THE GROOM LAKE DESERT RAT ISSUE #1 IS UPLOADED HERE WITH THE PERMISSION OF 
THE AUTHOR.

THE GROOM LAKE DESERT RAT.   An On-Line Newsletter.                            
Issue #1.  Jan. 18, 1994.                                                      
-----> "The Naked Truth from Open Sources." <-----                             
AREA 51/NELLIS RANGE/TTR/NTS/S-4?/WEIRD STUFF/DESERT LORE                      
Written, published, copyrighted and totally disavowed by                       
psychospy@aol.com. See bottom for subscription/copyright info.                 
                                                                               
In this issue...                                                               
     FREEDOM RIDGE STATUS                                                      
     SOME VIEWPOINTS REMAIN UNTOUCHED                                          
     FIELD TRIP A SUCCESS                                                      
     MEN IN BLACK VISIT RACHEL                                                 
     TRESPASSERS PLEAD NOT GUILTY                                              
                                                                               
[Note: This file ends with "#####".  Check for truncation.]                    
                                                                               
----- FREEDOM RIDGE STATUS -----                                               
                                                                               
The popular public viewpoints into the unacknowledged Groom Lake               
base remain open at present.  Although the Air Force has applied               
to BLM to seize this land, approval is no longer a certainty.                  
"You can't fight the government," some people may say, and we                  
would have concurred a few months ago, but substantial political               
opposition has begun to materialize recently from many different               
quarters.  Aside from the environmental, UFO and anti-secrecy                  
groups one would expect to be involved, opponents have found                   
unexpected support in some Nevada state agencies and the brewing               
"Sagebrush Rebellion," a movement of local counties to take                    
control of public lands.   At the least, the AF will be forced to              
overcome significant hurdles before it gets the land.  At best,                
some people hope to rout the Federal government altogether from                
lands previously controlled by BLM.                                            
                                                                               
From the Freedom Ridge and White Sides viewpoints you see what                 
appears to be a large Air Force base beside a dry lake bed, with               
a very long runway, many large hangers and a virtual city of                   
support facilities.  Ten to twelve roundtrip 737 flights each                  
weekday bring workers here from Las Vegas.  No one seems to have               
any confirmable information about what is actually going on at                 
Groom.  The interesting aspect of this facility to most visitors               
is that the government in no way acknowledges its existence.                   
Further satisfaction can be drawn from the intensive monitoring                
of nearby public lands by anonymous, heavily-armed security                    
forces who watch all visitors closely.  If you approach these                  
dudes, they'll run away, but they always remain close enough to                
keep track of you.                                                             
                                                                               
A public hearing on the land withdrawal is scheduled for Monday,               
Jan. 31, in Caliente, Nevada (about 2-1/2 hours north of Las                   
Vegas), at 7pm in the VFW hall.  In spite of the remote location,              
this event is already becoming a hot ticket among local Nevada                 
land use advocates.  Opponents have also requested a second                    
hearing in Las Vegas so more  people can attend.  Although this                
request has not yet been granted, a Las Vegas hearing is looking               
increasingly likely and would probably take place in late Feb. or              
early March.  Sparks will fly at both events:  Caliente will                   
probably be more of an in-state protest focusing on land use                   
issues, while Las Vegas would probably focus on the Groom Lake                 
base itself, including the alleged environmental abuses there and              
the justification for its continued "nonexistence."                            
                                                                               
Even if things were to go amazingly well for the AF (which they                
are not), the viewpoints cannot legally be closed before the                   
hearings take place.  The land remains public until the seizure                
is formally approved, so anyone can come here until then to view               
the secret base.  If you choose, you can even camp here for up to              
14 days without permission from anyone.  The hike to Freedom                   
Ridge takes 50 minutes, while four wheel drive owners can push                 
all the way to the top on the newly marked "Freedom Ridge                      
Expressway," a rugged cross-country track.  You can park at the                
top with a bucket of popcorn and your special sweetie just like a              
drive-in movie.  Nothing significant ever seems to happen at the               
secret base when people are watching, but if you and your sweetie              
are feeling cozy that shouldn't matter.  (Please note, however,                
that making out within sight of the secret base is strictly                    
against Federal law and is punishable by a fine of $5,000 and up               
to a year in prison.)  Of course, you must be careful not cross                
the nearby military boundary, which is well-marked with signs and              
orange posts.  (The maximum theoretical punishment for that                    
offense is the same as for making out, although first time                     
offenders are usually fined only $300 to $600.)                                
                                                                               
