Michael Herrera, a former U.S. Marine, has claimed an extraordinary UFO encounter that took place in October 2009 during a humanitarian mission in Indonesia, sparking intense debate and intrigue in UFO circles. Herrera, then a 20-year-old rifleman with the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, was part of a six-man unit deployed following a devastating 7.6 magnitude earthquake that struck Sumatra on September 30, 2009, triggering a tsunami. His unit was initially involved in Operation Ketsana in the Philippines, attached to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit under the Seventh Fleet, before being rerouted to provide security and logistical support in Padang City, Western Sumatra. The mission, aimed at guarding helicopter aid drops amid a volatile region with a significant terrorist presence, took a bizarre turn when Herrera and his team stumbled upon an alleged UFO incident.
Herrera recounts that his unit, lacking communication equipment—an unusual omission for such a mission—was dropped in a clearing 900 feet up a ridge northeast of Padang City. While securing the area for an incoming supply drop, they spotted a massive octagonal craft, approximately 300 feet in diameter, hovering silently above a platform. He described it as rotating clockwise, shifting colors from a light matte gray to a dark matte black, and emitting a low, bassy hum akin to a guitar amplifier or transformer. As they approached within 150 feet, drawn by curiosity due to their lack of radios to report the sighting, they were ambushed by eight men in black camouflage uniforms, bulletproof vests, and high-end night vision attachments on M4 rifles—equipment typical of elite U.S. special operations forces. These men, speaking American military jargon, drew weapons, seized the Marines’ cameras, and confiscated their guns and ammunition, threatening them with death if they spoke out.
Herrera alleges the men were loading large weapons cases from modified Ford F-350 trucks onto a platform beneath the craft, which then rose to meet the UFO, merging into a single unit. After the last truck departed, the craft ascended and vanished at several thousand miles per hour, leaving the team shaken. Days later, in early December 2009 at Camp Hansen in Okinawa, Japan, an Air Force lieutenant colonel, without a name tag, confronted Herrera, sliding a Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) nondisclosure agreement with “Indonesia” written on it. Under threat of prison or death, Herrera signed it and remained silent for 14 years, haunted by the memory daily. He left the Marines in October 2011 with an honorable discharge, later becoming a millionaire entrepreneur running Valkyrie Eye, a private security company.
His silence broke in June 2023 during Dr. Steven Greer’s Disclosure Project event in Washington, D.C., where he testified under oath to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) and a Senate committee, spurred by new UFO whistleblower protections enacted in December 2022. Herrera presented his unblemished service record and texts from a fellow witness who refused to speak, citing safety concerns. He later shared more details in interviews, including on the Shawn Ryan Show in July 2023 and the Chris Lehto podcast’s “Lehto Files” in 2024, claiming an insider from a defense contractor took him to a black site to see advanced technology, hinting at a broader cover-up involving human trafficking and psychic exploitation tied to the UFO.
The establishment narrative, as reflected in AARO’s 2023-2024 report, attributes most UFO sightings to misidentified objects like balloons or drones, with only 1% as polygonal shapes matching Herrera’s description. However, the agency confirmed his testimony, lending some credence. Critics question the lack of physical evidence—his confiscated photos were never released—and the implausibility of a six-man unit without comms in a combat zone, a point raised by a skeptical Marine on Reddit in 2025, who called Herrera a “charlatan” due to inconsistencies with military protocol. Yet, the intimidation tactics—unmarked helicopters buzzing his Denver home, rattling walls and alarming his father’s dogs—support his claims of silencing, as documented in interviews with Daily Mail and The Mirror in 2023.
The encounter’s context raises questions. The 2009 Sumatra disaster created chaos, potentially masking covert operations, as suggested by Herrera’s trafficking allegations. The craft’s size and behavior—silent, color-shifting, and rapid departure—defy known technology, though skeptics argue it could be an experimental U.S. craft or a psychological misinterpretation under stress. The insider’s involvement and black site visit, if true, suggest a deeper government secret, aligning with whistleblower trends like David Grusch’s 2023 claims. Without the photos or independent witnesses, the story rests on Herrera’s word, but his detailed account and the military’s response keep the mystery alive, challenging official denials and fueling speculation about Indonesia’s role in the global UFO narrative.
