My Town Monday: Hangar 18, and Cover Sneak Peek

Before Area 51, there was Hangar 18.

Yes, there was a small airfield in the Groom Lake vicinity that was used during WWII as a test and training facility, but Area 51 as a super-secret research and development facility didn’t really exist until the 1950s.

The Roswell incident, in which according to legend, an alien spacecraft crashed, happened on July 8, 1947. (It was later pretty much accepted that what really crashed to earth was cold-war intel equipment or a weather balloon, but go with me here…) Also according to legend, U.S. military personnel recovered the wrecked spacecraft and several alien bodies from the site, which was closed to the public for a good while after the crash.

The National Museum of the USAF. Part of Area B is in the background.

The military shipped the bodies and wreckage were shipped to the then-Army Air Corps’ Foreign Technology Division, located at Wright Field, a few miles east of Dayton, Ohio, which would later become Area B of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Supposedly, the spacecraft was stored in Hangar 18. The bodies were placed into cryogenic storage, for later research.

Of course, few who work on base today admit to believing any of this. But it’s fun to think about, and a few years ago, The History Channel did a wonderful documentary on the legends and the conspiracy theories that abound. The show was pretty convincing, and the book they based much of their material on (Exempt from Disclosure by Robert M. Collins) was even more so.

Interestingly enough, (but not surprisingly) there is no Hangar 18 at WPAFB, nor has there ever been, at least that I could find. There is a Building 18 complex, which houses the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Propulsions Directorate – folks who would be most interested in the alien spacecraft, had there been one.


I don’t really believe there were alien bodies and spacecraft bought to WPAFB, and chances are, what really crashed to earth near Roswell was indeed some kind of surveillance equipment – highly classified, so of course the military personnel would not have been able to confirm or deny its existence, or any details about it.

But the legends made me think: what if it was real? What if alien bodies were shipped back here? And what if they weren’t dead, but alive, in a suspended state? And what if one were to awaken, decades later? That’s the premise behind my upcoming science fiction romance, Hangar 18: Legacy. What’s even cooler is that, according to Exempt from Disclosure, the aliens  did indeed have significant psychic abilities, which was one of the key elements of my novel even before I’d researched it.

Want to know more? Check out Exempt from Disclosure, or watch this 20-minute video from the The Internet Archive. And for an entertaining take on the legends, give Hangar 18: Legacy a read when it comes out this summer. To be notified of its release, sign up for my newsletter, with the form on the right (visit www.jenpowell.com, if you’re reading this in a feed reader). Here’s the scoop:

U.S. Air Force research psychologist Adam Keller is an empath, accustomed to sensing the thoughts and emotions of others. Because of his gift, he keeps people at a distance. When a disembodied presence full of anger and fear invades his mind and demands rescue, dark thoughts of death threaten to overwhelm Adam. Then he meets a woman whose attraction to him quiets the voice. All he has to do to keep his sanity is risk his heart and experience the emotions he’s long denied himself.

Lisa Stark wants nothing more than to finish the subliminal messaging software she’s worked on for over a year. When someone wants it badly enough to kill for it, Adam senses Lisa’s in danger and comes to her rescue. Lisa fights her feelings for the sexy officer with an uncanny ability to guess what she’s thinking, but their attraction to each other grows, and not only because Lisa’s the only one who can warm Adam’s chilled body and soul. When he discovers the source of his mental invasion is an extraterrestrial thought dead for decades, Adam realizes that Lisa’s software is the key to releasing the being – if he can gain her trust and keep her alive long enough to finish it.


I’d love to hear from you! Do you think there might be some truth to the stories of alien beings and spacecraft recovered from Roswell? Do you think there might still be information that the U.S. government is hiding? Please comment, and let me know what you think!

My Town Monday: Girls Rule… in the Air Force!

I’ve been considering a new direction for Mondays on the blog, which will probably include making My Town a once- or twice-a-month feature, rather than every week. But an announcement I read last week was just too cool to pass up: this summer, the  U.S. Air Force will see its first female four-star general – and she’s from the Dayton area!

General Janet C. Wolfenbarger

She’ll also serve here, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, where she’s already spent over half of her 32 years of service. Now a Lieutenant General, Janet C. Wolfenbarger works in acquisitions at the Pentagon, a suitable step before taking the lead at  Air Force Materiel Command, which is headquartered at Wright-Patt. AFMC oversees acquisition and logistics, in addition to research and development, and support and sustainment programs for aircraft and weapons systems.

General Wolfenbarger has a long history with the Air Force. Not only has she spent over half her life in service, she was a military kid, with a father in the Air Force. Her husband also served many years as a pilot before retiring in 2006.

Born Janet Libby in Florida, her family moved several times before her dad was assigned to Wright-Patt just in time for her to spend her high school years at Beavercreek High School. While there, she and several classmates started a girls’ soccer team, which eventually evolved into the current, official school team and was the start of her decades of leadership. In 2004, she was inducted into the Beavercreek High School Alumni Hall of Fame.

General Wolfenbarger's past service at WPAFB included managing the B-2 program

When she graduated from Beavercreek in 1976, the Air Force Academy was just beginning to accept women, and Janet Libby graduated in the academy’s first class that included women. She then went on to earn several masters degrees, including one in aeronautics and astronautics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 2009, she received her third star, and became the highest-ranking woman in the Air Force.

General Wolfenbarger’s story is certainly inspirational. She’s proof that with determination, confidence, and simply doing one’s best in a job, one can go far. She hopes more young women will consider the Air Force as a career, one she calls “extraordinarily rewarding and challenging.” And with her new assignment, she’s glad to return to Dayton, and said, “I feel as though I am coming home.”

Congratulations to General Wolfenbarger, and best wishes for continued success in her new assignment!

You can read more about General Wolfenbarger in the Dayton Daily News, as well as on the official U.S. Air Force website.

I’d love to hear from you! Have you heard or read any inspiring girls-rule stories lately? What do you think of General Wolfenbarger’s story?