----- SOME VIEWPOINTS REMAIN UNTOUCHED -----                                   
                                                                               
The underlying reason for the proposed land withdrawal is that                 
the AF botched its survey work for the huge Groom  Range                       
withdrawal of the 1980s.  That action was also intended to hide                
the Groom base from public view by seizing a whole mountain                    
range.  Alas, they overlooked the more obscure hills now in                    
question, effectively rendering the entire withdrawal useless.                 
                                                                               
Could it be possible that, even with the current proposed                      
withdrawal, the AF has botched the job once again?  Reports                    
continue to reach us of public viewpoints into '"51" that remain               
untouched by the current action.  We won't publicize all of them,              
but it is sufficient to say that the AF cannot neutralize these                
locations without bursting the 5000 acre limit beyond which                    
Congressional approval would be required.  (The military would                 
rather face a dozen Saddams than tangle with Capitol Hill.)                    
                                                                               
Viewpoints we can talk about now are Badger Mountain and Tikaboo               
Peak.  These are in the high cluster of peaks about 15 miles east              
of Freedom Ridge and just south of Hancock Summit.  The climb is               
longer and more strenuous, but a recent visitor to Tikaboo Peak                
reports that you can see most of the Groom base from there.                    
Distance is a problem:  25 miles vs. about 10 miles from Freedom               
Ridge, but having a high-quality telescope could help.  The                    
important thing proven here is that the AF is once again engaged               
in "government work," an incompetent, weak-kneed effort that does              
only half the job.  If they are going to take any land at all,                 
they should be required also to take Tikaboo and Badger peaks.                 
This, in turn, would burst the 5000 acre limit and force the                   
issue to be debated in Congress, where the voice of the people                 
can be heard.                                                                  
                                                                               
----- FIELD TRIP A SUCCESS -----                                               
                                                                               
About 25 people showed up on Freedom Ridge for the Jan. 15                     
aviation field trip.  Given that the plans came together only                  
about 10 days before the event, this was a strong turnout.  A                  
wide array of civilian optical devices were turned on the base,                
allowing participants to see "the hairs on a gnat's ass," so to                
speak.  Sweetman, Goodall, psychospy, Dr. Brown, Agent X, Rocket               
Scientist, The Cops and other fanatics and riff-raff speculated                
wildly about what was inside each of those big hangers and                     
factory buildings, but no consensus was reached.                               
                                                                               
The field trip coincided with the opening of the new "Freedom                  
Ridge Expressway."  In a scene reminiscent of a television                     
commercial for Coors or Toyota, four sport-utility vehicles                    
traversed the desert sagebrush to this remote hilltop location,                
where the occupants broke out their lawn chairs and would have                 
drank beer if anyone had thought to bring any.                                 
                                                                               
Also in attendance, but trying desperately not to be noticed,                  
were at least a dozen of the anonymous, camouflage-clad security               
dudes lurking behind rocks and Joshua trees at various locations               
on public and military land at least a mile away.  The word on                 
the street now says these folks work for the government                        
contractor EG&G, not Wackenhut as once surmised.  There were                   
plenty of distant appearances by the ubiquitous white Jeep                     
Cherokees, sticking out like beacons against the beige-and-brown               
landscape.  Less obvious was a big beige van partially covered                 
with cammo netting on public land about two miles from the get-                
together.  On top of the van was a tower of some kind, about 5                 
feet high.  Our speculation is that it was a high powered range                
tracking video camera pointed our way.  We waved and turned our                
own telescopes in that direction, and eventually the occupants                 
packed up and slinked back across the border.                                  
                                                                               
Road sensors were also a popular tourist attraction for visitors.              
The organizers had labeled some of the secret roadside detectors               
with big fluorescent orange signs that said "SENSOR" so they                   
wouldn't be missed.  We hope the heavy traffic and close                       
inspection of these paint-can size transmitters didn't damage                  
them any, because they have come to seem like old friends to us.               
They are usually found in reliable locations and are easy to                   
disable should the need arise.                                                 
                                                                               
