William Odom

William Odom was a U.S. Army Major General who succeeded Edmund Thompson as the Army's Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence (ACSI) in 1981. Odom was generally skeptical of the Grill Flame program, often expressing embarrassment that the Army was spending money on paranormal research.¹

Despite being shown compelling evidence of remote viewing accuracy, such as Joe McMoneagle's predictions about the bugging of the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Odom remained dismissive, stating, "Yes, we know that already." He appeared to believe that, whether or not there was anything to it, it was something best left alone by the military. His skepticism was rooted in a secular viewpoint, though some proponents of the program suspected a deeper, almost "Inquisition-like" opposition to psi. He was particularly concerned about the public perception of the program, fearing the "mortification and embarrassment" that would arise if the program were exposed.¹

As the Army's assistant chief of staff for intelligence Odom was briefed on Grill Flame in October 1981, received an update on Center Lane on February 23, 1984, and on October 4, 1984, as a lieutenant general, approved the memorandum of agreement transferring the project to the Defense Intelligence Agency; on February 6, 1985, he accompanied its personnel to brief the under secretary of the Army.²