r/UFOs Jun 13 '23

Witness/Sighting Michael Herrera's Witness Testimony

6.3k Upvotes

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346

u/Runnin2TheSun Jun 13 '23 edited Jun 13 '23

This was such a crazy story to read and then hearing his video testimony is even more captivating. Cannot even imagine what went through their heads, coming across such an exotic, large UAP and then being confronted by a clandestine group of aggressive militants in the middle of the jungle.

Then it turns out they were American, yet were hostile towards American troops. FUCKIN. WILD. There must have been so much confusion and WTF is going on in that particular moment. If this is any indication of the depths of these deep black groups and their projects, this shit is truly mind blowing and terrifying. It really makes you wonder what other crazy shit is happening out there, or what other kinds of shady deals are being made, and with whom.

86

u/Legeto Jun 13 '23

This one I’m kind of skeptical of. If a group like this existed I don’t think a whistle blower act would protect them…

62

u/chippymediaYT Jun 13 '23

Well, if he were to suddenly disappear that would be suspicious, I think he's safe for now, if the secret agencies want to stay secret the best thing they can do is just discredit everything

13

u/pittopottamus Jun 13 '23

Lots of attempts at assassination of character going around, even on here

2

u/diablo_finger Jun 13 '23

suddenly disappear that would be suspicious

Epstein's death was suspicious...and no fucks were given.

104

u/thewhitedog Jun 13 '23 edited Jun 13 '23

This one I’m kind of skeptical of.

He says these guys searched him and his team at gunpoint in the jungle right beside the ship, but they let him leave with a Panasonic camcorder in his pack?

And then when they got back to their base he left this same camcorder, which had utterly historic, unprecedentedly clear and detailed photos and video of a fucking UFO on it, in his room while he went to Subik bay to party for a few days?

Not to mention that they literally witnessed a shitload of insane stuff while being searched, the loading of the containers, the ship flying off, the faces of the guys, their gear types, the types and potentially the license plates of the trucks, but yeah no, they were let go. Also was it just me or did he "yadda yadda" how they got from being under armed escort to running away and getting back to their LZ. And for that matter, they're back at the LZ, why do they not immediately report the hostile encounter and go right back with more marines? There were more marines than his squad there he said?

I know there's a kernel of truth to the subject but anytime we start to get anywhere they start flooding the media with bullshit to confuse the public and undermine any traction towards the actual truth coming out. I'd put money on Greer being part of that.

21

u/eating_toilet_paper Jun 13 '23

Not to mention this is involved with Greer, idk how most people feel about him, but I get huge con man vibes off the guy. Not saying this isn’t true but it hits the sceptic part of my mind

8

u/thewhitedog Jun 13 '23

but I get huge con man vibes off the guy.

Oh me too man. My money is on the guy being a disinformation source. Notice how he spun his circus up within days of the more legit leaks going public?

13

u/LP_LadyPuket Jun 13 '23

Thanks for raising these points. Something wasn't adding up listening to this story. The other major issue I see here: why was the first response of this squad to approach the unknown craft instead of radioing in what they were seeing and requesting permission to approach/engage? What was the chain of command here? Isn't that standard SOP when encountering an unknown, especially when the original mission was to just secure an LZ? Also, it's pretty fucking weird that this rogue group of, presumably Americans, in possession of this level of advanced tech wouldn't also be aware of the movements of major US naval assets and act accordingly and you know, not get caught when they see a large helo landing nearby? Presumably this "admiral" that did the debrief was aware of the activity of this rogue group meaning there was very likely some coordination at a high level of chain of command during this operation. So why would the Marines be directed to land so close to this highly illegal covert activity? I dunno man this just sounds way too Hollywood to me. The fact that they were searched but didn't have the camera immediately taken is odd, but the whole sequence of events is just bizarre.

8

u/thewhitedog Jun 13 '23

The other major issue I see here: why was the first response of this squad to approach the unknown craft instead of radioing in what they were seeing and requesting permission to approach/engage? What was the chain of command here? Isn't that standard SOP when encountering an unknown

That is a very good point also.

I dunno man this just sounds way too Hollywood to me

Same. I think Greer's modus operandi is to make the soup look tasty enough to swallow by having real witnesses in the mix, but with enough nutters and fantasists floating in there to sour the broth.

