UFOs and Area 51: Latest Revelations Cause Little Stir in ET Community

The existence of Area 51, known throughout UFO folklore as a secret base for all things space alien, has been met by the UFO community with a collective yawn.

Declassified CIA documents released online Thursday acknowledge the existence of the facility near Groom Lake, Nev., roughly 100 miles north of Las Vegas, was used for U-2 spy planes and not little green men in flying saucers, according NBC News.

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"Everybody has known that for 25 years or so," Bob Lazar told Tracy Connor of NBC News. Lazar first talked about Area 51 in 1989, explaining it as a place where government scientists tinkering with alien spacecraft. "Tell us something we don't know."

Lazar claims to be one of those government scientists who worked at Area 51 and another facility just south of it called S4, according to NBC News.

Lazar, who said he now runs a private consulting firm, added that: "That’s a minuscule baby step forward. Maybe a decade from now they’ll acknowledge there's an S4."

The Area 51 documents were disclosed by the National Security Archive at George Washington University, wrote the Washington Post. A researcher found the history of Area 51 while digging into the history of the U-2 spy plane, which was tested and operated at Area 51, noted the Washington Post.

The military in the past referred to the facility as the Groom Lake salt flat, a landing strip for the U-2 and other stealth aircraft, denying it was ever called Area 51, according to the Washington Post.

"Your honor, there is no name," an Air Force attorney told a federal judge in 1995, according to documents connected with Area 51, reported the Washington Post. "There is no name for the operating location near Groom Lake."

The Washington Post said the hearing was part of an environmental poisoning case brought by Area 51 workers. The workers claimed they were exposed to toxic chemicals — including anti-radar coatings and other classified materials — burned in open pits on the base.

Richard Boylan, who claimed he had infiltrated Area 51, told NBC News that the documents simply confirm that the government is good at keeping secrets and the acknowledgement is merely the tip of the iceberg.

"They say Area 51 is real? Duh!" Boylan told NBC News. "That's not even one cent on the dollar of what the government knows and should be admitting to."

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