Colonel Robert Simmons
Colonel Robert Simmons was a United States Air Force officer who, along with Major Jesse Haaste, was dispatched to Bolivia in May 1978 to investigate a crashed cylindrical object that thousands of witnesses observed impacting a mountainside near El Taire, Bolivia. Simmons's deployment to Bolivia provides documentary evidence of US Air Force involvement in foreign UFO crash retrieval operations under Project Moondust.
| Role | US Air Force Colonel |
|---|
1978 Bolivia UFO Crash Investigation
On May 6, 1978, at 4:15 PM, a cylindrical object crashed into a mountainside near El Taire, Bolivia, creating a sonic boom heard up to 150 miles away and cracking window panes as far as 30 miles in radius. Local Bolivian military discovered the object — described as a dull metallic cylinder 12 feet long with a few dents — and were awaiting technical assistance.
Colonel Simmons and Major Haaste arrived in Bolivia following coordination by US Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, who wrote that "appropriate government agencies have been contacted regarding this crash." The agencies contacted included Project Moondust, which received film of the object from Bolivian military and was tasked with monitoring the situation.
Operational Role
Simmons's deployment suggests his role involved:
- On-site assessment of the crashed object
- Coordination with Bolivian military authorities
- Technical evaluation to determine origin and nature of the craft
- Possible coordination of retrieval operations if the object was deemed recoverable
The fact that two Air Force officers were dispatched internationally within days of the crash indicates a pre-existing operational framework for rapid response to foreign UFO incidents, consistent with Moon Dust's documented crash retrieval mission.
Documentary Evidence
Simmons's involvement is documented in declassified State Department cables and memos obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests. These documents establish that the 1978 Bolivia incident was not merely observed by US intelligence but actively responded to with personnel deployment and inter-agency coordination at the Secretary of State level.
Significance
Colonel Simmons's Bolivia deployment demonstrates that Project Moondust was not a passive intelligence monitoring program but an active crash retrieval operation with:
- Rapid deployment capabilities for foreign incidents
- Coordination authority spanning State Department, Air Force, and intelligence agencies
- Personnel trained and authorized for international retrieval missions