Rodrik Castle
Rodrik John Castle III is a veteran and former sergeant (E-5) of the United States Marine Corps who served from 1994 to 1999. His primary military occupational specialty (MOS) was 6531, aircraft ordnance technician, and he served with VMA-513 Flying Nightmares, an AV-8B Harrier attack squadron stationed out of MCAS Yuma, Arizona. Castle led a team of six to eight Marines in aviation ordnance and also trained as a helicopter flight medic. He is now a prominent UAP witness whose testimony describes a firsthand encounter with an enormous triangular craft and a clandestine armed unit during the 1997 Hunter Warrior Advanced Warfighting Experiment at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center 29 Palms.
| Role | Sergeant, United States Marine Corps (1994–1999); UAP witness |
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Military Service
Castle served at Marine Aircraft Group 13 (MAG-13) of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (3rd MAW) at MCAS Yuma. His squadron, VMA-513 "The Flying Nightmares," operated AV-8B Harrier jets — STOVL (short takeoff and vertical landing) aircraft equipped with Rolls-Royce Pegasus engines and four rotating nozzles capable of directing thrust for vertical landing and standstill hovering. Castle's familiarity with VTOL and STOVL technology, helicopter morphology, and Harrier flight dynamics made him well-equipped to distinguish the craft he encountered from any known aircraft.
The 1997 Encounter
During the Hunter Warrior Advanced Warfighting Experiment, a 12-day operation running from approximately March 2–14, 1997, Castle and his team were attached to an experimental special-purpose marine air-ground task force (SPMAGTF-X). On one night during the exercise, Castle's team was performing overnight crash retrieval duties for Harrier jets when they received a radio call about unexplained or unauthorized flare activity approximately three to five miles out in the desert.
The Craft
Driving in a Humvee with fire suppression equipment, Castle's team crested a hill near Emerson Dry Lake and observed an enormous equilateral triangular craft hovering silently approximately 150–200 feet in the air. The craft measured an estimated 200–300 feet in length. Key features included:
- Matte black surface darker than the night sky, with no observable reflectivity — blocking out stars and sky behind it
- Three embedded spherical lights at each vertex of the triangle, emitting a yellowish-white-gold color that cast no shadow onto the ground
- No seams, rivets, bolts, exhaust ports, or visible propulsion systems
- Silent hovering with no wobbling, bobbling, or weaving — unlike any Harrier or helicopter Castle had observed
- Slow counterclockwise rotation while stationary
- A concave dome-like structure (unlit) in the center of the underside
- Ridges or vents visible between each spherical light along the edges
The encounter occurred within FAA restricted airspace R2501C, within a 7.5-mile radius of Emerson Dry Lake, approximately 90 miles southeast of Edwards Air Force Base.
The Operators
Below the craft, approximately 30 armed men in unmarked, all-black uniforms occupied five to six all-black tactical vehicles resembling Ford F-150s to F-350s. The operators bore no insignia, name tags, flags, or identifying markings. Their vehicles were all matte black with no logos, chrome, or metallic reflections; some featured canopies and antennas. The operators spoke with American dialects and were armed with submachine guns (possibly MP5-type weapons). Approximately half the operators — roughly 15 — ran toward Castle's team in V-formation with weapons drawn, using harsh language and forcing the Marines to keep their heads down.
Departure and Aftermath
After approximately two to three minutes, the triangle ceased its counterclockwise rotation, climbed at an angle, and departed to the northwest at an extremely high rate of speed — toward the direction of R2508 airspace and Edwards Air Force Base. The craft exhibited no visible, auditory, or optical signs of propulsion or thrust during departure. The black operators immediately sprinted to their vehicles and drove off in the same northwest direction at high speed.
Castle's Humvee failed to start for approximately five minutes after the craft departed — a phenomenon consistent with electromagnetic vehicle interference documented in other UAP encounters. Upon returning to their Quonset hut, Castle's team was visited by their gunnery sergeant and a warrant officer who implied the incident was merely "flare activity" and the Marines were to remain silent.
Post-Encounter Events
The following day, Castle and his team were called to medical and given an anthrax booster, despite having already received the anthrax vaccine approximately a year prior. The booster was administered only to the Marines who witnessed the incident, accompanied by an armed guard. Notably, Michael Herrera and Jonathan Weygandt — two other Marines with similar UAP encounters — also reported receiving anthrax boosters immediately following their respective incidents.
Wackenhut Recruitment
In 2002, three years after leaving service, Castle was contacted by Wackenhut Corporation (now G4S) to join their helicopter teams. Wackenhut appeared to have detailed knowledge of Castle's military service record, including his training as a helicopter flight medic — a detail that was not part of his official MOS. Castle speculates this recruitment attempt may have been an effort to bring him into clandestine operations, possibly related to the Blue Boys — alleged UFO crash retrieval rapid response teams.
Disclosure Efforts
Castle kept his experience largely private for decades. In early 2025, he reached out to David Grusch expressing his willingness to testify before Congress. He subsequently connected with Dr. Steven Greer and was photographed with Greer, Representative Eric Burlison, and Michael Herrera, among others. Castle is committed to delivering sworn testimony regarding his encounter.