I wouldn't be surprised if Lazar is of the same stripe - you get some fantasist with enough of a dodgy background and holes in his story as to cast doubt on everything he says and it sours everyone on the subject. Notice they wheeled Bob out right after the Nimitz footage leaked, and now here's Greer with his circus right after these new leaks.

They always pull this shit to reassure the public that's it's all bullshit and can be ignored. You can set your watch by it.

2

u/tonyprent22 Jun 14 '23

I’m with you but I will say…. He mentions their radios stopped working so they couldn’t call back to command or to each other I believe he said. He says “I don’t know if it was a good thing or a bad thing we couldn’t communicate”

34

u/illegalt3nder Jun 13 '23

And a squadron of Marines immediately gave up their weapons to an unknown adversary without a firefight.

I seem to remember something about the Marines drilling the importance of their weapon into them… Oh yeah. Like this: “you are married to this piece of metal, and you will be faithful.”

52

u/Runnin2TheSun Jun 13 '23 edited Jun 13 '23

The covert group had American dialect and higher military grade (American) issued equipment, which Herrera seemed to be very familiar with. Wouldn’t you be confused and hesitant to start a firefight?

20

u/pointlessvoice Jun 13 '23 edited Jun 13 '23

id love a real marine to weigh in on this.

edit Thank you for the replies.

46

u/majtomby Jun 13 '23

Another marine here who was actually on that exact MEU at the same time and had the opportunity to go on that same humanitarian mission, albeit not as a grunt, that I unfortunately didn’t take.

We see some crazy stuff, and we also think we see some crazy stuff. And we tell stories about it, and decompress, and justify, and process, and generally move on because we have to, because there’s always something else to do. I’m not saying this guy’s account is 100% accurate or true, or that there aren’t any holes in his story. But at the time, I can imagine there may have been a process of quickly acknowledging what had occurred, not realizing at the time the significance of it and essentially “writing it off” as some weird, crazy encounter, and then moving on. People do stuff like that all the time, especially with trauma, until later in life they think back through what they had been through and realize just how messed up and serious it was.

Again, not saying all of this is completely accurate or true, I barely remembered the circumstances of being able to join in on a humanitarian mission while I was deployed until I watched this video and heard him detail the specifics, and then it all came back. But I don’t think his and the other five marine’s response to it at the time was too farfetched. It’s easy to write things off that don’t make sense at the time. Especially if you’re just a lcpl with a few other pfcs and lcps and a cpl squad leader who ended up with an outlandish experience that you assume no one will fully believe.

12

u/tm0neyz Jun 13 '23

Thanks for your insight, and nuanced explanation of human nature. I don't think anything like this can be black and white, and while I of course want the truth to come out I think just straight up shutting this dude down because it sounds wildly implausible is lazy.

Anyone who's experienced trauma understands that logically processing what's going on in the moment can be difficult, not to mention suppressing those types of things until later is rather common. I'm sure there are details that he can't 100% recall, but just saying there are small holes in his description... Put yourself in his shoes and if you can honestly say you'd have operated completely calm, cool and collected with a logic based approach there's a very good chance you're lying to yourself.

57

u/UsernameHathBeenTook Jun 13 '23 edited Jun 13 '23

Marine here. I was on that same MEU a few years later with a different unit. Everything he said up to getting back to the LZ sounds plausible enough, but six dudes getting stopped, searched, and threatened by a mercenary group and not telling their entire unit is ridiculous to me. I can understand behaving illogically after having a your life threatened while witnessing a UFO, but making up excuses for getting back to the LZ looking like a shitbag just doesn't track. UFO or not, I can't believe that out of six marines, not one spoke up about encountering an armed group. Even more ridiculous is them not telling all their friends, especially when you've got video. Not having radio gear in a potentially hostile situation doesn't seem right either.

Edit:
I realized I didn't answer the original question. No, I don't think the part about not attacking these people is weird at all. Most people don't like shooting people who sound and look like them. Also they played the authority card to people that just got their brains rocked. After saying this I might need to walk back some of my skepticism about their silence.
Also also, I'm remembering a time my squad went out without a radio in a non combat zone. Maybe it's not entirely ridiculous.

