Whether you’ve heard about chapter 13 of FEMA’s Fire Officer’s Guide to Disaster Control or not, many both within the government and on the outside looking in have voiced concern over this infamous chapter dealing with the response for alien invasion and the handling of extraterrestrial materials. But whether the manual is simply preparing -as many firefighters and emergency service men and women do- for the unthinkable, or the book is evidence of a deeper conspiracy, it makes for a fascinating and often troubling read.
The chapter outlines not only the possibility of an alien craft landing and/or attacking an area, but also cites many cases in which these attacks have taken place. Keep in mind, this is an official training manual. And while the text doesn’t attempt to prove or disprove the phenomena of extraterrestrial visitation, it does go on to say that documentation of potentially dangerous encounters with unknown entities from the stars is something that should be addressed even if the phenomenon cannot or will not be proven at first. It even goes into the subject of why any world government would find it necessary to cover up the presence of extraterrestrials. It suggests that in addition to the potential panic such a formal announcement could cause, it would mean that the investigation of extraterrestrials by the US would be impeded by other world powers and if the existence of aliens officially remained secret, there would be no need to share any top secret alien technology it may uncover.
Judging from the material listed in the chapter it’s clear that the authors were well versed in the field of UFOlogy and cited many cases that more casual enthusiasts might have overlooked. But the interesting thing is the focus it places on very few technologies and how to deal with them.
In addition to the psychological aspect of such an attack, the chapter is actually fairly direct and candid, though it spends a significant portion of that chapter defending why speculation over an extraterrestrial threat is valid in a field manual for disaster responders such as fire officials. This validation eventually makes some compelling points that could be expanded.
Often when Chapter 13 of this book is dealt with in the media the fact that the author cited his reasons for including it in the book is never mentioned. In fact, the book itself has been used repeatedly as proof of a government cover-up, when it actually provides an opportunity to suggest a far more compelling and often overlooked principle. If the UFO phenomenon was a very real but unconfirmed threat, how would we prepare for it? How would the word get out so firefighters were trained to deal with a scenario like this? Most scenarios that firefighters deal with have a great deal of training attached to them not only when it comes to the technical aspect of rescue, but the psychological aspect as well. Are there other fields -much like the UFO phenomenon- that deal with the same types of uncertainty and fear that rescue officials might benefit from becoming familiar with when technology is changing so much and the Earth itself seems to be under an eminent and immense change?