After yaking and milling about on Freedom Ridge for a few hours,               
the group made its way to the Little A-Le-Inn where we warmed up               
a big pot of Dr. Brown's famous "Fartless Chili" (scientifically               
designed to avoid the obvious aftereffects) which all in                       
attendance were required to consume.  From there, the caravan                  
proceeded westward to the Tonopah Test Range (TTR) where we gave               
out Area 51 patches to the guards.  Unlike the anonymous Groom                 
dudes, these guys have name tags and were happy to converse with               
us.  There sure were a lot of them, however.  They said they knew              
we were coming because the Dept. of Energy sent them a copy of                 
our flyer.  (Gosh, that was clever of them.  Maybe we should take              
DOE off our mailing list.)                                                     
                                                                               
A pleasant time was had by all, and great satisfaction was                     
derived from our observation that no more than 25 of us law-                   
abiding citizens resulted in canceled vacations and untold                     
overtime for what appeared to be about 50 security dudes total.                
We think of it as defending the job security of our friends in                 
beige.                                                                         
                                                                               
----- MEN IN BLACK VISIT RACHEL -----                                          
                                                                               
As part of the group was making its way from Freedom Ridge toward              
the Little A-Le-Inn, we stopped briefly at the mysterious Black                
Mailbox, site of many UFO tales.  There, the word reached us from              
a departing visitor that two men in business suits were seen                   
lurking around the Campbell residence in Rachel, still 20 miles                
away.  This reporter nearly shat in his proverbial pants as he                 
contemplated the implications of that intelligence.  WHO WEARS                 
BUSINESS SUITS IN THE DESERT?  At best, these must be FBI agents               
waiting to arrest or serve a warrant on Mr. Campbell, the chief                
irritant to the military along the '51 border.  At worst, they                 
could be the mysterious Men In Black, perhaps employed by a                    
shadowy government agency that knows no rules or even, if you                  
choose to believe the stories, actual aliens disguised as humans               
and engaged in some sinister mind game.                                        
                                                                               
Not knowing what to expect, we decided that the best option was                
to descend on the Campbell residence en masse.  There were only                
two of them, our intel said, versus a dozen of us, so maybe we                 
could stand up to them as a group.  We motored as a convoy down                
Highway 375 to Rachel, then took up a position on the opposite                 
side of the road from Mr. Campbell's mobile home.  Peering                     
through binoculars, we saw at first no sign of the Men In Black.               
There were no unidentified cars parked in the vicinity and no                  
obvious indications that the front door had been tampered with.                
However, closer inspection of the door with our most powerful                  
optical devices revealed undeniable evidence that the MIBs had                 
indeed been there and were on the prowl for our very souls.                    
Wedged between the doorknob and the doorframe was a rolled up                  
copy of The Watchtower.                                                        
                                                                               
Jehovah's Witnesses!                                                           
                                                                               
----- TRESPASSERS PLEAD NOT GUILTY -----                                       
                                                                               
Seven people accused of trespassing on military land near the                  
Groom base were arraigned in Justice Court in Alamo on Jan. 12.                
Three pleaded "No Contest" and accepted their fines of about $300              
each.  Four pleaded Not Guilty, and their trial is scheduled for               
Mar. 2.  The four contend that although they did cross the line,               
it was entirely accidental, the result of confusing signals and a              
misread map.                                                                   
                                                                               
On Jan. 2, these seven traveling in three vehicles drove beyond                
the Keep Out signs on the well-maintained Groom Lake Road and up               
to the guard shack about a half mile beyond.  This was their                   
first visit to the area, and they obviously had not read this                  
reporter's "Area 51 Viewer's Guide," which advises against                     
crossing the line.  Trying to follow a crude map to the Freedom                
Ridge trailhead, the group whizzed past the often photographed                 
sign forest forbidding trespass (and photography) and containing               
such memorable but evidently unread phrases as "Use of Deadly                  
Force Authorized."                                                             
                                                                               
