loss or degradation of US military space capability when the
loss or degradation is because of actions by a suspected or known hostile
source.
3.2.2.4.
Reports of cruise missiles or non-friendly, non-US or non-allied aircraft not
on an approved flight plan that could pose a threat.”
In a charged and rapidly changing
environment, could a serious UFO event be mistaken for a “ballistic missile
launch or space launch” or “space object reentering the earth’s atmosphere”,
especially when very little is yet known about the event? What about “reports
of cruise missiles or non-friendly, non-US or non-allied aircraft not on an
approved flight plan...” and other similar events? The reporting of urgent
space-borne events using OPREP-3 PINNACLE procedures is not new. The North
American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) and Aerospace Defence Command (ADC)
maintained a joint regulation, issued on the 1st of May, 1983, titled “NORAD/ADC Regulation 55-103 Operations –
Errant Launch/Space Event Reporting” (N/A REG 55-103). Paragraph 3.c.1.
states that the old United States Space Command’s (SPACECOM) Space Control
Center (SCC) and Space Surveillance Center (SSC) will, during unusual or
unexpected space activity:
“Determine
reportability for all objects which fail to achieve a planned orbit, objects
already in orbit which decay or that are predicted to decay, deorbits, and
satellite breakups. If these objects are reportable, notify the… …NMCC via an
OPREP-PINNCACLE report (significant space event).”.
This page is imaged below.
The US Navy (USN) has some of its own
flagwords for OPREP-3 reporting. One of them is “NAVY BLUE”. As I discussed in
Part 1 of this series, the USN’s Pinecastle Electronic Warfare Range in Florida
was visited by an unidentifiable object on the night of May 14th, 1978. There
was primary radar confirmation, evasive action by the unknown entity, and
significant visual confirmation from the ground. It was an “OPREP-3 NAVY BLUE”
which alerted the Commander–in–Chief of the USN’s Atlantic Fleet (CINCLANFLT)
about the incident. The two page telex states:
“NAS
JACKSONVILLE /OPREP–3 NAVY BLUE 1718002 MAY 78/006”
So what does the flagword “NAVY BLUE”
mean? The USN’s Information Dominance Corps (IDC) publishes a booklet of
administrative doctrine titled “Information
Dominance - Administration (104)” that describes an OPREP–3 NAVY BLUE as
being:
“Used
to provide the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) and other Naval commanders
notification of incidents that are of high Navy, as opposed to nation-level,
interest.”
Likewise, the United States Marine Corps
also promulgates OPREP-3 NAVY BLUE reporting in a June 8th, 2007 Order, titled “Marine Corps Order 3504.2” (MCO 3504.2).
It states:
“OPREP-3
NAVY BLUE (OPREP-3NB). This report provides the Chief of Naval Operations,
through the Navy Operations Center, information on any significant event or
incident that is not of national-level interest.”
An OPREP-3NB may not be as gravely serious
as, say, an OPREP-3P, but the fact that the Chief of Naval Operations was
urgently made aware of a UFO incident via any system at all is still worthy of
discussion. Again, like the other OPREP-3 reportable events I have detailed
above, how many UFO-associated OPREP-3NB’s have been sent to-and-fro within the
USN in the last few decades?
Speaking of recipients, just what sort
of commands and agencies receive OPREP-3 reports? If sent from within the USAF,
a base commander, or anyone else cleared to use the OPREP-3 system, has a
degree of discretion regarding who is on the “distribution list” of the report.
Some of the addressee’s are pre-arranged, and some depend on the type of serious
event in progress. All OPREP-3P’s must be sent, at minimum, to the National
Military Command Center, some USAF Major Commands (MAJCOM’s), the White House
and State Department, and often the North American Aerospace Defence Command
(NORAD), and other areas within the wider Department of Defence (DOD). An
OPREP-3B will normally remain within USAF channels, including the MAJCOM the
base is subordinate to, plus nearby bases and, if appropriate, the NMCC. And
OPREP-3H also usually stays within the USAF MAJCOM that the base is organised
under, and often not much further. A good example of a distribution list that
we know received an UFO related OPREP-3, in this case a PINNACLE, is the
November 1st, 1975 incident that plagued Loring AFB. Imaged below is the Loring OPREP-3 PINNACLE report. The top two thirds of the page contain the distribution
list.
Included here is the NMCC, the Chairman of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJSC), the Secretary of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff (SJCS), the State Deaprtment, the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA),
the Central Intelligence Agancy (CIA), the White House, the USAF’s Major
Command Coordination Center (MCCC), the Alternate National Military Command
Center (ANMCC) at Fort Ritchie, NORAD’s Combat Operations Center (COC), plus
various Strategic Air Command (SAC) and 8th Air Force components. And that’s not
even all of them. The fact that any of them received UFO reports of any sort, especially
the calibre of these areas of the US government, is somewhat alarming. Consider
what the US government had systematically been saying since the 1960’s. Researchers
are well aware that the Secretary of the USAF, Robert C. Seamans, Jr, famously
announced, on the 17th of December, 1969, that no US military agency will
continue the reporting, or receiving of reports, of UFO events, and, that:
“No
UFO reported, investigated and evaluated by the Air Force was ever an
indication of threat to our national security.”
Nothing has changed. The US government still
recycles the same tired lines of dogma that three generations of researchers
have had to listen to. That OPREP-3 reports have contained UFO situations is
undeniable. Have there been many more? And what sort of analysis of such events
has been conducted? Currently, access to OPREP-3 records is impossible. But
that may soon be about to change. In Part 3 of this series, which I had hoped
would be quite short, I will detail my, and colleague David Charmichael’s, struggles
to see that the Office of the Secretary of Defence (OSD) and the Joint Chiefs
of Staff (JCS) release OPREP-3’s, the work of others before us. I shall also reveal the contents of an OSD
reply letter sent to UK researcher Dr. Armen Victorian in the 1990’s, which,
despite being twenty years old, could be one of the most important lead we’ve
had in decades.
OPREPs go back to WW2 with Foo Fighter-type incidents. One document, an OPREP #29, from September 7, 1943 relates a "single green flare" seen in the "same position as seen before" by the pilot of a U.S. 414th Night Fighter Squadron Beaufighter.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to any OPREP-3's that are (hopefully) eventually released, though I suspect they will be redacted.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how many "back-channels" for UFO reports intra-military there have been over the decades? And where are all the reports collected post-1970 and what analysis have they had and what conclusions reached, if any?