Another Sherman interview: Colorado Daily
From: David Kirby/ Karin Dostal <lbear@rmi.net>
Date: Wed, 17 Dec 1997 07:10:09 -0800
|
I agree with Campbell's sanity check on the latest quarrel with
Dan Sherman's claims. Sherman has responded with sufficient
detail as to his work as an ELINT officer to at least verify this
portion of his story. The rest, of course, can probably not be
proven without disclosures from the USAF of jaw-dropping
proportion, so the rest of us are left only to probe the fringes
of what Sherman cannot reveal. As nearly as I can tell, he has
not demonstrated a shred of the inconsistency or coy evasiveness
that many so-called insiders routinely retreat behind.
I conducted an e-mail interview with Sherman last week, and in
both the Q&A and the attendent correspondence we had, he strikes
me as an upfront guy, willing to answer questions and admit that
he doesn't have all the answers.
I am not a fulltime UFO investigator. I am just a freelance
columnist in Boulder CO who divides his time between music and
paranormal stories and who found Sherman's story compelling. My
publication, The Colorado Daily, is a college-community free
paper who demonstrated uncommon openmindednes by running this
interview. I am reproducing it here in its totality, but all are
welcome to visit the Daily's website at
http://bcn.boulder.co.us/media/colodaily/.
I hope the inclusion of this interview serves to promote the
continued discussion of Sherman and his story.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
By DAVID KIRBY
For the Colorado Daily
As UFO books go, Dan Sherman's "Above Black: Project Preserve
Destiny" seems like a relatively quiet addition to the current
literature. A short read (it took me less than four hours), it is
bereft of sensationalistic speculation, monumental revelations
and self-aggrandizement. But the story that this technical staff
sergeant tells is a remarkable and disturbing one.
Sherman says that he was recruited into a U.S. Air Force program
in the early 1990s that trained its members to communicate
telepathically ("intuitive" is Sherman's term, though he concedes
it is essentially undescriptive) with aliens and act as a conduit
between them and unseen patrons at the National Security Agency.
The purpose of PPD, says Sherman, was to develop a mode of
communication that would help the government survive after an
impending EMP (electromagnetic pulse) event that the aliens (whom
he nicknamed "Spock" and "Bones") said would render all
electromagnetic communications useless.
Sherman's abilities came in part from training and in part from
genetic manipulation while he was in the womb. While he served as
an electronic intelligence officer, he performed duties in a
number of super-secret ("Black") programs as a matter of routine
and transmitted alien communications ("comms") through another
system when and where they came in. Most of his communications
were strings of alphanumeric data that he relayed through an
NSA-monitored computer system, though he also developed an
ability to communicate "informally" with his alien contacts and
frequently asked questions of them.
After a couple of years of stifling secrecy (and the unsettling
development of being provided abduction information to pass
along), Sherman became disillusioned and managed to be discharged
from the Air Force, although under trying and contentious
circumstances. He has since become the focus of intense interest
among members of the UFO community on the Internet, and to date,
the information he has revealed (at least regarding his role as
an intelligence officer in the Air Force) has stood up well under
investigation. In an exclusive interview, Sherman talks about the
book, his experience and his leap into the raging waters of UFO
insidership.
His book is currently available only through his own publishing
company. His Web site is: www.aboveblack.com, and the ordering
page can be found at www.aboveblack.com/order.htm. (Or order
directly by calling 888-240-1825.) It is $18, plus $4 for
shipping -- and worth every nickel.
David Kirby: I have trouble imagining how extensive the IC
("intuitive communicator") training was at the time you were in
active duty. You seem to indicate that you were among the very
first, but you also refer to a statement by Captain White on Page
26, to wit: "Everyone I have had to tell this to has had the same
concern ..." Could you venture a guess how many ICs were actually
working or training in the period of time you were in the
program?
Dan Sherman: The only reason I believed I was "one" of the first
is because my handlers or commanders at each assignment had
seemed to be a bit green. My first commander was the only one who
seemed to have a clue as to what was going on. So he was probably
a central figure inasmuch as he had been the one to initially
brief all the ICs. Of course, the term "one of the first" is a
relative term.