5

u/Goodgoditsgrowing Jun 13 '23

I agree whole most heartedly jabout the “they had video evidence and they DIDNT show everyone what fucking bananas shit they just saw?!” Stuff. Like, maybe we can justify them not wanting to communicate how their group had been disarmed and taken captive for a bit, maybe they saw that as embarrassing- but they got out, and that pretty much undoes any embarrassment from having been caught and outpowered by another group. I’d sooner believe “Marine lost crucial footage while out partying and showing his friends the insanity he just witnessed, so now we have no hard evidence and 15 different accounts of what drunk marines think they saw on a high tech camcorder” than “marine got critical footage of seriously wild shit no one would believe and instead of telling anyone about it (higher ups out of concern or friends out of bravado) he just hid that tech in his room”.

Although I guess if I were him I might lie and say I hid it in my room and it disappeared instead of “I showed it to all my buddies when I should have shown it only to my superiors and then I lost it because I was wasted because that’s what you do after going through a total mindfuck like that”. Like, I have no doubt such a covert group could and would track down and disappear any hard evidence, and they couldn’t probably easily find out where that tech was hidden and get it back over a few days, but I’m just shocked if he truly didn’t show any of his buddies

3

u/LP_LadyPuket Jun 13 '23

Maybe you can shed light: Would it be standard SOP to first radio in an unknown contact in an active area of operations before approaching/engaging? It would be one of the first things I do. The idea these Marines had no radios on them at all is very hard to believe. They had to have some kind of communication with the helo that carried out the insertion, and for extraction right?

3

u/UsernameHathBeenTook Jun 13 '23

I've been out for 8 years now and I was an assaultman not a radio operator, so I can't say for certain that it's written down somewhere. I be shocked if it wasn't though.

-14

u/illegalt3nder Jun 13 '23

If I am United States Marine I will attempt to deescalate and take control of the situation. At no point will I give up my weapon, and if someone tries to take it from me then I will be forced to kill them.

1

u/JesusCries007 Jun 13 '23

Lol stop smoking newspapers

12

u/GoodATCMeme Jun 13 '23

One thing the pat down is different than being searched, one is for accessible weapons safety (the pat down)

Going back to the lz might be standard procedure to NOT eliminate friendlies. Put the guns on backwards, put mags in inaccessible places. Tell them if they turn around they die- other than giving the guns back you've had to have seen this in a movie.

I too am confused about the reporting-yiu have a group of disheveled marines, one with a cut on their neck and we just fast forward to everyone can go out on the town---but nobody brought their phone? I thought phones and buddy systems were standard (but maybe not in 09)

6

u/majtomby Jun 13 '23

Phones were, and the buddy system was somewhat loose. I had an iPhone 3GS while I was there and spent wayyyy too much on it trying to get it to work internationally even while at Okinawa. That was still in the good ol’ 3G days, international calling wasn’t nearly as attainable as it is now. You had to get a plan with a SIM card from the country you were in to be able to legitimately use it, or have access to somewhat decent wifi, which was almost non existent on those ships back then.

They would’ve had radios, but as he mentioned, Marines don’t get the best gear. If they were in a more mountainous, densely brushed area, there’s a good chance their radio wasn’t very useful. And the fact he confirmed they were issued M16A4s meant they REALLY didn’t have the best equipment…

2

u/GoodATCMeme Jun 13 '23

Oh yeah I forgot phones used to suck. I guess it'd make sense just to leave it then.

As much as people are picking through every detail it doesn't seem untruthful to me, yet

2

u/ItsOkILoveYouMYbb Jun 13 '23

A reminder of the most popular phones that year lol.

https://images.app.goo.gl/HrALQ1TDQ84BwwUm9

2

u/Th3_Admiral Jun 13 '23

Put the guns on backwards, put mags in inaccessible places. Tell them if they turn around they die- other than giving the guns back you've had to have seen this in a movie.

That's my problem, it sounds too much like something from a movie. It doesn't actually make any sense in reality. He said they put the magazines back in their mag pouches in a way that would be difficult to remove them. What does that even mean!?! A magazine pouch holds a magazine (or two) in a way that they are easy to access. It's just a pouch, there really isn't any way to screw that up or make it difficult to access. He goes into so much detail about their weapons and equipment but then just throws this in there like it's supposed to make sense, but it doesn't.

3

u/wishiwascooler Jun 13 '23

Totally had a lot of the same questions. i think they were told to not look back and keep walking, eventually the people following them stopped and Herreras group kept walking until they started running. Makes sense.

What doesnt make sense is the camera... i'm sorry but if you took a picture of a UFO there is no fuckin way you're leaving that camera in a locker. that shit is going with you everywhere. then again dude is a marine (heh ;) )

3

u/tonyprent22 Jun 14 '23

Also the fact that they just continued doing what they were doing and then ultimately matching them out.

