---
aliases:
- John B. Alexander
- Lieutenant Colonel John B. Alexander
- Colonel John Alexander
born: 1937-01-01
category: Military
created: 2026-05-15
location: New York, New York
summary: John B. Alexander was a Green Beret colonel and Special Forces Vietnam veteran
  who authored the 1980 Military Review article on psychic warfare, ran INSCOM's Advanced
  Human Technology Office under Albert Stubblebine, and became one of the most prominent
  advocates for non-lethal weapons and anomalous phenomena research within the U.S.
  military establishment.
tags:
- Person
- Military
- PSI
- INSCOM
- Stargate
- Army
- 1980s
- 1990s
title: John B. Alexander
updated: 2026-05-17
---

Lieutenant Colonel John B. Alexander is a former Green Beret and Special Forces commander in [Vietnam](/places/vietnam/) and [Thailand](/places/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](/organizations/us-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 [ESP](/concepts/extrasensory-perception/) and [PK](/concepts/psychokinesis/) 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](/people/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](/people/richard-g-stilwell/), the deputy undersecretary of defense, arranged for Alexander's transfer to [INSCOM](/organizations/united-states-army-intelligence-and-security-command/) under Major General [Albert Stubblebine](/people/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 [Grill Flame](/programs/stargate-project/) program, particularly after the [James Randi](/people/james-randi/) hoax. Alexander suggested using magicians as consultants, and worked with [Doug Henning](/people/doug-henning/) and [Jack Houck](/people/jack-houck/) on psychokinesis research, observing spoon-bending parties to understand the phenomena[^1].

After retiring from the military, Alexander joined [Psi](/concepts/psi/)'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)

[^1]: Jacobsen, Annie. *Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis*. Little, Brown and Company, 2017.