Richard Doty

Richard Doty, a former special agent with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI), played a pivotal role in UFO disinformation during the late 1970s and 1980s at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Trained in spycraft, surveillance, and deception, Doty was tasked with protecting classified projects—like stealth aircraft, lasers, and nuclear programs—from prying eyes, including Soviet spies masquerading as ufologists. He targeted figures like engineer Paul Bennewitz, who had intercepted base signals, by feeding him fabricated tales of alien craft, abductions, and government-alien pacts to discredit his findings and steer him away from real secrets.

Doty's tactics amplified UFO lore, including Roswell myths, through forged documents and staged events shared with researchers. Featured in the 2013 documentary Mirage Men, he detailed how the military manufactured UFO sightings to deflect attention from advanced tech. Despite admitting the UFO field rife with charlatans, Doty claims personal involvement in a top-secret program on government-UFO ties, fueling ongoing disclosure debates. His legacy underscores U.S. intelligence's use of ufology as a psyops tool. (612 characters)