Four "iron post" sources
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🗓️ Event
Contents 8
| Date | 6 March 2004 |
|---|---|
| Topics | Beings & bodies (topic), Secrecy & cover-up (topic), Government programs (topic) |
| People | Jacques Vallée, Harold Puthoff, Jim Westwood, Eric W. Davis, Robert M. Wood, David Grusch |
| Testimony | Shellenberger testimony, p. 155 |
| Year | 2004 in UFO history |
| Timeline | 2004 on the UAP Timeline |
| Sources | 10 |
According to Jacques Vallée's journals, on 6 March 2004 defence analyst James T. Westwood told Vallée he had covered the same ground as Hal Puthoff and Eric Davis and had identified their four "iron post" sources, insiders they considered unimpeachable and well connected in the intelligence establishment.[1]
The four sources
As quoted by researcher Keith Basterfield, Westwood described them as two senior flag officers, one defence-industry or high Office of the Secretary of Defense official, and one senior civilian official of the Reagan and Clinton administrations, all telling much the same story, with three of them helping to manage the defence budget. Vallée wrote that they confirmed a hidden program for reverse-engineering alien hardware, and that he already knew the two officers to be Wilson and Sheehan.[1]
Wilson and Sheehan
"Wilson" refers to retired Vice Adm. Thomas Wilson, former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, central figure in the disputed Wilson–Davis notes of 2002. "Sheehan" refers to retired Gen. John "Jack" Sheehan, who, according to Vallée's journals, was said in the late 1990s to have found a budget discrepancy that led him to a craft. Neither has publicly confirmed these stories, and the authenticity of the Wilson–Davis notes is disputed.[1][2]
A possible fourth
In September 2004 Vallée speculated that former Comptroller General Charles Bowsher, whom Westwood linked to a crashed-UFO program found in an audit, might be one of the four.[1]
Assessment
The sources were never named publicly and their claims cannot be examined. The same problem recurs in later claims, including David Grusch's 2023 testimony based on interviews with unnamed witnesses.[1][3]
People and topics
- Jacques Vallée — Computer scientist and astronomer, author of the Forbidden Science journals and a central figure in UFO research.
- Harold Puthoff — Physicist who co-founded the SRI remote-viewing research and later worked on AAWSAP and To The Stars Academy.
- NIDS — Robert Bigelow's research institute (1995–2004) that studied UFOs and other anomalies.
- Jim Westwood — Former CIA consultant who studied the MJ-12 papers.
- Eric W. Davis — Physicist who worked on AAWSAP and has said the U.S. holds recovered craft.
- Robert M. Wood — McDonnell Douglas engineer who ran an in-house UFO study and later promoted the MJ-12 documents.
- MJ-12 — Disputed documents describing a secret committee managing crashed saucers.
- Disinformation — False information spread deliberately to mislead.
- Unidentified anomalous phenomena — The U.S. government's current term for unidentified objects in the air, in space and underwater.
- David Grusch — Former intelligence officer who testified in 2023 that the U.S. has recovered non-human craft.
On the Timeline
- Transdimensional Technologies (March 2004) — An Alabama company says it is developing antigravity technology and mentions UAP.
- Eric Davis asks George H.W. Bush about Corso (26 March 2004) — Eric Davis says he asked George H.W. Bush about Philip Corso's claims.
See every 2004 event on the UAP Timeline →
References
- Keith Basterfield, "James (Jim) T. Westwood — some information", UFOs – scientific research (June 2023) · ufos-scientificresearch.blogspot.com · archived copy
- "The Wilson memo", Anomaly Archives · anomalyarchives.org · archived copy
- David Grusch UFO whistleblower claims — 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
- Majestic 12 — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- How the FBI debunked the MJ-12 papers — Atlas Obscura · atlasobscura.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
- amazon.com · amazon.com · archived copy
Further reading
- Jacques Vallée — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Harold E. Puthoff — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Thomas R. Wilson — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
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.
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