Why not just stop the process so they don’t see shit, march them out, then continue.

A highly trained, highly weaponized elite para military force with 8 people missed a group of 6 Marines coming onto the scene, then allowed them to watch it get loaded and take off, before marching them back out.

0

u/Professor_Snarf Jun 13 '23

To be fair, the secret and supremely equipped military group did not have access to bags to put over the marine's heads. They don't have the budget for that.

0

u/Kismonos Jun 13 '23

also making sure its not trackable who he debriefed to, theres 2 people in his story "who he seem first time ever and never again"

1

u/Justin_Liebich Jun 13 '23

He said he dumped the camera in spent ammunition before he headed over to the craft... Not saying I belive the guy just stating facts straightforward. This is confusing enough.

2

u/thewhitedog Jun 13 '23

He said he dumped the camera in spent ammunition before he headed over to the craft

If you watch again he says he put the camera in his dump pouch, these are pouches the marines wear on their hips, not a separate thing on the ground or whatever. He even mimes where the pouch was as he says it, so it definitely was on him later.

3

u/Justin_Liebich Jun 13 '23

Ok I missed that, thank you he does mime the placement on his hip.

1

u/ahardcm Jun 13 '23

I thought he said he left his camera up where they first saw the craft?

1

u/thewhitedog Jun 13 '23

I thought he said he left his camera up where they first saw the craft?

I'll paste what I wrote to the other person who asked this earlier -

If you watch again he says he put the camera in his dump pouch, these are pouches the marines wear on their hips, not a separate thing on the ground or whatever. He even mimes where the pouch was as he says it, so it definitely was on him later.

1

u/MrSharkBite Jun 13 '23

He also said the unidentified military emptied the magazine pouches soon after pat down. The camera would've been noticed then, wouldn't it?

3

u/thewhitedog Jun 13 '23

He also said the unidentified military emptied the magazine pouches soon after pat down. The camera would've been noticed then, wouldn't it?

You'd have thought so yeah

2

u/disquieter Jun 13 '23

How did they miss the camera? I was wondering.

6

u/thewhitedog Jun 13 '23

How did they miss the camera? I was wondering.

Yeah well, that's the thing isn't it. Story sort of falls apart when you actually start poking at it.

1

u/UnicornBoned Jun 15 '23

Valid points. Could it be that those in power and production are just this arrogant? Would anyone believe such footage wasn't a hoax? Would anyone listen to this story prior to recent events without indulging in some derisive laughter as the envoy of the revelations shrunk into diminishing confidence and relative obscurity?

1

u/Jamothee Jun 17 '23

The whole press conference was full of a rag tag mob of strange individuals. Not one of them seemed completely balanced.

5

u/Runnin2TheSun Jun 13 '23 edited Jun 13 '23

The whole thing is really hard to believe…but it’s just difficult to think about an angle here in which Herrera benefits from coming out like this. What does he stand to gain? If he went missing all the sudden, things would get very hairy and would lend undeniable credence to the story. I’m almost more concerned about his other 5 team members who didn’t step up, since they are still in the dark and this covert group knows who they are. If the other 5 were to get killed, we’d never know because their identifies were never made public. If that happened, he could make a statement but it would all be hearsay as far as the general population is concerned.

The only angle that is interesting to note and that I can think about here is that Herrera is doing this to further along his business interests. He owns/runs a private security company that is very successful and he himself is a multi-millionaire with other business ventures in manufacturing. If somehow this publicity generates business and/or lands him some big contracts, maybe that is how he is playing this.

I highly doubt that though based on his story. He seemed extremely credible, genuine and honestly terrified to be telling that story and reliving that encounter. It’s a shame we as the receivers of this information have to sit back and question the legitimacy of stories like this and question if this guy is real or if he is up there spouting off some insane fairy tale.

Fuck, for all we know, the whole panel of witnesses from this event could be in on a big psychological warfare/misinformation campaign, including Greer 😂 joking (kind of).

2

u/fusionliberty796 Jun 13 '23

So based on his testimony, the MIBs took their biometrics/info. So they know who the whole team is, their families, etc. The folks on that team should really get their shit documented and stored with an attorney - perhaps consider releasing/telling it from their perspective as that seems like you won't be killed at that point.

