Person
Joshua Shelton
Former Air Force nuclear security controller with the 99th Security Support Squadron at Nellis AFB (April 2002 to April 2008), cleared under the Personnel Reliability Program. On Reality Check he describes six years of incursions at the Nellis Area II weapons storage area: a light ball pacing response vehicles along the fence, a disc that went down behind the bluffs with a silent flash, lights that 'rushed' his patrol with 20 to 30 minutes of missing time, shadow figures tracked on thermals, a blow from inside a DOE-only bunker and three mutilated animals. He first told Robert Hastings, who wrote it up anonymously in 2015, and has since given his account to the FBI.
What Joshua Shelton said (14 claims)
“Shelton served with the 99th Security Support Squadron at Nellis AFB from April 2002 to April 2008 as a patrolman, then entry controller, then for about two years central security controller, under the Personnel Reliability Program, through two nuclear surety inspections, at a site where live weapon”firsthandSourced, unconfirmedNellis Area II nuclear weapons storage: orbs, a disc, shadow figures and missing time (2002-2008)
“On his first night in October 2002 a perimeter sensor alarmed and a bright white sphere about 3 ft across sat on the sensor atop the innermost of three fences, lighting nothing around it. When patrol Whiskey 8 radioed it in, it matched the vehicles' speed to hold an exact distance; three vehicles an”firsthandSourced, unconfirmedNellis Area II nuclear weapons storage: orbs, a disc, shadow figures and missing time (2002-2008)
“Outside the alternate security control center he and five others watched a disc about 45 to 50 ft across, 200 to 300 ft up, glowing red 'like magma' over about a quarter of its front, with a smooth reflective underside. It deadened all sound beneath it 'like when you stick your head underwater', los”firsthandSourced, unconfirmedNellis Area II nuclear weapons storage: orbs, a disc, shadow figures and missing time (2002-2008)
“In fall 2004 two 'headlights' bobbed on the mountainside and switched off at the line where patrols would intercept. He, his partner and a main-base K-9 team waited in a dry riverbed about 300 m out; overwatch called lights at their 12, 3 and 9, Security One confirmed 'this is real', then 'the light”firsthandSourced, unconfirmedNellis Area II nuclear weapons storage: orbs, a disc, shadow figures and missing time (2002-2008)
“After an exercise, 16 men at the old chow hall watched a solid black, roughly 6 ft humanoid pace a flat roof about 40 m away. Thinking it was the flight chief, Shelton put a spotlight on it and it vanished 'as soon as the light hit the legs'; the gravel roof showed no marks.”firsthandSourced, unconfirmedNellis Area II nuclear weapons storage: orbs, a disc, shadow figures and missing time (2002-2008)
“About 2006, during an assault-and-recapture exercise, overwatch Whiskey 11 reported two people lying prone 50 to 75 m behind the assault force; Security One ended the exercise and called a Code Red. Overwatch tracked them on thermals as they shifted to stay hidden; at 10 to 15 m they 'blinked out', ”firsthandSourced, unconfirmedNellis Area II nuclear weapons storage: orbs, a disc, shadow figures and missing time (2002-2008)
“On an outside patrol by the Red Horse training yard under a full moon, he and his partner watched a 6 to 7 ft figure run about 120 ft between two buildings in about 4 seconds, several times. On another night a backlit figure on the bluffs ran from his challenge over rocky ground; four men chased it ”firsthandSourced, unconfirmedNellis Area II nuclear weapons storage: orbs, a disc, shadow figures and missing time (2002-2008)
“He saw or heard of about a dozen shadow-figure events in six years; one of his sergeants saw a figure like Cabrera's black mass in another building.”firsthandSourced, unconfirmedNellis Area II nuclear weapons storage: orbs, a disc, shadow figures and missing time (2002-2008)
“Some 'black world' bunkers were guarded by DOE's own people when open, and Air Force security checked only locks and vents. One night, when he let a heavy vent handle clang shut, something inside 'smashed into' the one-to-two-ton sunken door; his partner, about 15 m away in the vehicle, jumped too. ”firsthandSourced, unconfirmedNellis Area II nuclear weapons storage: orbs, a disc, shadow figures and missing time (2002-2008)
“From late 2007 to 2008 three mutilated animals were found near the perimeter. He saw one and photos of a second: a donkey with eyes and tongue removed and its belly opened and emptied, with no blood or gore and no scavenger marks. As a hunter he rules out predation.”firsthandSourced, unconfirmedNellis Area II nuclear weapons storage: orbs, a disc, shadow figures and missing time (2002-2008)
“A colonel's only response to the reports was 'Huh.' Inside the flight people talked freely; outside it, stigma and PRP worries kept them quiet. After he first talked to Hastings he was 'intimidated into silence, not through threats' but by people he trusted warning him about his career.”firsthandSourced, unconfirmedNellis Area II nuclear weapons storage: orbs, a disc, shadow figures and missing time (2002-2008)
“He has given his account to the FBI, whose team 'shared the same concern' and was 'taking it very seriously'. Coulthart says other witnesses he spoke to have also testified to the FBI but will not go on record yet.”firsthandSourced, unconfirmedNellis Area II nuclear weapons storage: orbs, a disc, shadow figures and missing time (2002-2008)
“'Somebody must have known that this would happen... they knew exactly what was there.'”speculationLeadNellis Area II nuclear weapons storage: orbs, a disc, shadow figures and missing time (2002-2008)
“An adversary could mimic the phenomenon to get close to the weapons, knowing guards will not report it.”analysisSourced, unconfirmedNellis Area II nuclear weapons storage: orbs, a disc, shadow figures and missing time (2002-2008)
Cases (1)
- 2002Nellis Area II nuclear weapons storage: orbs, a disc, shadow figures and missing time (2002-2008)
Connected
Sources
- Reality Check Rewind: Inside Area 2, Security Guard Recalls Strange Events at Nellis (reposted 28 Oct 2026)
- Robert Hastings, 'Triangular-Shaped UFO Sighted at the Nellis AFB Nuclear Weapons Storage Area' (ufohastings.com, 23 April 2015)