Lew Allen was a powerful [[U.S. Air Force]] chief of staff and a member of the [[Joint Chiefs of Staff]]. He played a significant role in the [[Pentagon]]'s strategic defense initiatives, including the [[MX Missile Basing System]], and had direct influence over the direction of psychic research programs within the military[^1]. In the late 1970s, Allen was a strong supporter of the MX missile basing system, which aimed to protect America's land-based, nuclear-tipped [[Intercontinental Ballistic Missile|ICBMs]] from a [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] preemptive nuclear attack. He pushed the idea through [[U.S. Congress]], with estimated start-up costs in the tens of billions of dollars[^1]. Allen became furious when a study contracted by [[Dale Graff]] indicated that [[Remote Viewing]] could significantly increase the odds in determining the location of the real ICBMs within the MX system. He sent Graff a letter ordering him to immediately stop work on any programs that involved [[Extrasensory Perception|extrasensory perception]], [[Paraphysics|paraphysics]], or [[Parapsychology|parapsychology]][^1]. Despite Graff winning the prestigious CIA's Exceptional Intelligence Analyst award and a yearlong sabbatical, Allen intervened and declined the award on Graff's behalf. This demonstrated Allen's significant power and his stance against the military's involvement in psychic research[^1]. ### 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.