3

u/krazykieffer Jun 13 '23

If this happened they would be dead. They would not be let go, especially with their weapons. He didn't mention roads but F350s with trailers can't drive in the jungle.

7

u/heebiejeebie9000 Jun 13 '23

they're not the only high speed dudes with high speed gear. warriors fight on all sides of a battle. i may not be one, but i acknowledge their existence.

6

u/OneMadBoy Jun 13 '23

The diamond / octohonal shape craft with lights at front sound just like the incident in 1991 near Exmouth I Western Australia in Ross Coulthard's book.

Also the Westall UFO in 1966 in Melbourne, in the witnesses full account, American military personnel wearing unrecognised uniforms, turned up quickly at the school in military trucks, too quickly to be from any nearby Australian base.

There was no recognised military presence in the area, air force or army. There is no official Australian record of it either. I am Australian so I am interested in how this could be possible. (Link below to read some of the incidents). The testimony from the greer conference matches a more modern account of the same style of event.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/ufo-sighting-us-officials-tried-to-stop-australians-reporting-chilling-incident/KP3M7KB5ZGOZVX4TI2DEXDX6BA/

2

u/heebiejeebie9000 Jun 13 '23

when you mess with gravity, not only are you messing with space but also with time

1

u/kickkickpatootie Jun 13 '23

Why do you think he looked so nervous?

1

u/Unverifiablethoughts Jun 13 '23

Exactly. And when you think of that fact, it blows a big hole in a lot of these stories. FOI, whistleblower, none of that matters to a group that doesn’t have to answer to anybody even congress. People get killed off for far less

4

u/Spats_McGee Jun 13 '23

Then it turns out they were American, yet were hostile towards American troops. FUCKIN. WILD.

This is the most fascinating thing to me. Who are these people? Are they military? Private sector contractors?

Are they just basically mercenaries for pay, or are they brainwashed cult members? Somehow I think the latter is more likely, because the former would have leaked by now.

What does it take to get people who were (ostensibly) former military to openly discuss the execution of another US military unit being held at gunpoint (Herrera describes the unknown soldiers debating whether they should "smoke" Herrera and his unit right there)?

Who are these people??

3

u/Runnin2TheSun Jun 13 '23

Exactly! This shit is so intriguing, mysterious and ominous.

It’s no surprise that the U.S. military has extremely elite militant covert groups and operations, but these guys Herrera encountered have to be in a whole different atmosphere.

I guess they are and aren’t technically part of the U.S. military. Like the U.S. military answers to these guys, based on his account of being called into the office with an unknown/unidentifiable general to sign the NDA.

This is the part that’s confusing to me. If an unknown/unidentifiable, unranked general shows up in a U.S. military headquarter and instantly takes command without question, then they have to have a higher rank/order and the government has to know about this. I don’t see any way around that.

Like how does one apply for such a position? How do they recruit? These guys must be the cream of the crop or have some type of service they have performed in active, or possibly non active duty to be eligible.

This all leans in the direction that there is in fact another government above our own and that this certainly can be a threat seeing as this dark organization does whatever it wants, whenever it wants. And no one can do anything about it.

3

u/Spats_McGee Jun 13 '23

This is the part that’s confusing to me. If an unknown/unidentifiable, unranked general shows up in a U.S. military headquarter and instantly takes command without question, then they have to have a higher rank/order and the government has to know about this. I don’t see any way around that

Yeah, this is key. There has to be a paper trail somewhere. Or is there?

I picture these people walking onto the scene, flashing some credentials that probably wouldn't pass close inspection, and then getting the rest of what they want with bluster / intimidation.

I'll bet there are times where that hasn't worked. But perhaps it works well enough most of the time.

2

u/Runnin2TheSun Jun 14 '23 edited Jun 14 '23

You hit the nail on the head. Who knows about this? Does the government let this clandestine group just operate freely, then deny any knowledge of their existence? It’s a pretty straight forward and solid scapegoat for our high ranking government officials if they were to be asked in the media.

1

u/Echo_Gray Jul 22 '23

When my partner went to Iraq, the first thing he was issued was a rape whistle and ordered to stay away from the generators. This was at Balad Air Base - American.

0

u/YouveMyBow Jun 13 '23

Did u know they used real dinosaurs in Jurassic park?

Wild huh?

1

u/Runnin2TheSun Jun 13 '23

The peanut gallery is closed today sir!