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---
created: 2026-05-17
updated: 2026-05-17
updated: 2026-09-21
title: Mel Riley
aliases:
- Mel Riley
@ -14,13 +14,13 @@ tags:
- 1970s
- 1980s
category: "Military"
summary: "Mel Riley was a U.S. Army staff sergeant and aerial photo-interpreter who was one of the original six STARGATE remote viewers recruited in 1977, known for his artistic rendering of psychic impressions and for being part of the three-viewer core that became the Grill Flame program."
summary: "Army sergeant and imagery analyst, one of the six original Fort Meade viewers selected in February 1979, who returned to the unit under DIA and retired in 1990."
born: 1946-01-01
died: 2020-04-25
location: "Racine, Wisconsin"
---
Mel Riley was a U.S. Army staff sergeant and one of the original six remote viewers in the [[STARGATE PROJECT]]. He was recruited into the program, then codenamed [[STARGATE PROJECT|Gondola Wish]], in 1977 by [[Frederick Atwater|Skip Atwater]] and [[Murray Watt|Scotty Watt]].[^1]
Mel Riley was a U.S. Army staff sergeant and one of the original six remote viewers in the [[STARGATE PROJECT]]. He was recruited into the program, then codenamed Gondola Wish, in 1977 by [[Frederick Atwater|Skip Atwater]] and [[Murray Watt|Scotty Watt]].[^1]
Riley was five feet eight, slim and fit, with wavy blond hair and an Irish, vaguely leprechaunish face. He had tattoos of an eagle, a rabbit, and a large winged dragon across his chest. His eyes were often described as wide and intense, as if he were staring inward. He was a morning person, enjoying the quiet calm of the predawn hours.[^1]
@ -36,8 +36,11 @@ As a remote viewer, Riley was known for his artistic skill in rendering his psyc
During the Iran hostage crisis (1979-1981), Riley and other remote viewers were tasked hundreds of times to provide information on the hostages. Despite the gratification of contributing to a key intelligence effort, Riley found the relentless and monotonous taskings led to mental burnout, as remote viewers needed variety to maintain clarity. He experienced aftereffects of remote viewing, describing them as similar to a "natural high" or the adrenaline rush after a parachute jump, with heightened sensory perception. However, he also noted that intense, daily remote viewing could lead to mental fatigue, emotional fragility, and a "vacant stare."[^1]
Riley, along with [[Joe McMoneagle]] and [[Ken Bell]], became one of the three full-time remote viewers when the unit was officially designated the Special Action Branch and the program was codenamed [[STARGATE PROJECT|Grill Flame]]. He left the unit in 1981 for a posting in Germany, with the understanding that he could return to the program in the future, as the unit was on "relatively firm ground" with an increasing budget and new recruits.[^1]
Riley, along with [[Joe McMoneagle]] and [[Ken Bell]], became one of the three full-time remote viewers when the unit was officially designated the Special Action Branch and the program was codenamed Grill Flame. He left the unit in 1981 for a posting in Germany, with the understanding that he could return to the program in the future, as the unit was on "relatively firm ground" with an increasing budget and new recruits.[^1]
His Grill Flame security agreement and volunteer security agreement are dated February 8, 1979, the day of Joe McMoneagle's.[^2]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies.* Dell, 1997. Jacobsen, Annie. *Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis.* Little, Brown and Company, 2017.
[^2]: Grill Flame volunteer security agreements, consent statements, and counseling statements for Joseph W. McMoneagle (February 8, 1979; October 26, 1979; February 19, 1980), Melvin C. Riley (February 8, 1979), and Robert C. Cowart (June 3 and October 2, 1981), and "Requirement for Access to DIA Sun Streak Project (Brian Buzby)," May 10, 1985, CIA-RDP96-00789R0021001500xx series. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.