Rendlesham Forest Incident — The Halt Memo: Full Text and Significance

Rendlesham Forest Incident — The Halt Memo: Full Text and Significance

Overview

The Halt Memo is the single most important document in the Rendlesham Forest case. Dated January 13, 1981*** — approximately two weeks after the events — it was written by Lieutenant Colonel Charles I. Halt, Deputy Base Commander of RAF Bentwaters, and addressed to the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence. It was the first and for many years the only official document acknowledging the events.

Full Text of the Halt Memo

The following is the complete text of the memorandum as released:

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SUBJECT: Unexplained Lights

TO: Ministry of Defence (RAF)

Early in the morning of 27 Dec 80 (approximately 0300L), two USAF security police patrolmen saw unusual lights outside the back gate at RAF Woodbridge. Thinking an aircraft might have crashed or been forced down, they called for permission to go outside the gate to investigate. The on-duty flight chief responded and allowed three patrolmen to proceed on foot. The individuals reported seeing a strange glowing object in the forest. The object was described as being metallic in appearance and triangular in shape, approximately two to three meters across the base and approximately two meters high. It illuminated the entire forest with a white light. The object itself had a pulsing red light on top and a bank(s) of blue lights underneath. The object was hovering or on legs. As the patrolmen approached the object, it maneuvered through the trees and disappeared. At this time the animals on a nearby farm went into a frenzy. The object was briefly sighted approximately an hour later near the back gate.

The next day, three depressions 1.5 inches deep and 7 inches in diameter were found where the object had been sighted on the ground. The following night (29 Dec 80) the area was checked for radiation. Beta/gamma readings of 0.1 milliroentgens were recorded with peak readings in the three depressions and near the center of the triangle formed by the depressions. A nearby tree had moderate (.05-.07) readings on the side of the tree toward the depressions.

Later in the night a red sun-like light was seen through the trees. It moved about and pulsed. At one point it appeared to throw off glowing particles and then broke into five separate white objects and then disappeared. Immediately thereafter, three star-like objects were noticed in the sky, two objects to the north and one to the south, all of which were about 10 degrees off the horizon. The objects moved rapidly in sharp angular movements and displayed red, green and blue lights. The southern object appeared to beam a stream of light down to the ground from time to time. Numerous individuals, including the undersigned, witnessed the activities in paragraphs 2 and 3.

CHARLES I. HALT, Lt Col, USAF*** Deputy Base Commander***

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Analytical Notes on the Halt Memo

Date Errors

The memo describes events occurring on December 27 and December 29. Most researchers believe these dates are off by one day — the events occurred on December 26 and December 28. The two-week delay between events and memo composition is likely responsible for the errors.

What the Memo Says vs. What Was Claimed Later

The Halt Memo is notable for what it does NOT say as well as what it does:

• It does not describe Jim Penniston touching a craft
• It does not describe hieroglyphic symbols
• It does not describe binary code transmissions
• It does not describe the objects as extraterrestrial in origin
• It describes the object as "metallic in appearance and triangular in shape"*** — language that is vivid but appropriately hedged ("in appearance")

Classification

The Halt Memo was not classified when written — it was simply an administrative report from a US commander to the British MoD. It remained in UK government files, unremarked upon, until researcher Brenda Butler obtained a copy through her network of sources in July 1983 — three years after the events. The memo was subsequently published by UFO researchers.

Significance

The Halt Memo's significance is multiple:

• It is the only official US military document acknowledging the events
• It was written by a lieutenant colonel and deputy base commander — an officer with no obvious motive to fabricate
• It describes physical evidence (ground impressions, radiation readings) and multiple named witnesses
• Its language — "strange glowing object," "metallic in appearance," "maneuvered through the trees" — goes beyond what a routine night exercise or lighthouse misidentification would generate in an official report