Richard Niemtzow's Toulouse remarks (1985)
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🗓️ Event
Contents 8
Richard Niemtzow's Toulouse remarks (1985)
.jpg)
| Date | 6 July 1985 |
|---|---|
| Topics | Secrecy & cover-up (topic), Government programs (topic) |
| People | Jacques Vallée, Richard Niemtzow |
| Testimony | Shellenberger testimony, p. 99 |
| Year | 1985 in UFO history |
| Timeline | 1985 on the UAP Timeline |
| Sources | 12 |
On 6 July 1985, after a meeting in Toulouse, France, Jacques Vallée wrote in his journal: "first, Richard Niemtzow has convinced me that there was a secret project within the US government."[1] Richard Niemtzow was a U.S. Air Force physician who later became the leading advocate of acupuncture in the U.S. military.[3] Michael Shellenberger's 2024 UAP timeline lists the entry as Niemtzow, described as a retired USAF colonel, telling Vallée "there is a secret project to study UAP within USG".[9] What persuaded Vallée is not recorded in the quoted entry.[1]
The entry
- The text. Keith Basterfield quotes the entry from page 197 of the third volume of Forbidden Science: "I have drawn two conclusions from the Toulouse meeting: first, Richard Niemtzow has convinced me that there was a secret project within the US government."[1]
- The second conclusion is not given in the quoted extract.[1]
- The journals. The Forbidden Science series is described by the Anomaly Archives and Anomalist Books. Later volumes are reviewed by SFCrowsnest and summarised by Tanner Boyle.[5][6][7][8]
- Correction note: the earlier version of this article described Toulouse as "home of GEPAN, the French space agency's UFO research office". That is not covered in the sources read here.
Niemtzow
- Career. Science-Based Medicine describes Col. (Dr.) Richard Niemtzow as "a radiation oncologist and Air Force physician turned number one advocate of acupuncture use in the military".[3]
- He introduced it into hospitals such as Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, and into training for U.S. Army Rangers.[3]
- His technique. Niemtzow calls his technique "auricular acupuncture". It involves needles inserted about 1 mm into the earlobe and became known as "battlefield acupuncture".[3]
- His studies were carried out at the Malcolm Grow Medical Center at Andrews Air Force Base, including a 2006 randomised trial of 87 emergency-room patients.[3]
- Science-Based Medicine calls the evidence "thin gruel" on which to base a military program and its expansion to physicians and medics sent to Iraq and Afghanistan.[3]
- Unread source. An Air Force news article on battlefield acupuncture returned an access error when checked.[2]
- UFO interest. Niemtzow appears often in Vallée's journals. In June 1985 Vallée wrote that Niemtzow's "ambition is to be the first physician to uncover the existence of Aliens". He said Niemtzow dreamed of publishing the first alien-autopsy report in a medical journal.[10]
- Leonard Stringfield had promised to introduce Niemtzow to a doctor who had supposedly done such an autopsy.[10]
- Kit Green told him to "drop the whole thing".[10]
- McDonnell Douglas. In January 2002 Niemtzow told Vallée that he had been recruited in the 1970s to join a secret McDonnell study of UAP, but had declined.[11] See Niemtzow declines McDonnell study.
- Correction note: the earlier version of this article dated battlefield acupuncture to the "early 2000s" and said Niemtzow "established an acupuncture clinic" at Malcolm Grow. Neither the date nor the clinic's founding is covered in the sources read here; the sources describe his studies there.[3]
Context
- The ATP conference. Two months earlier, on 20 May 1985, BDM International's secure facility in McLean, Virginia, hosted the "Advance Theoretical Physics Conference".[12]
- According to the timeline, it was meant to determine whether UAP evidence supported a research program.[12]
- Vallée wrote that alleged participants came from Los Alamos, the CIA, NSA, INSCOM, McDonnell Douglas, BDM, Lockheed and OUSD(R&E).[12]
- Alexander's group. The group was founded in 1985 by Col. John B. Alexander as an informal cadre of officials from the armed services, defence industry and intelligence community.[4]
- On 24 July 1985 Vallée wrote that "they came to the conclusion there must be a secret UFO project, somewhere else!"[1]
- Alexander later said the group concluded "there was no program".[4]
- See Advanced Theoretical Physics group.
- Vallée's later doubts. By 17 September 1989 Vallée wrote that he had "no evidence, not even the hint that a black project is active".[1]
Assessment
- The remark survives only in Vallée's private record of a conversation.
- No source read here shows Niemtzow producing documents to support it.
- It is one of many hints of hidden official interest in Vallée's journals that have never been confirmed.[1]
People and topics
- U.S. Air Force — The U.S. military service that ran the official UFO projects from 1947 to 1969.
- Jacques Vallée — Computer scientist and astronomer, author of the Forbidden Science journals and a central figure in UFO research.
- Unidentified anomalous phenomena — The U.S. government's current term for unidentified objects in the air, in space and underwater.
- Richard Niemtzow — Air Force physician interested in UFO-related injuries.
- Unidentified flying object — An object in the sky that can't be identified; the older term for UAP.
- GEIPAN — The French space agency's office for studying unidentified aerospace phenomena.
On the Timeline
- Reagan's diary entry of 11 June 1985 (11 June 1985) — President Reagan's diary hints at a large space shuttle capability after lunch with scientists.
- Aurora budget line (1985) (1985) — Budget papers suggest the Pentagon planned large spending on an 'Aurora' program.
See every 1985 event on the UAP Timeline →
Further reading
- Jacques Vallée — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
References
- "Was there secret US government research?", UFOs Scientific Research (Oct 2016) · ufos-scientificresearch.blogspot.com · archived copy
- "Acupuncture in battle? Some experts swear it's possible", Ramstein Air Base · ramstein.af.mil · archived copy
- "Battlefield acupuncture revisited", Science-Based Medicine · sciencebasedmedicine.org · archived copy
- John B. Alexander — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Forbidden Science — the journals of Jacques Vallée (Anomaly Archives) · anomalyarchives.org · archived copy
- Forbidden Science series — Anomalist Books · anomalistbooks.com · archived copy
- Review of Forbidden Science 6 — SFCrowsnest · sfcrowsnest.info · archived copy
- Forbidden Science Dispatches — Tanner Boyle (journal summaries) · tannerfboyle.substack.com · archived copy
- Michael Shellenberger, written testimony to the House Oversight Committee (13 November 2024), p. 99 · oversight.house.gov
- Keith Basterfield, "An alleged 2001 National Institute for Discovery Science memo", UFOs – scientific research (June 2019) · ufos-scientificresearch.blogspot.com
- Michael Shellenberger, written testimony to the House Oversight Committee (13 November 2024), p. 146 · oversight.house.gov
- Michael Shellenberger, written testimony to the House Oversight Committee (13 November 2024), p. 98 · oversight.house.gov
Facts in this article are drawn in part from the Wikipedia article “John B. Alexander”, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.
Categories: 1985 | Government programs | Jacques vallée | Richard niemtzow | Secrecy cover-up | Timeline event | Unidentified anomalous phenomena | Unidentified flying object | Us air force
This page was last edited on 29 October 2026. Articles are written in our own words from the sources listed under References; disputed claims are attributed to the people who made them.
No discussion yet.