False Miracles In The Sky, part 2: The Gulf Breeze Red Light UFO Wave © 1996 by Tim Brigham and Brian Boldman Excerpted from The Devil's Advocate #6 In the last issue of The Devil's Advocate we examined some possible reasons the military may wish to hoax UFO sightings. We also examined some possible methods which they might use in such cases. In this article we will examine a UFO case in which some of the evidence seems to suggest that what actually occurred was a hoax perpetrated by the US military: The Gulf Breeze red light UFO wave. As anyone with even a passing interest in UFOs knows, the Gulf Breeze red lights began appearing shortly after a man named Ed Walters went public with a series of UFO photographs. These photographs continue to be a hot topic of debate to this day among UFO researchers. The red light soon became the target of media cameras all over the world. On some occasions, members of the media were actually successful in their attempts to photograph the red light. The light was sighted on hundreds of occasions by citizens turned skywatchers, as well as by citizens who had no interest at all in UFOs. There could be no debate, the red light was real. To many, the authenticity of the Walter's photos had been verified by the existence of the red light. But the question few paused to contemplate in their rush to verify their own personal belief in UFOs had still not been examined thoroughly and logically: "Is the famous red light the same object that appears in the Walter's photographs?" The one fact which many believers in the extraterrestrial or unknown nature of the Gulf Breeze red light will often boast of, is the sheer number of sightings of the mysterious object. If we take an estimate of approximately three sightings of the red light each week during the peak time period of red light activity (and this number would be considered a fair estimate by most Gulf Breeze supporters) and perform a little simple math, we come up with an extremely high number of sighting each year. But we must also consider that the local Gulf Breeze skywatchers were not watching for UFOs 24 hours a day. The hours between seven and ten o'clock each night are when most of the skywatchers were looking for the object. If we assume that the light was not appearing for the purpose of being seen (and we will later look at why this is improbable) we should assume that the object actually appeared approximately 23.5 times on the average each week! This is equal to 1,222 appearances of the Gulf Breeze red light each year! This high number should ring an alarm with UFO researchers. It seems likely that someone or something was intentionally causing the sightings during hours when it would be more likely for the lights to be seen. Should we assume that the red lights were going about their business over the skies of Gulf Breeze, caring not about making a display for the public? If so, they had an awful lot of things to do over Gulf Breeze- things which would take over 1,200 visits a year to accomplish! And if the UFOs were truly attempting to reveal their presence to the world using Gulf Breeze as a gateway, as many will counter, then why didn't the lights perform an amazing aerial maneuver once in a while? Why didn't they at least move at a speed comparable to that of a commercial aircraft rather than slowly floating and bobbing through the night sky? There is not one case of the many which were videotaped in which the light did anything which could not have been hoaxed by conventional means. In short, if the lights were UFOs attempting to impress the world or send a notification of their reality to the public, their technology fell very, very short in doing so. It seems that the most logical scenario is that someone had an interest which would be served by having large groups of people witness aerial phenomenon of unknown origin. Who would have an interest in causing the citizens of Gulf Breeze to believe they were seeing UFOs? Many would first point the finger at Ed Walters. After all, the more sightings of UFOs in the Gulf Breeze area, the greater his credibility in the eyes of many. But would it be possible for Walters to have hoaxed so many sightings? The red lights were seen about three times a week for several years. In order to carry out a hoax of such magnitude, Walters would have needed help, a great deal of resources, and a heap of money to boot. We are now looking into the specifics of how much money such a hoax would take, for a possible article to be printed in DA at a later date. But if Walters was not the one responsible for hoaxing the sightings, we must look for others who would have interest in doing so. The Northwest Florida area has a strong military presence. Pensacola Naval Air Station, Eglin Air Force Base, and Hurlburt field are all located very near Gulf Breeze. Eglin AFB is known for its role in the testing of high tech weaponry. Rumor in the area even has it that the infamous "Aurora" has been seen in the skies near Eglin. Hurlburt Field is perhaps the most interesting of the local military bases. Hurlburt Field plays what is perhaps the most important role in the Air Force's psychological and unconventional warfare. Anyone wishing to verify this can do so fairly easily. Hurlburt even boasts of this fact on their web page on the internet. The following quotes were taken from that web page: "The 16th SOW, at Hurlburt Field, is the oldest and most seasoned unit in AFSOC [Air Force Special Operations Command]." "Air Force Special Operations Command Air Force Special Operations Command, with headquarters at Hurlburt Field, Fla., was established May 22, 1990. AFSOC is a major command and the Air Force component of U.S. Special Operations Command, a unified command. Mission: AFSOC is America's specialized air power. It is a step ahead in a changing world, delivering special operations combat power anytime, anywhere. The command is committed to continual improvement to provide Air Force special operations forces for worldwide deployment and assignment to regional unified commands to conduct: * Unconventional warfare* Direct action* Special reconnaissance* Counterterrorism* Foreign Internal Defense* Humanitarian assistance* Psychological operations * Personnel recovery* Counternarcotics" "16th Special Operations Wing The 16th Special Operations Wing, Hurlburt Field, Fla., is one of three Air Force special operations flying organizations. Mission: The wing's mission is to organize, train and equip Air Force special operations forces for global employment. The 16th SOW focuses on unconventional warfare, including counterinsurgency and psychological operations during low-intensity conflicts." Given Hurlburt's important role in the psychological and unconventional warfare fields, if the military was interested in testing the effects of a massive wave of UFO sightings, few places would prove a better testing ground than Gulf Breeze, Florida. The view that the red lights may be the product of a military origin is one which is shared by other respected researchers as well. Writing in Grand Illusions (pg. 43), Dr. Greg Little states, "...what is going on there would certainly make a great research project to study mass psychology. It would present ideal conditions to study the effects of various aircraft and stealth technology on observers- their reactions and observations." And in Dr. Jacques Vallee's "fictional" Fastwalker (pg.146), one of the mysterious military men, commenting on the CIA's exploitation of UFO belief states, "They already have exploited it. Look at all the fun they have in Gulf Breeze, planting their little stories. They're extending the precepts of the Pentacle Memorandum, taking the work of Battelle to its logical conclusions, using the saucers to gain inspiration for their non-lethal platforms." In the next issue, as we continue to detail our investigation into the red light/military connection. We will look more closely at the Gulf Breeze community and examine other reasons it would be the perfect place to perform such an operation. We will also examine the hard data, which will lead us closer to finding out who is really responsible for the Gulf Breeze red light UFOs, and how they performed their false miracles in the sky.