DK: Why didn't the Air Force address itself to the obvious risk
of burnout or severe stress-related symptoms that would seem
inherent in a position like this? It seemed that all they did
when you asked for a discharge was refuse it; why didn't they
offer a carrot to coax you to stay in the program? Was there any
way they could have convinced you to stay?
DS: I don't believe they thought I would be able to get out. I've
thought about this as well. I really don't know why they treated
me the way they did. Actually, the escalation of my anger
happened via e-mail to my commander. Perhaps they would have
handled it differently in hindsight -- maybe sending my commander
to talk with me about wanting to get out and the motives I had
for getting out.
The only thing I can offer in explanation is that we are all
human and make mistakes. Perhaps my commander made a mistake in
the way he handled the situation. However, after that final straw
dropped -- when he told me I wouldn't be able to get out, period
-- nothing they could have done from that point on would have
salvaged the situation. I became quite revengeful, I'm sorry to
say.
DK: You have stated that the reasons for your discharge are
publicly available. If so, why not state them in the book?
DS: I have chosen to not address this issue because I do not want
to be publicly quoted as saying anything attesting to its truth
or non-truth. Everyone will just have to find out for themselves
if it is that important to them. All I will say is that I
received an honorable discharge from the U.S. Air Force. The
military even placed the wrong terminology on my discharge
papers, technically speaking. The reason really has no bearing on
the validity of my experience.
DK: Was there any concern that any side effects (psychological,
physiological) of long-term work in the PPD program might
interfere with your non-PPD duties?
DS: I had no concerns about this. My abilities were a natural
part of me. However, as with anything considered in the long
term, you never know until that span of time has happened. But I
never worried about it.
DK: Do you believe your non-PPD superiors knew about your PPD
activities?
DS: I'm 100 percent positive they did not.
DK: UFO investigator Bob Huff has speculated you were stationed
near here, at Buckley. Can you confirm or deny?
DS: Yes, I was stationed at Buckley.
DK: Since the book's release, have you been approached or
contacted by any other ICs? Seems like they could find some
comfort in your story and your public release of this knowledge
...
DS: I have waited for this to happen, but it hasn't. I've said
before, however, that I believe I'm the only IC who has gained a
discharge from the military so far. So, unless there is another
one who has been discharged, I don't expect any to come forward.
After my discharge, they may have changed some things as well
regarding the way they treat the others. They may have begun to
make them feel like they are an important part of the big
picture. That was one of the problems in handling me -- I
increasingly became an isolated part of the picture and I didn't
know where I fit in. Hence, I became more disillusioned than I
would have if I had been made to feel an important part of the
mission.
DK: In your informal contacts with Bones, did you ask where these
beings were from? Did you get any kind of a comprehensible reply?
DS: I never did get an impression of where they were from. I
began to assume what I would read in the papers, that they were
from Zeta or some far-off place like this. I did ask where they
were from, but never got an answer. Their method of travel was
such that I believe they could travel great distances in a short
time, though. I explain this further in the book.
DK: You indicate that you were forced to question many things
about your career and yourself during this experience. Did you
ever seriously question whether the alien aspect was a ruse,
that, even if you were communicating with someone "intuitively,"
it could have been with another IC or a human source at NSA?
DS: I have been asked this many times. What you say is possible,
I can't deny that. But if you had experienced the communications,
you would have no doubt in your mind either that this was not of
human origin. The communication had a completely different
structure to it. This is frustrating to me, because this part of
my experience is the most difficult to explain.
I have likened it to a tapestry, that is, rich in sensory
stimuli. You can focus in on one part of the tapestry and look at
a detail, but at the same time, you can still sense all the color
and fabric around the detailed part. This is the closest I can
come to describing what it was like in communicating with Spock
and Bones.
DK: Did the alien contacts ever indicate that the secrecy about
their presence and the government's interaction with them was a
mutually agreed-upon arrangement? If so, is this an indefinite
one?
DS; Yes, I believe the "arrangement" was mutually agreed upon. I
also believe they have a separate agenda apart from their
cooperation with the government. I was never able to put my
finger on it, but this was the impression I got over time. I am
unsure as to the time frame.
