American UFO Committee Review

History

On 9 November 1963, the United Research Council of UFOlogy and the Illinois-International Aerial Phenomena Agency merged to form the American UFO Committee. The merger absorbed several smaller groups as well: ROAP, UFORC, USCQ, HRS, and CORAP. All former members of these organisations became AUFOC members automatically. The new committee claimed approximately 1,000 members across all fifty states and several overseas countries.

Three executive directors ran the operation from three cities. Allen Greenfield handled Editorial and Operations from 2875 Sequoyah Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30327. Dale Rettig (who had previously edited the IAPA Newsletter from 2007 Spruce Drive, Glenview, Illinois 60025) managed Communications and Publications. Rick Hilberg took Public Relations and Education from 3403 West 119th Street, Cleveland, Ohio 44111, handling press releases and radio programmes. Wayne Marcaccini served as Canadian representative.

The Review published twice yearly, every March and September, with "frequent offset bulletins consisting of 4-8 pages" issued between editions at no extra cost. Membership ran $2.00 per year. The first issue (Vol 1, No 1, March 1964) carried a table of contents listing articles on disc aerodynamics by James Kemple, spheres falling in Australia, electromagnetic effects, lunar eruptions, two reviews of the Menzel-Boyd book (by Dave Halperin and Louis Trifon), the KYW photograph, and Jose A. Cecin's "Angel Falls Report" from South America.

Greenfield's opening editorial was blunt about the state of the field. Scientific ufology was "in decline." The big organisations (NICAP and APRO) had gone quiet. Publications were drifting toward the "lunatic fringe" to retain readers. He positioned AUFOC as a rescue operation: "to preserve ufology as a scientific movement, remove it from the 'defensive' list, and press forward on the attack." The language was combative and optimistic in equal measure.

The technical content was ambitious. Kemple's article on disc aerodynamics discussed three propulsion hypotheses: the "Magnetic Sink" principle (attributed to Wilbur B. Smith of Canada's Project Magnet), cosmic energy capture, and anti-matter reactions. The article cited electromagnetic effects from witness reports (compass interference, stalled engines, radio disruption, tingling sensations) as evidence for force-field propulsion. This kind of speculative engineering analysis was common in 1960s UFO publications but unusual in its level of technical detail.

The Review ran through at least seven numbered issues into 1966, with the numbering system shifting from annual volumes to sequential issue numbers partway through the run (Issue No 7 appeared in the fall of 1966).