Kevin Douglas Randle (born June 4, 1949) is an American ufologist, science fiction and historical fiction writer and a military veteran. Within the UFO community, he is often regarded as one of the preeminent experts on the reported crash of a UFO near Roswell, New Mexico in July 1947.

A writer with more than 80 books to his credit, Randle is perhaps best known for his books about UFOs and the Roswell story. While the vast majority of his books are science fiction and historical fiction, it's his books on the accounts of the Roswell story, New Mexico in 1947 that have exerted an enormous influence on those interested in the saga. Randle, along with Stanton Friedman, is generally acknowledged as one of the leading researchers into the Roswell story and the UFO question. He continues to work in the UFO field, although lately he has concentrated more on his science fiction books than UFO research. He is a brother of Brian D. Platt.

Military service

Kevin Randle served in the United States Army during both the Vietnam War and the Iraq War.

In Vietnam, Randle piloted UH-1 helicopters while assigned to the 116th Assault Helicopter Company based at Cu Chi, and later with the 187th Assault Helicopter Company stationed at Tay Ninh.

Between the Vietnam War and the War in Iraq, Randle was in the United States Air Force, both on active duty and in the active reserves. In the Air Force, Randle pulled duty as a public affairs officer, a general's aide, and an intelligence officer. He was promoted several times and completed his Air Force Reserve duty as a captain and the director of intelligence for an airlift group.

After the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center, Randle joined the Iowa National Guard as an intelligence officer. His unit, the 234th Signal Battalion, deployed in Iraq in June 2003, to the Baghdad International Airport, returning in May 2004. Randle was awarded a Combat Action Badge for his participation in several firefights in Iraq.^[1] Randle retired from the Iowa National Guard as a lieutenant colonel in 2009.

Education

Randle studied journalism at the University of Iowa (BA). He earned a master's degree in psychology, as well as a Ph.D. from California Coast University and a second master's degree in military studies, from the American Military University.

Writing career

Randle began his study of UFOs while still a high school student. In 1972 he published his first article about UFOs in Saga's Annual UFO Report. Throughout the 1970s, he published a number of articles concerning a variety of UFO sightings including tales of alien abduction, photographic cases, and those involving some sort of physical evidence. In 1975 he was asked by Jim Lorenzen to investigate the wave of cattle mutilations that were sweeping the Midwest and west.

Randle's writing is not limited to the UFO field. He is the author of more than 100 books including action-adventure, mysteries, and science fiction. He has also written more than two hundred magazine articles including his exploration of Iowa's Cold Water Cave and accounts of the war in Vietnam. A magazine article in Soldier of Fortune magazine recounted an Easter Sunday (2004) firefight that took place on the western perimeter of Baghdad Airport.^[2]

Interviewed by Skeptical Inquirer's Robert Sheaffer Randle was asked about his current status of belief in UFOs. When asked what does he think is credible evidence for the existence of UFOs, he stated that he believes that a UFO crashed in Roswell, and that possibly there may be truth to the story that a UFO crashed in Shag Harbour in 1967. But Randle feels that most abductees are "describing sleep paralysis"..."many of these supposed abductees are very impressionable and are easily led by a hypnotist". About ongoing research for proof of aliens, "...we said this field...had not progressed in over twenty years. It's now been another ten or twelve years, and it still has not progressed." In conclusion Randle says, "I set a very high bar for the level of evidence required. There are very few authentic UFO cases. However, some skeptical explanations don't fit the facts. Still, I'm getting more skeptical in my old age." In the opinion of interviewer Sheaffer, Randle "gives more weight to 'eyewitness testimony' than skeptics typically do."^[3] In a later interview with Sheaffer, Randle indicated, with regard to Roswell, that "he was no longer sure what actually happened, and that he feels the case for ET involvement is no longer robust."^[4]