There was no place to turn around at the signs, the intruders                  
claim, and as they passed a white Jeep Cherokee, they said a                   
guard inside waved to them, as though saying "Come on in!"                     
Naturally, upon arrival at the guard house, they were descended                
upon by a gaggle of excessively armed cammo dudes who were not                 
prepared to give helpful directions and certainly were not versed              
on any of the social graces.  The immediate arrest of the                      
offenders, no matter how old, young, naive or harmless, was                    
apparently the only option available in their very limited                     
emotional repetoir.                                                            
                                                                               
This reporter and two other hikers happened to witness the                     
incident while climbing Freedom Ridge ourselves.  As soon as we                
understood what was happening, we aborted our ascent and broke                 
out the telescopes to watch the festivities.  The ratio of armed               
cammo dudes to naive intruders was easily two to one.  We watched              
as the trespassers--four men and two woman of varying ages--stood              
around their cars for over an hour looking frustrated and                      
confused while tough men with big assault weapons milled about                 
looking equally bored and a bit embarrassed.  A state trooper                  
arrived first, followed by Sgt. Lamoreaux of the Lincoln County                
Sheriff's Dept.  Forms were signed, and the prisoners were turned              
over to the Sheriff for more advanced forms of humiliation.                    
                                                                               
The intruders were thoughtfully provided with handcuffs and leg-               
irons (for their own safety, no doubt) and were taken in an Air                
Force van to the palatial, brand-spanking-new Lincoln County                   
Detention Center in Pioche.  This nearly empty, high-tech                      
hoosegow, otherwise known as the Jail That Ate Lincoln County,                 
was built with the intent to house other people's prisoners for                
profit.  That was before the bottom fell out of the captive                    
housing market, and the county now has to scrape for any                       
prisoners it can get.                                                          
                                                                               
In this case it graciously accommodated Connie Ruiz, her daughter              
Sissy and son David, Connie's neighbor Bill Fitzgerald, his sons               
Kevin and Tim, and a friend Gilbert Narvaiz.  Hardened criminals,              
all.  They claim that at the Detention Center they were forced to              
stand facing a blank wall for over an hour and a half, even one                
man who had an injured ankle, and were denied the use of the                   
bathroom for many hours after their arrest.  They said they were               
strip searched (because, presumably, you never can know in which               
body cavity those devious trespassers might be hiding drugs or                 
weapons) and were given stylish orange jumpsuits to wear (as                   
you've seen rakishly modeled by Charlie Manson).  The seven                    
wasted away in jail for about eight hours while Bill's wife and                
Connie's husband three hours away in Las Vegas tried to hunt up                
$4200 in cash on a Sunday night to bail out their loved ones.                  
$200 more to tow each of the three vehicles brought the total bar              
tab to $4800 for this very engrossing weekend experience.  The                 
adventure was all the more educational for several of the                      
participants had never before seen the inside of a jail cell.                  
                                                                               
Some hysterical activists might cry "overkill" and "law                        
enforcement run amok."  Well, maybe just a tad.                                
                                                                               
In the meantime, after witnessing the arrest but still not                     
knowing who these people were, this reporter got on the horn to                
his contacts to tell them about the event.  ("Seven People                     
Arrested in Groom Lake Incident," the Las Vegas Review-Journal                 
reported on Jan. 5.)  He then headed down the highway to Pioche,               
arriving at the Detention Center sometime after the prisoners                  
did.  The duty officer behind a seamless expanse of bullet-proof               
glass refused to give any information about the prisoners, even                
whether they were being held at the detention center at all, so                
this reporter was forced to wait outside in the sub-freezing                   
night for an uncertain release.  And wait.  And wait.  In his                  
delirium and creeping hypothermia, the reporter was transformed,               
in a metaphysical sense, from a mild-mannered Bill Bixby into a                
raging green Incredible Hulk.  Alas, when the prisoners were                   
finally bailed out around 4 am, the Hulk was sound asleep in the               
back of his car and did not get a chance to meet them.  He                     
learned who they were only when one of the seven called him a few              
days later, and the story they told further enraged the Hulk's                 
already green condition.                                                       
                                                                               