DK: Did you ask Bones why the aliens were abducting humans? Would
his answer in any way have made you feel more comfortable about
receiving/transferring the abduction data?
DS: To tell you the truth, I can't remember asking him about the
abduction sequences I was reporting. You have to remember that
our "discussions" were few and far between. I do remember being
reluctant to bring up the topic -- probably, looking back on it
now, because I didn't want to know more. It was like an "if I
ignore it, it'll go away" type of thing. In a perfect world, I
would have asked why, they would have told me, and I would have
been happy with their explanation. It didn't work this way,
though.
DK: Was there any mention in your informal comms of the
technology swap deal with the military that many UFOlogists have
speculated on? (We provide genetic material, they provide
technology ...)
DS: The only thing remotely close to this was when I was told
they contributed to many human societies in history. I wasn't
told which ones and if this even meant our modern-day society. It
is my guess that they have contributed to ours ... perhaps
involuntarily. (i.e., seized crafts, etc.)
DK: How many books have you sold? More or less than you thought?
Any indication that Air Force is coming after you in any way?
DS: I'd prefer to keep the sales numbers private. We are
negotiating with some companies for distribution rights at
present. I can say that no one is getting rich from the sales. We
have sold more than what we had anticipated, however. We didn't
expect to have to order more until March or April of next year,
but we had to order another printing after only one month of
release.
There has been no indication of being contacted by any government
agency. I do believe they are monitoring the situation, however,
waiting for a miscue on my part about the Black information. Many
of the letters I have received from people have already been
opened. This could be coincidence, but I do believe they are
attempting to monitor what I say.
DK: Do you think you have been fairly treated by investigators
and the UFO community at large? Do you think they have any real
hope of forcing information like this into the open?
DS: Our society is so inundated with UFO stories nowadays that it
is difficult for insider experiences such as mine to surface and
be seen. I have been treated fairly so far, and I appreciate it.
I knew that coming out with my experience -- telling people that
I communicated with two aliens for the NSA -- would be highly
suspect. I wouldn't believe it! So I have to expect a bit of
questioning. I've welcomed it, actually.
As far as forcing it into the open, it's going to be difficult
for the mainstream press to pick this up. This is unfortunate
because it would force a searchlight upon the government and its
alien involvement. I don't feel my revelations are going to
change the world, but I'll sure try to raise the awareness bar
one more click.
DK: You said you believe the government is releasing information
very slowly about their knowledge of UFOs. Have you been accused
of being (or are you) simply a government
information/disinformation agent authorized to disseminate this
information?
DS: I have been accused of this, and no, I am not. Of course, if
I were, I probably wouldn't tell someone anyway ... so we're
stuck in a quandary, aren't we? The slow release of knowledge is
inevitable, but the public will only get that knowledge which is
of no use to the government anymore and that won't jeopardize
current operations. Our only hope is that it will get so
compartmentalized they start confusing one another and releasing
things they shouldn't.
DK: Besides selling this book and doing interviews, what are you
doing now? And by the way, how old are you?
DS: I work in the high-tech industry. I'm attempting to go to
school full-time with no success as of yet. I am 33 years old.
I'll be speaking at the International UFO Congress Conference in
Laughlin, Nev. The conference will be held from February 1-7,
1998. I will be there the whole week, and I am scheduled to speak
the night of the 6th. Col. Philip Corso is speaking the same
night. It should prove to be an interesting conference.
Editor's note: Col. Corso, in his book "The Day After Roswell,"
has stated, among other things, that he was involved in the
dissemination of alien technology acquired from a craft which
allegedly crashed near Roswell, N.M. in 1947.
For background information on both Sherman and Corso and current
postings on this subject, check out www.ufomind.com.
+---------------------------------------------------------------
| UFOMIND MAILING LIST - Supporting the Ufomind/PsiSpy Website
| http://www.ufomind.com/misc/ - Glenn Campbell, Moderator
| Submissions to: ufomind@lists.best.com
| "unsubscribe" (in body) to: ufomind-request@lists.best.com
|
| RELEVANCE OF THIS MESSAGE: Claimed gov't insiders
|
| Index: Dan Sherman
+---------------------------------------------------------------
Created: Dec 17, 1997
