MY VISIT TO THE NEVADA TEST SITE AND AREA 51 by Jeffrey A. Wingo

Over the years I have read many interesting articles and books about Area 51. Most of what you read is, in my humble opinion, disinformation, not true, and complete nonsense. I do not believe there are alien craft or aliens at this facility. Nor do I believe that the United States government is back engineering crashed or captured alien craft. What I do know is that it is a top-secret military installation and development center that has produced some of the most sophisticated military weaponry known to man.

Many people who I have spoken with over the years are completely taken by surprise when I tell them I have been there! In fact, that is why I became interested in the whole alien UFO business in the first place. Later, as more information became available, I realized I had actually been to a place that most people would die to enter and explore (and I think a few may have!).

Anyway, I don’t want to fill your head with lies or conjure images in your mind that aren’t true. I’m not writing this piece to add to the mystique of the place or to try to bolster my image. That’s not what I am about and that certainly is not my motivation or intent. Indeed, once this piece is published the last thing that I want is to receive a visit from the powers that be!

So let me state that my trip into this area was actually very uneventful, time consuming, and just like any other day. It all began in 1980 when I was working with a relative in his trucking business. We were blue collar workers, driving a truck from one end of this country to the other. Our usual routine was to pick up a load of chili powder in 55 gallon drums from a warehouse in Los Angeles and take it another warehouse in Boston. Then we would pickup freight going north to Bangor Maine and pick up another load going west to Oklahoma City. That was quite a turn in those days!

On this particular trip we were required to make a pickup in a warehouse (I don’t remember the particular location). As it turned out what we were required to pick up was not our usual freight. Basically we picked up what looked like a giant steel tube. It was so big that it completely filled the interior of the trailer. Once the piece was loaded and secure, we received our paperwork and instructions which basically required us to get the freight to the destination as soon as possible. Once the manifest was signed we left and headed down the highway to Mercury Nevada.

Once we arrived at the gate we produced the freight manifest and were asked for our identification. I was informed that our ID’s would be entered into an FBI data base (actually who knows what the data base was. Probably our backgrounds were searched and our information was stored in the extensive files of the U. S. government and military).

Our truck was searched from top to bottom and after a 2 hour delay we were each given a radiation badge and told that if the green colored bar turned red that was an strong indication that we had been exposed to radiation. Now I was getting nervous, thinking what on earth have I gotten myself into, and that by the time I reach my forties or fifties I will die from cancer or some other unknown medical anomaly (presently I am 54 with no problems of that sort thank the Lord!).

We were also given directions to our destination within the facility with these instructions: You have 2 hours to get to your destination. If you do not show up in that two hour window we will send a helicopter to find you. In the event that your vehicle should break down, do not exit the vehicle until told to do so by security personnel. Do not stop under any circumstances nor exit the vehicle. If you fail to obey these instructions and you do exit the vehicle then we advise you not to pick up any rocks or other debris, or make any attempt to keep anything that you may encounter as a souvenir. If you do exit the vehicle you may face criminal penalty, prison, etc., and on and on it went. At this point I recall thinking that I would never see civilization again!

Once all the instructions and threats were articulated in a typical monotone governmental fashion, and my knees were beginning to feel weak thinking about all of the bad things that could come to us because of this, we were given our keys and instructed to pull through the gate and proceed to our destination. My last thought before I entered the gate was a quote from Dante’s Inferno: “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.”

Inside the Nevada Test Site

Once inside we proceeded to drive at the posted speed limit and try to make the destination within the two hour window. It was our hope to make it within the required timeframe so that we would not be pursued by government thugs armed with a helicopter and weapons of mass destruction.

Even though the desert is very desolate it presents its own type of beauty. I could see in the distance the mountains that surround the facility and every once in a while a roadrunner (a small desert bird) would cross our path.

