1997 · Near Emerson Dry Lake, north-west of MCAGCC Twentynine Palms, California (restricted airspace R-2501C)
The triangle at Twentynine Palms (Hunter Warrior, 1997)
A black triangle with gold corner lights hovering over a dry lake near Twentynine Palms, with men in black and trucks below, as Roderick Castle describes it (March 1997). · Illustration for uaptrail.com
- The witness: Sgt Roderick Castle, USMC, Harrier ordnance tech (VMA-513), firsthand on camera; four other Marines present, not yet named.
- What they saw: a 200-300 ft black triangle hovering silently over the desert, guarded by armed men in black, during a documented 1997 exercise.
- Afterwards: told it was flares, given an anthrax booster under guard. Gerb's hypothesis that it was a human ARV is labelled as his.
WhenMarch 1997
WhereNear Emerson Dry Lake, north-west of MCAGCC Twentynine Palms, California (restricted airspace R-2501C)
During the Marine Corps' Hunter Warrior exercise at Twentynine Palms in March 1997, Sgt Roderick Castle's five-man Harrier crash-response team drove out to check unexplained flares and came on a huge black triangle hovering silently over the desert. Armed men in black without insignia held them at gunpoint until the craft rose and shot away. Their superiors called it flare activity, and the team was given an unscheduled anthrax shot under guard. Castle told his story to UAP Gerb in 2025 and wants to testify to Congress.
How plausible · High
A named Marine sergeant, careful in what he claims, placed in a documented exercise in restricted airspace; short public record so far.
- ●●Access Sgt, VMA-513 ordnance tech on Harrier crash duty during Hunter Warrior (2-14 Mar 1997).
- ●●Restraint "This is the part that gets a little sketchy", "nothing specific, implied", the whole event "max four minutes".
- ●●Checkable details check out Hunter Warrior's dates, place, the Navy adjunct and the restricted airspace all check out.
- ●●Fits secrecy practice Unmarked armed security and a cover story ("just flare activity") by morning.
- ●○Cost of speaking Speaks under his own name, on camera, about PTSD.
- ●○No gain sought No book or fee found, but he sought out Grusch, Greer and Congress.
Against
- −Lone source, no corroboration Four other Marines were there; none has spoken yet.
Plausibility weighs how well an account fits where secrecy hides the documents by design, so missing records never count against it. Strength measures what is documented. Assessed 2026-10-23.
Claims
His five-man Harrier crash-response team, sent to check unexplained flare activity, came over a hill and saw a black equilateral triangle with rounded corners, about 200-300 ft across, hovering silently 150-200 ft up and slowly rotating, with three yellow-gold lights at the corners that lit nothing on the ground.Belgian wavefirsthandSourced, unconfirmedRoderick Castle
About 30 men in black without insignia, with submachine guns and American accents, and five or six matte-black trucks were below it; about 15 ran up the hill and held the Marines at gunpoint for 3-4 minutes. The triangle stopped rotating, rose at an angle and shot off north-west in silence; their diesel Humvee wouldn't start for about five minutes.Belgian wavefirsthandSourced, unconfirmedRoderick Castle
Next morning a gunnery sergeant and a chief warrant officer called it 'just flare activity'; the team was given an anthrax 'booster' under armed guard and signed something.1997 Alien Reproduction Vehicle Encounter at 29 Palms, CA: The Testimony of Sgt Roderick CastlefirsthandSourced, unconfirmedRoderick Castle
Hunter Warrior was a real Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory experiment at Twentynine Palms in March 1997, with a late-added Navy 'Hunter Air' adjunct from Fallon and Lemoore; mandatory DoD-wide anthrax vaccination was only announced in December 1997.1997 Alien Reproduction Vehicle Encounter at 29 Palms, CA: The Testimony of Sgt Roderick CastlefirsthandOn the recordUSMC 1997 release; CNA/MCCDC findings (cited by UAP Gerb)
The triangle was a human ARV (TR-3B or XF-131) flown from the R-2508 complex, and the black team a Wackenhut-trained DOE Special Response Team.1997 Alien Reproduction Vehicle Encounter at 29 Palms, CA: The Testimony of Sgt Roderick CastleBelgian wavespeculationLeadUAP Gerb (Sam)