Organization
The Special Group (5412 Committee, later the 303 Committee)
The NSC's covert-action review body. NSC 5412/2 set it up in 1954 as the Special Group, often called the 5412 Committee; NSAM 303 renamed it the 303 Committee in June 1964, and it became the 40 Committee in 1970. UAP Gerb places the crash-retrieval control group inside this chain until Carter's 1978 order (his reasoning).
Claims (3)
NSC 5412 (March 1954) and 5412/2 (December 1955) put covert operations under a small review group of senior officials, the Special Group.firsthandOn the recordNSC 5412 directives; Wikipedia 'Special Group'
NSAM 303 (2 June 1964) renamed the Special Group the 303 Committee.firsthandOn the recordNSAM 303; Wikipedia '303 Committee'
MJ-12 lived on inside the Special Group and then the 303 Committee.80 Years of UFO Crash Retrieval and Reverse Engineering: A TimelinespeculationLeadUAP Gerb (Sam)