"Interrogation Forms": A Reflection of the Attitude to Witnesses

From the initial days of the US UFO story, there is ample evidence that the FBI and Military investigative services interviewed people about what they had seen. The FBI was brought in because they were concerned with the security clearances of individuals and because they had helped to investigate the backgrounds of many government workers it was natural they be involved.  From the start they people - military and civilian - were not interviewed they were "interrogated."   There was no "interview form" but there was an "interrogation form" that would be recreated and improved several times during the 1950's.

According to the Cambridge English Dictionary the term "interrogation" is defined as "a process of asking someone a lot of questions for a long time in order to get information, sometimes using threats or violence..."

Modern meanings, include those from the The Handbook of The SAS And Elite Forces: How the Professionals Fight and Win. (Edited by Jon E. Lewis. p.186-Tactics And Techniques, Evasion, Capture and Escape. Robinson Publishing Ltd 1997. ISBN 1-85487-675-9), that defines it as - "Interrogation (also called questioning) is interviewing as commonly employed by law enforcement officers, military personnel, intelligence agencies, organized crime syndicates, and terrorist organizations with the goal of eliciting useful information, particularly information related to suspected crime. Interrogation may involve a diverse array of techniques, ranging from developing a rapport with the subject to torture" (Wikipedia).

In essence, the process of interview and interrogation come from opposing ends of a spectrum of soliciting information.

Interrogation presumes hidden facts, motives, and actions. It presumes guilt.

Interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers. The purpose is to collect information, facts, data, and evaluates the skills of the observer and the nature of the observed event.

Was it any wonder the initial UFO history was fraught with problems?  Many assumed witnesses were Soviet operatives or closet communists set to destabilize a government. Many assumed the craft were secret Soviet ships designed to lead an invasion. The authorities ALWAYS drove home the HOAXER, the CRACKPOT, and the DRUNKS as a primary causative for the sightings. 

Ridicule did the rest...