Lieutenant Colonel John B. Alexander is a former Green Beret and Special Forces commander in [[Vietnam War|Vietnam]] and [[Thailand]], earning the moniker Assassin Six. He holds a PhD in thanatology, the study of death. Alexander became a prominent figure in the [[U.S. Army]]'s exploration of anomalous mental phenomena and human potential[^1]. In December 1980, Alexander authored an article titled "The New Mental Battlefield: Beam Me Up, Spock," published in *Military Review*, an official U.S. Army publication. This article was the first time [[Extrasensory Perception|ESP]] and [[Psychokinesis|PK]] were discussed in an official Army publication, asserting that "there are weapons systems that operate on the power of the mind whose lethal capacity has already been demonstrated"[^1]. The article, based on personal experience and open-source information, gained national attention after *Washington Post* columnist [[Jack Anderson]] wrote about it under the heading "Voodoo Warriors of the Pentagon"[^1]. Alexander's esoteric interests caught the attention of Task Force Delta, a high-level Army organization. In 1981, [[Richard G. Stilwell]], the deputy undersecretary of defense, arranged for Alexander's transfer to [[Intelligence and Security Command|INSCOM]] under Major General [[Albert Stubblebine]]. Here, Alexander was put in charge of the Advanced Human Technology Office, interacting with Stubblebine's High Performance Task Force[^1]. Alexander's work at INSCOM focused on developing human technologies to enhance soldier performance and narrow the "human technology gap." He explored various new age and self-help programs, including sleep discipline, neurolinguistic programming, and Silva Mind Control[^1]. He also played a role in the [[STARGATE PROJECT|Grill Flame]] program, particularly after the [[James Randi]] hoax. Alexander suggested using magicians as consultants, and worked with [[Doug Henning]] and [[Jack Houck]] on psychokinesis research, observing spoon-bending parties to understand the phenomena[^1]. After retiring from the military, Alexander joined [[PSI Tech]]'s corporate board in 1990, though he later stated it was a mistake[^1]. ## Publications * "The New Mental Battlefield: Beam Me Up, Spock" (*Military Review*, 1980) ### Footnotes [^1]: Jacobsen, Annie. *Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis*. Little, Brown and Company, 2017.