![]() ![]() I had positioned the Isuzu as far off the sandy trail as possible. I kept the engine idling while we quietly debated our next move. We sat side by side in the darkness for several minutes. I tried to reassure myself with, “You’ve watched too many episodes of the X-files.” Paranoid notions of physical harassment crossed my mind. But what if we faced more than simple surveillance. All those difficult months of searching for the “ideal” fieldwork site had ended when we settled into this beautiful desert wonderland. If this was the beginning of overt surveillance of my local Los Angeles based contact team, then Joshua Tree might have to be abandoned as a research location. My chest ached with a combination of fear and loss. The vehicle and the surrounding terrain looked deserted. ![]() I tried to pick up the silhouette of the driver or anyone else who might be approaching us on foot. I kept my eyes on the Ford pickup a few hundred feet away. I did not relish what seemed to be the increasing likelihood that we were being followed by multiple vehicles in what I imagined was a coordinated surveillance effort. This night however in January 1995, the tables had turned. One lone observer possibly checking us out did not seem particularly bothersome. ![]() On that evening the previous year, 1993, there were a half-dozen CE-5 researchers in the park with me. ![]() Any one of a multitude of sites could serve as an excellent vantage point to keep tabs on us. Joshua Trees and rock piles spread out across the Queen Valley as far as the eye could see. Ever vigilant when issues of site security were in question, I postulated that if he were part of some surveillance detail, it would have been easy for him to observe our fieldwork. The hiker proceeded to march off into the desert alone. We exchanged a few platitudes and wished him luck. He smiled and said that he couldn’t imagine anyone else was crazy enough to hike out into the middle of the desert on a night like that. As if to dispel these suspicions the young man warmly greeted us. I wondered at the time if he might have been waiting for us. It also seemed a little strange that he exited his jeep just at the moment we had arrived. Perhaps for security purposes, or more likely for romantic reasons, when campers were present, they always brought companions with them. As usual during the cold winter season, Joshua Tree was nearly devoid of visitors. Perhaps he was stationed at the 29 Palms Marine Base. I recall wondering whether he might have been a Navy Seal. He had the physique of a weightlifter and he carried himself with a military bearing. Wearing a simple tee shirt and shorts despite the cool night air, he effortless put on a heavy backpack. It was a site we had designated as “Desert Site Two.” Just as we drove up to the parking area this young man emerged from his civilian jeep. His vehicle was parked at a backboard located three miles south on Old Geology Road. The man appeared to be in his mid to late twenties and was in tremendous physical condition. It was after 9PM when our vehicles arrived. The previous winter during fieldwork in Joshua Tree we encountered a sole male hiker. HAD AN COUNTERINTELLIGENCE OPERATION MONITORED US BEFORE? These included surveillance during fieldwork, the possibilities of “psychotronic attacks” and the limited resources of our small networks of volunteers. JOSEPH BURKES MD 2022 Contact Activists faced several challenges in the 1990s. CONTACT NETWORK HISTORY PROJECT: JANUARY 1995 ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |