October–November 1980; disclosures followed in 1989 and later / T147
Paul Bennewitz, Richard Doty and the growth of the Dulce narrative
Albuquerque and Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico
Witness account
Albuquerque businessman Paul Bennewitz interpreted lights and electronic signals near Kirtland Air Force Base as evidence of alien activity. Surviving AFOSI correspondence documents official contacts, including a home interview in October and a briefing on 10 November 1980. Later accounts by Richard Doty and UFO researcher William Moore describe misleading information passed into Bennewitz’s investigations; underground-base and alien-conflict stories became associated with Dulce.
Public record
The records reproduced by researcher Alejandro Rojas distinguish what the Air Force documented at the time from Doty’s later claims about his orders. Official correspondence said AFOSI was not undertaking a formal investigation of Bennewitz’s alleged alien evidence. Moore discussed his role publicly at a 1989 UFO conference, while Doty subsequently made broader, sometimes inconsistent claims.