Honoring Veterans and Discussing Anomalous Sightings — Enigma’s Visit to Homestead, FL
Community Engagement is Important to Us
At Enigma Labs, our mission is to enhance awareness of aerial phenomena and to distinguish the identifiable from the anomalous. Engaging directly with communities on the ground and listening to their UAP sighting stories is core to our mission. We try our best to regularly get to local events in hotspots or areas of interest, including excursions to San Diego, Virginia Beach, Oshkosh, Roswell and Long Island. If your local area is a hotspot or you’d like to work with us to host a local Skywatching event, please reach out [email protected].
Why We Care About Veterans and Military Bases
Last week, we participated in Veterans Day celebrations in Homestead and Miami to connect with hundreds of veterans and local residents. Active duty and retired military service people have been critical to bringing the UAP topic to mainstream attention. In major incidents like the USS Nimitz encounter, fighter pilots have witnessed UAP and detected them on sophisticated sensors including forward infrared and radar. In 2004, off the coast of California, the Navy pilots from the USS Nimitz encountered an unidentified object now famously referred to as the “Tic Tac.” The object demonstrated flight characteristics far beyond known human technology, accelerating rapidly, defying gravity, and evading radar. These extraordinary observations were corroborated by multiple pilots, radar operators, and infrared footage, making the Nimitz encounter one of the most credible UAP cases to date.
Lt Alex Dietrich of the USS Nimitz, who witnessed the "tictac" UFO in 2004
Those who have served tend to be both well versed in what types of military craft are typical or anomalous, and are often trained observers of their surroundings. For that reason, it is no surprise that active duty military persons have a keen interest in UAP sightings and helping solve the mystery. Of those who report sightings to Enigma and identify their profession, over half (50%) state they are either currently serving or have served in the military. As such, the military and veteran community is one of the many communities we serve and care about.
Of Enigma sighting submitters that identify their profession, over 50% are veterans or active duty military
After retiring, veterans often maintain a mentality of service to their country, so they make great contributors to our aerial awareness network. Veterans often live near military bases, which have seen a high rate of UAP encounters the past few years, as most recently witnessed in the high profile Langley AFB incursions, which rocked the nation. The radar and sensor data at these bases can potentially be a powerful complement to corroborate civilian sightings, and the surrounding communities are often civic minded and eager to help the Skywatching mission.
Why Florida? We chose to do an excursion to Florida for several reasons. In terms of where we receive sighting reports from, Florida ranks the second highest US state. We have a total of 15,110 Florida sightings in our database, 1,252 of which were submitted to us directly in the last 18 months. And we have had a handful of sighting submissions in Homestead specifically:
Enigma's Florida sightings.
Homestead, located in Miami-Dade County, has a significant veteran population. Approximately 3.9% of its residents are veterans. (Census Reporter) It is also home to Homestead Air Reserve Base, as well as Turkey Point nuclear facility, pictured below.
Our Visit to Homestead
Homestead hosted its annual Veterans Day celebration last weekend. It was an ideal occasion for us to spend time with the local community and have discussions with locals about their UAP sightings. On Sunday, November 10, 2024, we set up a booth at the ‘Veterans Day Concert in the Park’, featuring performances by a naval orchestra and a local ensemble. The event attracted a diverse crowd, including veterans, families, and students. We engaged with hundreds of attendees, discussing their thoughts on UAPs and demonstrating the features of the Enigma app. The following day, we attended Miami's Veteran’s Day festival, where almost 4,000 attendees gather on Miami Beach's shores to celebrate.
Homestead's Veterans Day Celebration via the City of Homestead.
Conversations — one Navy veteran shared a compelling account of a UAP encounter in the Caribbean almost 20 years ago, describing how his vehicle stalled after witnessing a strange aerial object. Another veteran recounted an experience from a trip to Arizona in the early 2000s, where he witnessed something unexplainable during a camping trip in the desert. His story was a powerful reminder of the lingering questions many carry after such encounters. Such firsthand experiences highlight the importance of our mission to document and analyze UAP sightings. Many attendees were very interested in the topic of UAPs. One local resident works as a wilderness trainer and inquired about starting his own Skywatching group since he spends much of his time outdoors. Attendees expressed particular interest in the Enigma app’s map feature, which allows users to explore reported sightings in their area:
Enigma's Florida sightings. The iOS app is available for download today.
Our participation in Homestead and Miami’s Veterans Day celebration reinforced the value of engaging directly with communities, and what we can learn from sighters on the ground. We are grateful to all who shared their experiences and look forward to building a network of Skywatchers who are excited about driving understanding the phenomena in our skies.
If you’re interested in hosting and organizing a local Skywatch community, reach out to us at [email protected].
