Dulce Base -- APRO: The UFO Organization That Gave Bennewitz Credibility
Dulce Base -- APRO: The UFO Organization That Gave Bennewitz Credibility
What APRO Was
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Aerial Phenomena Research Organization |
| Founded | 1952 |
| Founders | Jim Lorenzen and Coral Lorenzen; Tucson, Arizona |
| Character | One of the oldest and most respected civilian UFO research organizations in the United States; maintained a network of field investigators and scientific consultants; published the APRO Bulletin |
| Scientific consultants | At various times included credentialed scientists and military veterans with genuine expertise; gave the organization professional standing |
| Closed | 1988, following Coral Lorenzen's death |
| Bennewitz's role | Active APRO member and investigator; his membership provided institutional affiliation that enhanced his credibility when he approached Kirtland officials |
The Organizational Context
Bennewitz's membership in APRO is relevant to the Dulce mythology in two specific ways:
Credibility with the Air Force: When Bennewitz initially approached Kirtland AFB with his observations, he was not presenting himself simply as a random civilian. He had professional credentials (Thunder Scientific, with existing military contracts) and organizational standing (APRO membership with its network of scientific consultants). This combination gave him enough credibility that Air Force officials actually took his initial reports seriously rather than dismissing them.
Network for disinformation spread: The AFOSI's operation against Bennewitz was not aimed only at Bennewitz. It used him as a conduit into the UFO research community -- specifically, through his APRO connections and his contacts with other researchers. Material that AFOSI wanted in general circulation in the UFO community could be fed to Bennewitz knowing that, as an active APRO investigator, he would share it through his network.
AFOSI and UFO Organizations
Richard Doty's own descriptions of his AFOSI mandate are explicit about the intelligence-collection dimension of his work with UFO organizations:
Doty has described his role as involving the recruitment of UFO researchers as "cooperating people" -- essentially, unwitting informants who would report back on what the UFO research community was discussing and discovering. UFO organizations, with their networks of investigators spread across the country and their interest in classified facilities, were natural intelligence collection targets for an agency trying to monitor what civilians near sensitive installations were observing.
The AFOSI operation against Bennewitz was simultaneously:
- A specific operation to redirect one individual's attention away from classified programs at Kirtland
- A broader intelligence collection operation using Bennewitz's UFO network connections
- A test of disinformation distribution techniques that could be applied more broadly
APRO's relatively high standards (for a UFO organization) made its members more credible conduits for disinformation -- if a story was being circulated by an APRO investigator with credentials, it had more institutional weight than claims from anonymous sources.
