Stealth bomber for Area 51 crowd? US military unit apologises for tweet

Published September 22, 2019
A man in an alien mask stands at an entrance to the Nevada Test and Training Range near Area 51 on Friday, Sept 20. — AP
A man in an alien mask stands at an entrance to the Nevada Test and Training Range near Area 51 on Friday, Sept 20. — AP

A US military unit apologised on Saturday and deleted a tweet that used the specter of a stealth bomber being deployed against any young people who tried to break into the Area 51 base in Nevada.

The tweet, posted on Friday on the Twitter account of the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS), took aim at UFO fans and curiosity seekers who poured into the Nevada desert this week, after an online campaign to “storm” the US military base long rumored to house government secrets about extraterrestrial life and spaceships.

Alongside a photo of military men and women standing at attention in uniform in front of a B-2 stealth bomber, it read, “The last thing #Millennials will see if they attempt the #area51raid today.”

On Saturday, DVIDS said on Twitter that an employee of its DVIDSHub account posted a tweet that “in NO WAY supports the stance of the Department of Defense. It was inappropriate and we apologize for this mistake.”

In Nevada, any fears about a serious attempt to raid Area 51 appeared to have been unfounded. About 150 people, some in alien garb, gathered near the base on Friday in a festive atmosphere with only a handful of arrests.

The US military has disowned previous social media posts that some people also criticised as threatening or insensitive.

On Dec 31, US Strategic Command, which oversees the country’s nuclear arsenal, apologised for a Twitter message that said it was ready if necessary to drop something “much, much bigger” than the New Year’s Eve ball in New York.

And last year the US Air Force apologised for a tweet that sought to find humor in killing Taliban militants in Afghanistan by invoking a viral Internet debate about whether an audio file says the words “Laurel” or “Yanny.”

Opinion

Editorial

When medicine fails
Updated 18 Nov, 2024

When medicine fails

Between now and 2050, medical experts expect antibiotic resistance to kill 40m people worldwide.
Nawaz on India
Updated 18 Nov, 2024

Nawaz on India

Nawaz Sharif’s hopes of better ties with India can only be realised when New Delhi responds to Pakistan positively.
State of abuse
18 Nov, 2024

State of abuse

The state must accept that crimes against children have become endemic in the country.
Football elections
17 Nov, 2024

Football elections

PAKISTAN football enters the most crucial juncture of its ‘normalisation’ era next week, when an Extraordinary...
IMF’s concern
17 Nov, 2024

IMF’s concern

ON Friday, the IMF team wrapped up its weeklong unscheduled talks on the Fund’s ongoing $7bn programme with the...
‘Un-Islamic’ VPNs
Updated 17 Nov, 2024

‘Un-Islamic’ VPNs

If curbing pornography is really the country’s foremost concern while it stumbles from one crisis to the next, there must be better ways to do so.