Technical Remote Reviewers used the "mind hat" to aid them in their sessions. Occasionally the agents picked up random RF signals which could cause them to wet their pants without warning. "It was a hazard of the job," David said.

Due to DOD budget cuts, the remote viewers were tasked with answering calls to the "Metric System Information Line" between TRV sessions.

Technical Remote Viewing

Up With People toured throughout the summer of 1974. We had an extended engagement at the world's fair - Expo 74 in Spokane, Washington. I would perform several times daily and then have all-night decrypting sessions. It was strenuous, yet rewarding work. It was at this time that "G" introduced me to Maj. Ed James. What struck me about Maj. James was that he did not look like a "major" at all. Maj. James ran a newly organized black ops group for the DOD (Dept. of Defense) - the Remote Viewing Laboratory housed at Stanford University in California. Maj. James told me he thought I "had what it takes" to be part of his elite team of Technical Remote Viewers. So, I took leave from Up With People and headed for California to join Maj. James' team.

Major Ed. James - Director of DOD's TRV Program

Technical remote viewers are trained to "see" objects or events in far away locations or even in the future. The DOD was banking on the fact that Maj. James' team would give the U.S. an edge in the cold war. Maj. James was quite proud of his team's recent "hits". They had just ascertained that Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars were neither spiders nor from Mars; and that many parts of the pine tree were edible."Wow," I said. "I would think your team would be focusing on finding missing children or discovering the location of our sworn enemies or something." For whatever reason, Maj. James seemed irritated by my observation and from that point on I sensed he was giving me the cold shoulder. But I was still committed to giving TRV my best shot.

Because of DOD budget constraints, the remote viewers were tasked with some other government work; in between TRV sessions the agents answered phone calls from people calling the government's "Metric System Information Line" (you'll remember at this time the government was concerned with getting U.S. citizens comfortable with the metric system - though we've never really switched to using it). So it was a challenge to concentrate on my TRV projects when I was constantly interrupted by calls from people asking me to convert yards into meters or wanting to know the proper pronunciation of "kilometer".

After a few weeks at the TRV lab I got what I thought was my first "hit." I pulled off my "mind hat" and ran into Maj. James' office. "I got something! I got something!" I was so excited. "Type up your report and put it in my inbox," he said coolly. "By the way, there's a lady on the line who needs help converting fahrenheit to celsius. Help her," he ordered. So I went back to my desk to answer my phone call and begin filing my report.

My report detailed what I had "seen": The current governor of California - a former actor named Ronald Reagan - would become president in the next decade and would eventually win the "cold war" without firing a shot. Pretty impressive work I thought. But the day after I'd turned in my report, Maj. James called me into his office. " I don't know what kind of operation you think I'm running here," he said. "But we have no place for your flights of fantasy. An actor becoming president? Yeah right! This report is garbage!" I was schocked. It was obvious my brief tenure as a remote viewer was over. But I was grateful for the experience... and for my increased knowledge of the metric system.