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I first came to know General De Brouwer personally when arranging trip to Washington, D.C., in November 2007 to speak at an his trip to Washington, D.C., in November 2007 to speak at an international press conference I organized with filmmaker James Fox. We brought together a panel of former high-ranking government, aviation, and military officials from seven countries to speak to the press about UFO incidents and investigations, which was filmed for a new documentary. We also wanted to give these courageous speakers the opportunity to meet their counterparts from other countries and talk privately over a period of days. Many of the contributors to this book met then for the first time. General De Brouwer is extremely concerned about factual accuracy, conservative in his estimations, and meticulous in his attention to detail. He is a man who does not jump to conclusions, nor is he prone to exaggeration or embellishment. His concern for safeguarding the accurate record of events in Belgium has not let up, despite the passage of time. "Recently, when on the Internet, I discovered an accumulation of misinformation about the Belgian UFO wave," he wrote me in an e-mail while we worked on editing his extensive text. "This incited me to react; I cannot accept that so-called researchers come forward with assumptions that are based on incorrect information. Testimonies of hundreds of people are neglected and attempts are made to convince outsiders that the observations were nothing more than misperceptions of ordinary craft. Also, the official statements of the Minister of Defense and the Air Force have been neglected or misinterpreted by these 'researchers.'" . 4a 1. speak at an "Recently, In one of our more recent conversations, I asked the general to reflect back on his experience during the Belgian UFO wave twenty years ago—which he says was unique but also frustrating, since they were unable to identify the trespassing craft. What impressed him most was the utmost sincerity of the witnesses he spoke to, many of whom were "highly qualified intellectuals genuinely overwhelmed by what they had seen and convinced that they were not dealing with conventional technology." Unfortunately, they were often afraid to come forward because of the stigma attached to UFOs. "One person I had known for many years worked within NATO at the time," De Brouwer said. "He was so astonished that he didn't dare to mention it to anyone, not even to his wife. He only conveyed his experience to me on condition that I wouldn't reveal his name." I had the good fortune of conversing with one highly placed, expert witness who did not restrain himself, despite the risks. Colonel Andre Amond, a retired civil engineer, was the director of military infrastructure for the Belgian Army and also formerly in charge of army environmental- impact issues at the Joint Staff level, cooperating closely with American officials. As De Brouwer reports in the next chapter, Amond and his wife had an extensive look at one of these low-flying machines while driving down a country road and parking along the side. Amond had absolutely no doubt about the exceptional nature of what he saw. With total conviction, infractions of basic aviation rules.