Aldric Saucier (April 29, 1936 – December 8, 2016) was an American scientist and whistleblower. Saucier lost his job and security clearance after he criticized the

Strategic Defense Initiative The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) was a proposed missile defense system intended to protect the United States from attack by ballistic nuclear missiles. The program was announced in 1983, by President Ronald Reagan. Reagan called for a ...

in 1992.

Early life

Aldric Saucier was born on April 29, 1936, in

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

Career

Saucier started his career as a navigator with the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

. In 1969, he worked on

Apollo 11 Apollo 11 was a spaceflight conducted from July 16 to 24, 1969, by the United States and launched by NASA. It marked the first time that humans Moon landing, landed on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin l ...

. He also worked on "the Ballistic Missile Defense Ground based free electron laser in 1983 and the Star Wars Program in 1991." In October 1986, while working on the

(also known as Star Wars), Saucier sent a letter of complaint to James A. Abrahamson, alleging a pattern of "mismanagement and abuse," as well as "wasteful spending on research and development." By 1987, he was demoted. In February 1992, he was dismissed on the grounds of poor performance. His mental health was also "question d by his detractors, and he was surveilled by the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

. However, Democratic Congressman

John Conyers John James Conyers Jr. (May 16, 1929October 27, 2019) was an American politician of the Democratic Party who served as a U.S. representative from Michigan from 1965 to 2017. Conyers was the sixth-longest serving member of Congress and the lo ...

believed it was done in retaliation, and he asked Army Secretary Michael P. W. Stone to overturn the dismissal, which he did. By March 1992, the allegations were reviewed by Defense Secretary

Dick Cheney Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American former politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He has been called vice presidency o ...

, and Saucier was given whistleblower protection. By April 1992, his

security clearance A security clearance is a status granted to individuals allowing them access to classified information (state or organizational secrets) or to restricted areas, after completion of a thorough background check. The term "security clearance" is ...

was revoked after the Army found an error on a form he had filled out in 1969, where it was claimed he had graduated from

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

instead of simply attending classes there. Saucier was represented by the

Government Accountability Project The Government Accountability Project (GAP) is a nonprofit whistleblower Whistleblowing (also whistle-blowing or whistle blowing) is the activity of a person, often an employee, revealing information about activity within a private or publi ...

. In 1996, Saucier ran for Congress in Maine's 2nd district as an independent. He came in third with 4.7% of the vote, in a race that was won by incumbent Democrat

John Baldacci John Elias Baldacci (born January 30, 1955) is an American politician who served as the 73rd governor of Maine from 2003 to 2011. A Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, he also served in the United States House of Representatives from 199 ...

Personal life and death

Saucier resided in Fort Fairfield, Maine, until he moved to

Fairfax, Virginia Fairfax ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia and the county seat of Fairfax County, Virginia, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 24,146. Fairfax is pa ...

, where he died on December 8, 2016, at age 80.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saucier, Aldric 1936 births 2016 deaths People from Fort Fairfield, Maine People from Fairfax, Virginia American whistleblowers American scientists Strategic Defense Initiative