Jonathan Weygandt
Jonathan Weygandt is a former United States Marine Corps Lance Corporal who witnessed a crashed egg-shaped UAP and was subsequently detained by Department of Energy personnel during Operation Laser Strike in Peru in March or April 1997. His testimony, first recorded by Steven Greer in 2000 for the Disclosure Project, provides one of the most detailed firsthand accounts of a UAP crash retrieval operation involving NEST (Nuclear Emergency Support Team) assets and DOE Special Response Teams. After giving his testimony, Weygandt went silent for over two decades, never seeking profit or publicity from his experience, reemerging only in 2023.
| Role | USMC Lance Corporal; Stinger Avenger Gunner; UAP witness; Disclosure Project witness |
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Military Service and Assignment
In February 1997, Weygandt was transferred to Pucallpa Airbase in Peru to serve in Operation Laser Strike, a US Southcom counter-narcotics mission involving approximately 20 agencies including the USMC, CIA, and USAF. He served as a Stinger Avenger Gunner performing perimeter security duties under the command of Master Sergeant Chris Diggins and Major Bob Cole as part of MAC G28.
The base operated sophisticated surveillance capabilities including TPS-43 and RR relocatable Over-the-Horizon radar systems, as well as CIA Cessna Citation spotter aircraft, providing multi-sensor detection of airborne targets. While stationed there, Weygandt overheard USAF personnel discussing the tracking of UFOs displaying anomalous flight characteristics.
The 1997 Peru UFO Crash Encounter
During a late-night guard detail in March or April 1997, Weygandt, along with Staff Sergeant Montray, Sergeant Allen, and Sergeant Atkins, were ordered to secure what was described as a potentially friendly downed aircraft crash site. Records indicate a shootdown occurred on March 25, 1997, by an A-37 aircraft. By early morning, the platoon of Marines reached the designated area in their Humvees, then proceeded on foot through the bush.
Weygandt recalls the site was easy to find due to "a huge gash in the land where something had landed." He, Atkins, and Allen proceeded to investigate the crashed object while the remaining Marines stayed at the initial crash site.
The Craft
What Weygandt encountered was an egg-shaped craft with its narrow end embedded in a cliff face. The craft displayed extraordinary characteristics:
- Size and shape: Egg or teardrop-shaped, with the narrow end jutting out of the cliff
- Surface: Metallic but with fluctuations resembling liquid, described as "gasoline dripping into water" or having a "mother of pearl" effect
- Color and light absorption: The surface was constantly changing and appeared to absorb rather than reflect light
- Large gill-like vents: Running along the exposed side of the craft
- Acoustic effects: Emitted a dull humming sound that instilled profound fear and unease in the Marines
- Damage: A large gash in the side, which Weygandt speculated may have been caused by a Hawk missile system
- Psychological effects: The humming sound created feelings of fear in the witnessing Marines
The craft's characteristics closely resemble descriptions by Eric Taber of an egg-shaped craft at Area 51 that was completely smooth with no rivets, welding, or visible entry points—suggesting technology fundamentally beyond human engineering capability.
Detention by DOE Personnel
As Weygandt, Atkins, and Allen departed the craft, Weygandt observed a group of men approaching from two landed US Army CH-47 Chinook helicopters. These individuals wore:
- Black fatigues with little to no insignia
- Hazmat suits
- DOE rain jackets with "Delta Oscar Echo" (DOE) markings on the back
- No name tags
- Appeared to be older men in their late 30s to 40s
Weygandt was arrested, stripped of his gear, had his wrists cable-tied, and was taken aboard a CH-47 helicopter where he was interrogated and verbally assaulted for 15 hours. A lieutenant colonel forced him to sign paperwork that Weygandt didn't read due to his state of extreme fear and duress. He was then held with USAF personnel for three weeks before being returned to the United States.
The presence of personnel wearing DOE insignia—specifically the "big Delta Oscar Echo" on their rain jackets—is the critical detail identifying them as the DOE Special Response Team, sometimes called "Nuclear Commandos." This shadow DOE special operations unit has arrest authority when dealing with protection of DOE National Labs and assets. In 1997, Special Response Teams were staffed by contractors such as EG&G.
Significance of DOE Involvement
The DOE connection is critical to understanding the classification architecture surrounding UAP crash retrievals. The DOE Special Response Team is part of NEST (Nuclear Emergency Support Team), which comprises special forces, scientists, technicians, and engineers combined with US Army 52nd EOD for emergency response operations. NEST technical information is classified at the level of Special Access Programs.
NEST's primary intelligence comes from the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and CIA, with support from DOE contractors including EG&G, Raytheon, and Lockheed Martin. The historical connection is significant: the Department of Energy and Nuclear Regulatory Commission were formerly the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), which has been repeatedly named in connection with the classification of crashed UFO materials and craft.
The 2024 UAP NDAA legislation authored by Chuck Schumer explicitly states the AEC has been used to misclassify UAP records as "trans-classified foreign nuclear material," thereby exempting them from disclosure requirements. This legislative acknowledgment validates Weygandt's identification of DOE personnel at the crash site as evidence of an organized, protocol-driven crash retrieval apparatus operating under nuclear-related classification authorities.
Public Testimony and Aftermath
Weygandt's testimony first appeared in a 2001 interview with Steven Greer for the Disclosure Project. The interview was conducted approximately two months after Weygandt reached out to Greer's team in August 2000. After telling his story publicly, Weygandt essentially disappeared from public view until 2023, never attempting to gain profit or seek publicity from his experience—a fact that lends credibility to his account.
The body language, specific technical details, and particularly the identification of DOE personnel—entities that would only be known to someone with genuine exposure to such operations—make Weygandt's testimony one of the most credible firsthand accounts of a UAP crash retrieval in the historical record.