But then things began to change. The desert sand began to appear somehow different and we began to see large areas of land surrounded by chain-link fencing. Within the fenced area I could see gigantic sinkholes in the ground, huge holes, in fact, these were more like enormous craters, and the sand looked like it had been fused by tremendous heat. Each fenced off area also had a sign which said, “WARNING DO NOT APPROACH; RADIATION DANGER.” And then it dawned on me–this was the place where the United States government had performed nuclear tests (and Dante’s quote from the Inferno took on a whole new meaning–flames, fire and brimstone!). This area was also known as the Nevada Proving Grounds. Here is a quote from Wikipedia:

“Formerly known as the Nevada Proving Grounds, the site was established on 11 January 1951 for the testing of nuclear devices, covering approximately 1,360 square miles (3,500 km2) of desert and mountainous terrain. Nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site began with a 1-kiloton-of-TNT (4.2 TJ) bomb dropped on Frenchman Flat on 27 January 1951. Many of the iconic images of the nuclear era come from the NTS.” {1}

The article goes on to state: “During the 1950s, the mushroom clouds from atmospheric tests could be seen for almost 100 mi (160 km). The city of Las Vegas experienced noticeable seismic effects, and the distant mushroom clouds, which could be seen from the downtown hotels, became tourist attractions.” {2}

That’s interesting to read about but let me tell you, when you are driving across the area and you see a big crater in the ground and then realize that that sinkhole was created by a nuclear blast–that leaves an impression on you! And I am especially wary now because I realize that the government could care less, then or now, whether or not my trip inside that facility might possibly make me sick! Our government has become a lot less over the years than what our founding fathers envisioned for America.

To get back to the story, I don’t recall how many of these fenced off areas that I saw but over the distance that we traveled they became a regular sight, warning signs and all. Once we reached our destination (still in the desert although I could see buildings in the distance) we were met by a crew of men with the necessary equipment needed to unload our cargo.

As the men were unloading the giant steel tube I asked one of them “what are you going to do with this tube?” And he replied, “we are going to bury it, maybe store nuclear waste in it. Should last about 50 years or so before we have to change it out.” I said, “nuclear waste? That doesn’t look like a storage tube, it looks like part of a tunnel,” to which he did not reply.

We were at this site the better part of the day and when the crew was finished the lead man asked us if we were hungry and if so we could eat at their canteen. So, being hungry, and curious too, we agreed to follow them to the place.

We must have looked like a small convoy going across the desert; several small trucks and other vehicles and a lumbering red and white cabover Kenworth truck and trailer. As we were driving to the lunchroom we were kicking up quite a bit of desert dust and I distinctly remember thinking, “oh, that’s great, I was warned about radiation and here we are in the midst of a dust cloud that can cover a semi;” and then I checked and rechecked my radiation badge with much relief, once I saw that it was still in the green!

We arrived at a group of buildings in the desert, actually it was like a big warehouse facility–except that it was empty, devoid of human activity. All of the warehouses were closed up, and to all outside appearances nothing was going on. What was actually going on in the warehouses I will never know, I was curious, but my curiosity would never be satisfied on this trip.

As we entered one of the buildings I could smell coffee and food and for about an hour we enjoyed great food and interesting company. The only thing is, I made another mistake by asking what this place in the desert was used for. The only answer I received was a grunt from one of the men as he was shoveling food into his mouth. I suppose at that point the body language was shouting–DON’T ASK! I got the point, ate my supper, and asked no more stupid questions. After about an hour the lead man came up and told us “you boys look like your finished, its time for you to go!”  Now, whenever I find myself in a government facility, especially one that keeps BIG SECRETS, you don’t have to tell me twice, I clearly understood what he was saying. So after putting my tray in the proper place, and after having one last shot of coffee, I checked my radiation badge for the 99th time, and with relief because it was still green, headed out the door, climbed up the steps into that old cabover Kenworth and we busted for the front gate.

Once at the gate I received my camera back that was confiscated by the guard, and they checked and rechecked the truck to make sure we were leaving with an empty trailer. While the guard was checking the truck I checked and rechecked my still in the green radiation badge. The guard ask for our radiation badges back and we handed them over to him. I said, “Thanks for letting me use that. It was good to know I was not exposed to any radiation,” to which he replied, “yeah, I just hope they work!”

Once we pulled free of the gate we entered the normal world with its normal worries. I took my previously confiscated camera and quickly snapped a picture as my only photographic proof that I had been there–and after all these years, I can’t find it–and I’m still hoping the radiation badge really did work!
Thanks for visiting.
Jeff Wingo

1. Nevada Test Site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevada_Test_Site
2. Ibid.