Jeffrey Nuccetelli, a former Air Force security officer, was a guest on the “Merged” podcast hosted by Ryan Graves. Their discussion focused on his experience at Vandenberg Military Base in 2003 during the appearance of an Unidentified Aerospace Phenomenon (UAP). Despite losing some documents related to the event in 2011, he retained others and was compelled to speak out due to the growing public interest following a New York Times article in 2017 and subsequent media coverage. However, he did not see significant progress until he discovered Ryan Graves’ podcast, a former Navy pilot and executive director of the American for Safe Aerospace Association (AFSA). Ryan appeared to him as being the appropriate person to report this incident, given his military background and credibility.
The incident, witnessed by multiple individuals, was taken seriously, with numerous reports and notifications reaching the upper hierarchy.
At the beginning of the interview, Mr. Nuccetelli emphasized the significance of Vandenberg Base, stemming from “President Bush’s large push to basically design a weapon system that could knock down ballistic incoming missiles around that time frame.”
The base served as a missile launch for interception to protect the integrity of the American territory in case of a ballistic missile attack.
The Event
On October 14, 2003, when Jeff arrived for his shift, he observed unusual activity outside a building near the smoking area. He was informed about a massive red square floating above Launch Pad 21. It was described as silent, the size of a football field, shining with red light, and hovering above the launch platform.
After equipping himself with night vision binoculars, he spent his shift patrolling the base, especially along the coast. During this time, he actively searched the sky for the UFO, discussing the event with the base security posts.
Later in the night, while at the control center, the post at the extreme south of the base reported a light approaching.
Jeff described voices becoming increasingly agitated and filled with fear. The light grew and approached; he jumped into his patrol car, heading towards the southern post. During the drive, he followed the conversation between the radio operator at the control center and the team. He described the chaos of the radio exchanges, and then the calm returning once the object had disappeared.
Upon arrival, Jeff interviewed the frightened witnesses. They recounted seeing an object coming from the west moving erratically. The UAP quickly arrived above the control post, before its lights disappeared towards the northeast. The description matches the UAP observed earlier above Launch Pad 21. The UAP was then described as a huge flat ‘square.’
Jeff Nuccetelli stated that his interaction with the All Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) was positive. The UFO investigator from the office spent over an hour discussing with him, aided by the professional knowledge they shared. The investigator approached his case seriously, although Mr. Nuccetelli noted that AARO’s capabilities were limited regarding historical cases like his. Despite this, he viewed the opportunity to share his story and the documentation he possessed as positive, recognizing the importance of documenting these events.
At the end of the interview, Jeff Nuccetelli expressed his surprise and enthusiasm following the question posed by Representative Anna Paulina Luna during a hearing, where she invited Ryan Graves to detail his case. He did not expect his story to be addressed publicly and was both delighted and terrified by this sudden revelation, wishing for a cautious approach to sharing his story, aiming to avoid sensationalism and to gather more information and testimonies. The hearing has made him feel motivated to get to work, aware that his narrative is now known to the public. He thanked Ryan Graves for the opportunity to share his experience and the serious attention given to his testimony. He acknowledged the importance of openly documenting and discussing UAP observations, emphasizing the utility of these efforts for a better understanding of unidentified aerospace phenomena. Despite the limits of AARO in analyzing historical cases, he is satisfied to have contributed to this body of knowledge and recalls considering speaking about the subject around him since the New York Times article of 2017. The interview concluded on a hopeful note, with Jeff hoping that his story can shed more light on the subject of UAPs.
That being said, it isn’t the first time Vandenberg Base has been mentioned when discussing UAP. Former First Lieutenant of the US Air Force Robert Jacobs has claimed that a craft resembling a flying saucer circled a dummy warhead during a test flight in 1964.
Main picture : By Tdrss – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0