Charles I Halt
Encyclopedia
Charles I. Halt is a retired United States Air Force
colonel
and the former base commander
of RAF Bentwaters
, near Woodbridge
, Suffolk
. After serving in Vietnam
, Japan
and Korea
, he was assigned to Bentwaters as deputy commander.
The Rendlesham Forest incident
of late December 1980 occurred shortly after that and he was an important witness to events on the second night of sightings.
. In January 1981 Halt composed an official Air Force memorandum listing details of the events. The memo was then dispatched to the Ministry of Defence
. Halt also made an audio tape recording of the incident.
. In 1997 he was interviewed by Georgina Bruni
for a book about the Rendlesham event, You Can't Tell the People. He has also appeared in several television documentaries, including the three listed below.
In June 2010 Halt issued a notarized affidavit in which he summarized the alleged events of the Rendlesham Forest UFO incident and concluded: "I believe the objects that I saw at close quarter were extraterrestrial in origin and that the security services of both the United States and the United Kingdom have attempted – both then and now – to subvert the significance of what occurred at Rendlesham Forest and RAF Bentwaters by the use of well-practiced methods of disinformation."
However, there are some contradictions between this affidavit and the events as recorded by Halt at the time of the incident. Halt’s then commanding officer, Col Theodore (Ted) Conrad, has said “[Halt] should be ashamed and embarrassed by his allegation that his country and England both conspired to deceive their citizens over this issue. He knows better.” . On the other hand, his first recordings are similar in many points to another witness' statement : Rick Bobo, who served at the base at the time of the incident told author Robert Hastings: “The main object hovered out there for a long, long time [he had previously told Georgina Bruni “it was up there for about five hours, just hovering”]. It never really moved anywhere else. It was kind of hard to see, but it was slightly oblong, I guess, and I seem to recall it had bluish and reddish lights on it. When the object first caught my eye, it was already stationary, I didn’t see it move to where it was and I didn’t see it leave. After it was hanging there a long while, I saw things shooting off it, really, really fast, like little sparks or something. Maybe four or five of them... They were shooting off in all directions, but up into the sky, not down to the ground.”
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
colonel
Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...
and the former base commander
Base commander
The base commander is the officer assigned to command a military base. In the United States armed forces, a base commander is generally an O-6 grade officer, meaning Colonel or Captain . A base commander may be a higher or lower rank, however, depending on the installation. In the US Army, a base...
of RAF Bentwaters
RAF Bentwaters
RAF Bentwaters, now known as Bentwaters Parks, is a former Royal Air Force station about 80 miles NE of London, 10 miles ENE of Ipswich, near Woodbridge, Suffolk in England...
, near Woodbridge
Woodbridge, Suffolk
Woodbridge is a town in Suffolk, East Anglia, England. It is in the East of England, not far from the coast. It lies along the River Deben, with a population of about 7,480. The town is served by Woodbridge railway station on the Ipswich-Lowestoft East Suffolk Line. Woodbridge is twinned with...
, Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
. After serving in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
, he was assigned to Bentwaters as deputy commander.
The Rendlesham Forest incident
Rendlesham Forest Incident
The Rendlesham Forest Incident is the name given to a series of reported sightings of unexplained lights and the alleged landing of a craft or multiple craft of unknown origin in Rendlesham Forest, Suffolk, England, in late December 1980, just outside RAF Woodbridge, used at the time by the U.S....
of late December 1980 occurred shortly after that and he was an important witness to events on the second night of sightings.
Rendlesham Forest Investigation
In the late hours of December 27, and early December 28, 1980 then Lieutenant Colonel Halt led a patrol to investigate an alleged UFO landing site near the eastern edge of Rendlesham Forest. During this investigation they witnessed several unidentified lights, most prominent of them being a bright flashing light in the direction of Orford NessOrford Ness
Orford Ness is a cuspate foreland shingle spit on the Suffolk coast in Great Britain, linked to the mainland at Aldeburgh and stretching along the coast to Orford and down to North Wier Point, opposite Shingle Street. It is divided from the mainland by the River Alde, and was formed by longshore...
. In January 1981 Halt composed an official Air Force memorandum listing details of the events. The memo was then dispatched to the Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
. Halt also made an audio tape recording of the incident.
Post-military
After retiring from the US Air Force in 1991, Halt made his first public appearance in a television documentary, where he confirmed the authenticity of the Rendlesham Forest incidentRendlesham Forest Incident
The Rendlesham Forest Incident is the name given to a series of reported sightings of unexplained lights and the alleged landing of a craft or multiple craft of unknown origin in Rendlesham Forest, Suffolk, England, in late December 1980, just outside RAF Woodbridge, used at the time by the U.S....
. In 1997 he was interviewed by Georgina Bruni
Georgina Bruni
Georgina Bruni was a British-born businesswoman and a UFO researcher best known for her book on the Rendlesham Forest incident, You Can't Tell the People...
for a book about the Rendlesham event, You Can't Tell the People. He has also appeared in several television documentaries, including the three listed below.
In June 2010 Halt issued a notarized affidavit in which he summarized the alleged events of the Rendlesham Forest UFO incident and concluded: "I believe the objects that I saw at close quarter were extraterrestrial in origin and that the security services of both the United States and the United Kingdom have attempted – both then and now – to subvert the significance of what occurred at Rendlesham Forest and RAF Bentwaters by the use of well-practiced methods of disinformation."
However, there are some contradictions between this affidavit and the events as recorded by Halt at the time of the incident. Halt’s then commanding officer, Col Theodore (Ted) Conrad, has said “[Halt] should be ashamed and embarrassed by his allegation that his country and England both conspired to deceive their citizens over this issue. He knows better.” . On the other hand, his first recordings are similar in many points to another witness' statement : Rick Bobo, who served at the base at the time of the incident told author Robert Hastings: “The main object hovered out there for a long, long time [he had previously told Georgina Bruni “it was up there for about five hours, just hovering”]. It never really moved anywhere else. It was kind of hard to see, but it was slightly oblong, I guess, and I seem to recall it had bluish and reddish lights on it. When the object first caught my eye, it was already stationary, I didn’t see it move to where it was and I didn’t see it leave. After it was hanging there a long while, I saw things shooting off it, really, really fast, like little sparks or something. Maybe four or five of them... They were shooting off in all directions, but up into the sky, not down to the ground.”
TV Documentaries
- Unsolved Mysteries - Bentwaters UFO
- U.S. Sci Fi Channels "UFO Invasion at Rendlesham". - available to watch here - First broadcast December 1, 2005
- U.S. History Channels "UFO Files - Britain's Roswell - available to watch here - First broadcast December 17, 2005
- Galileo Mystery - Das UFO von Bendlesham Forest (German TV show about the UFO landing in Rendlesham Forest)