Doctor, help me.  Ever since spending the night in the parking                 
lot of the Lincoln County Detention Center, I have been afflicted              
by the uncontrollable urge to do violent damage to both the                    
anonymous cammo dudes and the Lincoln County Sheriff's Dept.  I                
don't mean to bomb, shoot, dismember or otherwise physically harm              
these noble defenders of the law; I want to utterly destroy them               
at the very core of their being.  I WANT TO CUT THEIR FUNDING.  I              
know this is an irrational impulse.  Each of these people, as                  
individuals, are probably nice folks, but when you throw together              
a lot of decent people "just following orders" what you sometimes              
get, on the whole, is a sadistic monster with no collective                    
conscience or critical judgment.                                               
                                                                               
The case of the seven trespassers has become, for this reporter,               
a timely symbolic example that dovetails naturally with the fight              
to save the viewpoints and expose the nonexistent base at Groom                
Lake.  The four who pleaded Not Guilty must continue to make                   
their own decisions, but I encourage them not to go down quietly.              
At the trial on Mar. 2, they will be accorded all the protections              
of any other defendant, including the right to subpoena                        
witnesses.  The first witness I would call, and that any good                  
lawyer would also want to haul into court, is that cammo dude in               
the white Cherokee who waved at the visitors as they passed.                   
"What was your intent?" Perry Mason would ask.  "Were you giving               
them an implied consent to enter your area?"                                   
                                                                               
If this well-armed paramilitary force patrolling public land                   
refuses to officially exist, then this is a good opportunity to                
bring them out into the open.  "Could you please state for the                 
court your name and who you work for?" Mason would ask.  The Las               
Vegas press will be present at this promising trial, and even a                
few in the national corps might be interested in meeting a                     
genuine cammo dude face to face.  They are, after all, so hard to              
pin down in the field, always running away as they do.  With a                 
bloody land seizure hearing (or two) expected in the meantime,                 
everyone should be whipped into a glorious frenzy by the time                  
Mar. 2 rolls along.  What if the cammo dudes don't honor the                   
subpoena?  Then the case falls apart.  Implied consent is a                    
critical issue here, and if the government fails to supply this                
one essential witness, it would be obstructing a legitimate                    
defense.                                                                       
                                                                               
These four have been crudely treated and are not guilty of the                 
charges against them.  Although they did cross the line, they                  
followed each other like lemmings, in clouds of dust and under                 
conditions of limited warning where there was inadequate                       
opportunity to read the signs.  The only person who might be seen              
as having control over the situation was the driver of the first               
vehicle, who has already pleaded No Contest.  The others either                
were passengers in other people's cars--and who thus had no                    
control at all over the situation--or were drivers of following                
vehicles who made a legitimate error that any law-biding citizen               
could easily have fallen victim to.  ("The guy in front must know              
where he is going, and that nice fellow in the Cherokee is waving              
us along.")  The authorities, if they are smart, will drop the                 
case to avoid their ultimate and totally publicized humiliation.               
If they are not smart (as is common among authorities), then they              
should be ready to fight a high-profile battle, not to mention                 
the seething greenness of this reporter.                                       
                                                                               
Hulk wants blood.                                                              
                                                                               
----- LATE BREAKING NEWS -----                                                 
                                                                               
1/25/94:  Official notice has just been received that a hearing                
WILL be held in Las Vegas.  It will take place Weds., Mar. 2, 5-               
8pm, in the Cashman Field Center, Rooms 203-204.  More details                 
will follow in Desert Rat #2, due sometime after Feb. 1.                       
                                                                               
The Las Vegas hearing is in addition to the Caliente hearing                   
scheduled for Jan. 31.  The Caliente hearing is already shaping                
up to be a big event for land use advocates.  For those who plan               
to attend, you may like to know that opponents will be gathering               
for dinner at the Knotty Pine Restaurant at about 5 or 5:30, just              
before the 7pm hearing.                                                        
                                                                               
----- SUBSCRIPTION AND COPYWRITE INFO -----                                    
                                                                               
(c) by Glenn Campbell, 1994.                                                   
                                                                               
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     HCR Box 38                                                                
     Rachel, NV 89001                                                          
                                                                               
Final wisdom:  If it says, "Restricted Area," "No Trespassing,"                
"Keep Out," and "Use of Deadly Force Authorized," then keep                    
going, don't worry about it, God will                                          
protect you.                                                                   
                                                                               
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