CAUS Special Bulletin

Magazine Overview

This document, a special bulletin from Citizens Against UFO Secrecy (CAUS), dated September 22, 1986, focuses on the case of Larry W. Bryant, a Pentagon employee facing professional repercussions for his activism related to UFOs. The bulletin highlights Bryant's efforts to uncover alleged government secrecy surrounding UFO incidents and his subsequent struggles within his job.

Larry W. Bryant's Activism and Alleged Retaliation

Larry W. Bryant, a fighter and writer/editor for the Pentagon for 28 years, is presented as an individual who took on the military when he believed they were covering up UFO crashes. He reportedly placed ads in Army and Air Force newspapers seeking whistle-blowers to reveal information about UFO crews and alleged secret autopsies on them. One particular ad charged that Army medics had performed secret autopsies on the crew of a crashed saucer 30 years prior and asked for witnesses to come forward to aid in a lawsuit.

This led to significant backlash. Captain James Pasierb reportedly barred the ad from publication in the Peterson Air Force Base newspaper, citing a reluctance to give it "undeserved credibility." Bryant protested this decision and even planned to take the Air Force to court. Furthermore, Bryant claims his bosses have been trying to drive him out of his job. He states that his responsibilities were reduced from acting chief of his section to simply writing assigned editorials, and he now has to report to a sergeant first class. His supervisors have also given him an "unsatisfactory" job rating, which he believes is a tactic to make him look bad and eventually fire him, with the sole reason being his competence being attacked to "teach me a lesson."

Bryant is quoted as saying, "I'm worried about my career, to say the least. But if they think this has mellowed me, they're dead wrong. The issue now has gone beyond UFOs. It's whether you can work for the government and still have the right to criticize it."

Legal Action and Public Appeal

The bulletin details a litigation milestone: the filing of a free-speech lawsuit on November 13, 1986, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. The case, captioned Larry W. Bryant v. Secretary of Defense Caspar M. Weinberger et al. (Civil Action No. 86-1323-A), seeks relief on two counts.

The first count aims to reverse the job-related pressure Bryant has experienced since initiating a "UFO-coverup whistleblower advertising campaign" in U.S. military newspapers two years prior. This campaign sought testimony and evidence to compel greater freedom of official UFO information. Bryant, who has a nearly 29-year federal civil-service career, mostly with the Department of the Army, seeks to compel the government to release information.

The second count seeks to prevent the Departments of Defense, Army, and Air Force from arbitrarily censoring or rejecting the ads Bryant has submitted to selected military "commercial enterprise" newspapers. While some ads were published, others faced outright rejection by public affairs officers. The complaint lists numerous installations involved in this practice, including Peterson Air Force Base, Carswell AFB, Bolling AFB, Fort Rucker, McGuire AFB, the U.S. Army Military District of Washington, Homestead AFB, Hill AFB, Langley AFB, Andrews AFB, and Wright-Patterson AFB.

Bryant, who directs the CAUS Washington office from his home in Alexandria, emphasizes that without the suit, he would continue to face a "chilling effect" on his free speech, which deprives him of his rights and hampers the public's right-to-know. He argues that official reprisal against him sends a negative message to all federal workers.

The bulletin also includes a call to action for readers. It urges them to send copies of the story to local news media, write letters-to-the-editor, and contact their representatives and senators in Congress to question why the Army would "stifle Bryant's exercise of free speech" if the UFO subject merits no serious attention. The appeal is to support Bryant's quest for justice and protect the rights of federal employees to dissent.

Bryant has filed a formal grievance with the Army chief for public affairs, and Army officials declined to comment while the action is pending. The case is being handled by James H. Heller of the Washington law firm Kator, Scott and Heller.

Background and Related Information

For further background, the bulletin refers readers to an article titled "Job Jeopardy" on page 134 of OMNI Magazine for October 1986. The complaint itself details Bryant's personal interest in UFOs and government suppression of information, manifesting through his newspaper ads and CAUS bulletins. It states that his supervisors have engaged in a course of conduct to harass and constructively discharge him, or at least humiliate him and hold him up to disdain as incompetent, despite his previous high work performance ratings. These actions are described as abridging his freedom of speech and press under the First Amendment and his liberty under the Fifth Amendment.

The relief sought in the lawsuit includes declaring the actions of Army and Air Force commanders unconstitutional and invalid, enjoining them from directing civilian enterprise newspapers not to carry his ads, and requiring these newspapers to publish his ads. It also seeks to declare unconstitutional the actions of his supervisors intended to harass and punish him, and to enjoin the Secretary of the Army from continuing such actions or subjecting him to disparate treatment. Finally, Bryant seeks costs, reasonable attorney fees, and other just relief.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The bulletin strongly supports Larry W. Bryant's actions and frames his struggle as a fight for freedom of speech and the public's right to know. The editorial stance is clearly in favor of transparency regarding UFO matters and against government secrecy and reprisal against whistleblowers. The recurring themes are government coverups, censorship, the importance of free speech for federal employees, and the legal battle to expose alleged UFO-related information. The bulletin actively encourages reader participation in supporting Bryant and challenging government actions.