to calm public anxiety over the wave of ufo reports, answer the news media's questions about the sightings — and, hopefully, to slow down the numbers of ufo reports being sent to blue book, which were clogging normal intelligence channels — air force major generals john samford, usaf director of intelligence, and roger ramey, usaf director of operations, held a well-attended press conference at the pentagon on july 29, 1952. it was the largest pentagon press conference since world war ii. press stories called samford and ramey the air force's two top ufo experts.