“I believe UFOs are slowly acclimating humanity to the fact of their existence,” an independent UFO researcher and lecturer told an audience Wednesday in the WSU CUB Auditorium.

During the event sponsored by the Student Entertainment Board and WSU Global Campus, Robert Hastings, author of “UFOs and Nukes: Extraordinary Encounters at Nuclear Weapons Sites,” supplied multiple documents from the U.S. Air Force, the FBI, the CIA, and the NSA about encounters with unidentified flying objects.

Hastings said researchers used the Freedom of Information Act to declassify thousands of federal records related to UFOs. His research is focused on UFO activity in the vicinity of nuclear weapons sites.

Hastings said he began his search after witnessing an event at the Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana, where his father was stationed at the time. He follows a strict vetting process for interviewees, requiring government documentation of work done with nuclear weapons and military service.

In September 2010, Hastings held a press conference in Washington, D.C. with seven U.S. Air Force veterans who discussed personally witnessing UFOs at nuclear missile sites.

“These are people trusted with nuclear weapons,” Hastings said. “They have nothing to gain and everything to lose from admitting they saw UFOs.”  

UFOs have been seen at the Hanford Site in Washington state, at nuclear stockpiles in Russia, and many other places across the globe, Hastings said. He also cited instances when nuclear missiles have become inoperable after alleged UFO appearances. He said this lead him to believe that UFOs are trying to warn humanity of the danger of nuclear weapons.

Ayisha N. Hendrix, the SEB speakers programmer, said Hastings’ discussion paired well with the Bigfoot event hosted by Cliff Barackman in October. Hendrix said she is usually a skeptic about paranormal things, but thought Barackman was pretty convincing.

Brian S. Donnan, a junior communication major, said he had rarely considered UFOs before hearing Hastings speak.

“I’m pretty convinced,” Donnan said. “But I’d like to see one with my own eyes. You could say I want to believe.”