DR. J. ALLEN HYNEK
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authority, particularly if they involved top-secret or crypto graphic information that was of an "eyes only" nature. There is, within military circles, some information of such a highly classified nature that it is for viewing by the "eyes only" of certain designated individuals who are specifically cleared for access. While I held Top Secret clearance, I was by no means permitted access to all Top Secret in formation in the Department of Defense. Such information is available only on a "need to know" basis. My own suspicions about this were reinforced by Richard Budelman, who assisted me in the preparation of portions of this book. He served in a sensitive position with a Top Secret Navy Squadron stationed at Port Lyautey, Morocco (the Navy had only one other air squadron like it) , from 1 956 to 1 958. He was responsible for writing all of the flight orders for this squadron's top secret missions for more than a year. He is firm in his own belief that had a UFO been sighted by the pilot or crew of one of his squadron's aircraft-arid several were ru mored-the report would never have reached Project Blue Book. Why? Let him tell it : The nature of our operation in VQ-2 ( Electronic Countermeasures Squadron TWO ) were so super se cret and sensitive tbe.t I cannot possibly believe a report of a UFO sighted by one of our crews would have been sent to Project Blue Book. The majority of our missions were so hush-hush that they were known only to a mere handful of people in the entire squad ron. Access to information about our flights was ex tremely limited. Reports and materials related to them went directly to the Commander-in-Chief, Eastern At lantic and Mediterranean (CINCNELM ) , and the Secretary of the Navy. But there's another reason why I also believe Blue Book didn't have access to that kind of Top Secret information that it was in certain respects "low man on the totem pole." The low rank of the officer in charge of Blue Book was a dead giveaway. A mere captain doesn't have much authority. Capt. Ruppelt couldn't even get the Pentagon to give him a staff car to do his investigations when the great UFO flap hit Washington, D.C. in July, 1952, and