Department of the Air Force Committee to Review Project Bluebook, 1966-1967

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levels in such education from enlisted personnel to command and research
porso:nnel. Relative emphasis and degree of ex:planati_on of different
programs would correspond to the categories 0£ duty (e.g., radar operators;
pilots; control tower operators; Ground Observer Corps personnel; and
.
office~s and enlisted.men in other categories.) This training should
~·
result in a marked reduction in reports. caused by misidentification
and resultant confusion.
Tho "debunki11g" aim wouJd result in reduction in public interest
i:n "flying saucers" which today evokes a strong ·psychological reaction.
This education could be accomplished by :mass media such as television,
motion :pictures, and popular· articles. Basis of such education would
be actual case histories which had been puzzling at first but later
explained. As in the case of conjuring tricks, there is much less
stimulation if the 0 secret0 is known.
Such a program should tend to
reduce the current gullibility of the public and consequently their
susceptibility to clever hostile propaganda. The Panel noted that the
general absence of Russian propaganda based on a subject with so many
obvious possibilities for exploitation might indicate a possible Russian
official policy.
Members of the Panel had various suggestions related to the plan­
nir1g of such an educational program. It was felt strongly that
psychologists familiar with mass psychology should advise on the nature .
and extent of the program. In this connection, Dr. Hadley Cantril
(Princeton University) was suggested. Cantril authored nrnvasion from
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