CIA and UFO Letters

Summary

In April 1958, the CIA received a query on how to handle letters related to unidentified flying objects (UFOs). The Applied Science Division of the CIA sought a way to respond without interfering with the Air Force's responsibilities. They contacted Major Tacker, representing the Air Force Information Service, to coordinate the response. The Air Force not only expressed interest in answering the letters directly but insisted it was their responsibility to do so. This set a precedent for future inquiries about UFOs, where the Air Force took control of public communication. The CIA decided to follow this procedure to maintain clear lines of responsibility and avoid confusion.

This coordination between agencies reflected the growing interest in UFOs during the Cold War, where any unidentified information could have security implications. The decision to delegate responses to the Air Force also showed a strategy to centralize information and prevent rumors or misinterpretations by the public. Although the CIA remained involved in reviewing data, the Air Force became the first point of contact for UFO inquiries, a role it would maintain in the following years. This document, though brief, illustrates how intelligence agencies worked together to manage a topic that, while seemingly odd, was taken seriously in that historical context.