---
aliases:
- Edmund Thompson
- Edmund R. Thompson
- Ed Thompson
category: Key Figures
created: 2026-05-17
location: Washington, D.C.
summary: Major General Edmund R. Thompson served as U.S. Army Assistant Chief of Staff
  for Intelligence (ACSI) from 1977 to 1981 and was the key early supporter of the
  Grill Flame remote viewing program, approving the Fort Meade unit, augmenting its
  budget, and personally participating in remote viewing sessions.
tags:
- Person
- Stargate
- Military
- ArmyIntelligence
title: Edmund Thompson
updated: 2026-05-18
---

Major General Edmund R. "Ed" Thompson served as the [U.S. Army](/organizations/us-army/) Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence (ACSI) from 1977 to 1981. He was a key figure in the establishment and early support of the [Stargate Project](/programs/stargate-project/), then codenamed [Gondola Wish](/programs/stargate-project/) and later [Grill Flame](/programs/stargate-project/), having developed a personal interest in [psi](/concepts/psi/) phenomena after reading [Arthur Koestler](/people/arthur-koestler/)'s pro-paranormal book *The Roots of Coincidence*.[^1]

Thompson approved [Skip Atwater](/people/frederick-atwater/)'s proposal to assemble a remote viewing team at [Fort Meade](/places/fort-meade/), seeing it as an opportunity to involve the Army in psychic spying without relying too heavily on the [Central Intelligence Agency](/organizations/central-intelligence-agency/) or [Stanford Research Institute](/organizations/stanford-research-institute/). He provided initial funding, assigned Major [Scotty Watt](/people/murray-watt/) to lead the unit alongside Atwater, and later augmented the unit's resources by increasing the budget and allocating positions for three full-time remote viewers. His support was crucial in the project's early survival despite the skepticism of many within the military and intelligence communities, including his successor [William Odom](/people/william-odom/).[^1]

Thompson participated in a remote viewing session himself, attempting to remote-view Major [Stone](/people/major-stone/)'s location. He initially misidentified the target but later realized he had accurately perceived a nearby Masonic Temple, which he had mistaken for the Lincoln Memorial. He also briefed Congressman [Charlie Rose](/people/charlie-rose/) on the program alongside [Jack Vorona](/people/jack-vorona/), contributing to Rose's staunch public support.[^1]

Later in his career Thompson expressed concerns about [Albert Stubblebine](/people/albert-stubblebine/)'s management of [INSCOM](/organizations/united-states-army-intelligence-and-security-command/).[^1]

[^1]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers*. Dell, 1997.