Rear Admiral Roscoe H. Hillenkoetter

First CIA Director, UFO Secrecy, and MJ-12

Background

Roscoe Henry Hillenkoetter (1897–1982) served as the first Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from 1947 to 1950. His tenure overlapped the post-war surge in “flying saucer” reports, including the 1947 Roswell era. A career naval intelligence officer, he later engaged publicly with civilian UFO inquiry as a board member of NICAP.

Association with MJ-12

Hillenkoetter’s name appears in the Majestic-12 documents that surfaced in the 1980s, portraying a secret panel managing crash retrievals and technology. The papers are disputed; many view them as fabrication or disinformation. His real-world role as CIA Director in 1947 is the key reason his inclusion lends MJ-12 unusual plausibility for some researchers.

Public Statements on Secrecy

As a NICAP director in 1960, Hillenkoetter criticized official handling of UFOs. He wrote: “It is time for the truth to be brought out… high-ranking Air Force officers are soberly concerned about UFOs.” (New York Times, 1960)

Implications

Hillenkoetter anchors the intersection of verified intelligence leadership and contested leak lore. If MJ-12 is forged, his name was a strategic choice that fused authentic authority with myth. If any core is genuine, his later push for transparency reads as calibrated pressure toward policy change without breaching classification.

Forensic Assessment

Verified record: first CIA Director; NICAP board; documented call for more openness. Contested overlay: MJ-12 authorship and provenance remain unresolved. Net effect: Hillenkoetter is the strongest government-grade fulcrum used to legitimize the MJ-12 narrative in public discourse.