A Secret in the Desert

For several decades, Area 51 has been one of the United States government's best-kept secrets. This has been made possible in part by the government classification of all information pertaining to this facility as well as the armed guards who patrol the perimeter and the fighter jets and attack helicopters ready to defend the airspace. Outside the restricted area, ominous signs carry a prominent warning cautioning would-be information seekers: "Use of Deadly Force Authorized." Until very recently, the Air Force did not acknowledge that a military installation existed at Groom Lake; however, most people believe that the development, testing and training of new aircraft is conducted here. Still, others believe that something much more clandestine is occurring. It is rumored that our government has already had contact with other-worldly beings and perhaps are storing and testing alien spacecraft within the confines of this facility.

Courtesy of Dreamland Resort

Driving along Highway 375 in central Nevada, it does not appear that a secret base would be hidden somewhere in the vast open desert that extends as far as the eyes can see. However, this highway lies on the southwestern flank of the Nellis Test and Training Range complex, at the center of which lies Nellis Air Force Base. This base encompasses over 5,000 square miles of what has been called the military's private playground. Air Force pilots would fly here in the military's real-life version of Top Gun exercises, always conscious of the fact that over-flight into one particular area would have detrimental consequences. Pilots were carefully briefed that flying into the particular airspace labeled R-4808, or Dreamland, would result in stiff consequences and heavy reprimands including an automatic Article 15 — administrative reprimand, demotion and loss of pay.

The remote, barren deserts of Nevada had never drawn many visitors or even settlers, but this environment was found to be perfect for testing nuclear warheads. On February 2, 1951, the Atomic Energy Commission detonated an atom bomb in a desolate area, newly re-named the Nellis Test Site (NTS), 30 miles southwest of Groom Lake. Maps drawn at this time show the NTS divided into randomly numbered areas. The area in the northwest corner near Groom Lake is noted as Area 51.