What are the most commonly reported unexplained or paranormal experiences shared by military members and veterans from t

Here’s the short version: based on the evidence available, the types of experiences that appear most often are UFO/UAP sightings and ghost or haunting stories. The evidence doesn’t provide exact numbers for every category, so this is not a formal ranking.

Unexplained aerial phenomena (UFOs / UAPs)

UFO or UAP reports are heavily documented among military members and veterans. The military’s official database grew to about 400 reported incidents, and officials said the vast majority came from within the military [17][21]. Many older reports are only now coming forward, partly because pilots worried about being ridiculed or laughed at [19][22]. Reports of UAPs have been increasing [23].

Specific military examples include:

• In 2004, Navy pilots investigated a mysterious craft off southern California. One pilot, David Fravor, described a white, oval object hovering above an ocean disturbance, and four people witnessed it for about five minutes [24][26][27].
• Radar and combat-systems technicians said similar unidentified contacts had been tracked for about a week before that intercept [28].
• In later Navy incidents, pilots recorded the GIMBAL and GOFAST videos while reporting unknown aerial objects they could not identify [29]. The Pentagon also confirmed videos of an unidentified triangular object and photographs of objects described as a sphere, acorn, and metallic blimp [30][31].
• Fravor later testified in Congress that radar detected multiple anomalous aerial vehicles descending 80,000 feet in less than a second, and that the technology seemed far superior to anything the U.S. had [32][33]. Former fighter pilot Ryan Graves testified alongside him [34].

Official investigations and explanations:

• A Pentagon report compiled by the Navy’s UAP Task Force could not explain 143 incidents, and 18 of them appeared to demonstrate advanced technology [58].
• A 2021 intelligence report reached no conclusion about what the objects were, but said most were probably physical objects rather than false readings [37][38].
• A 2023 follow-up found that 171 of 510 additional reported sightings remained unexplained, with many showing unusual flight characteristics [54].
• Officials said they had not found evidence of anything non-terrestrial, even though some incidents remained unexplained [18].
• The possible categories for UAPs include airborne clutter, natural atmospheric phenomena, development programs, foreign adversary systems, and a catchall “other” category [53].
• Some veterans themselves caution that “UFO doesn’t equal aliens,” and suggest some sightings may be classified U.S. projects [39].

Ghosts, apparitions, and hauntings

Ghost and haunting stories are another common category. Military.com collected spooky military ghost stories told by service members and veterans [6][7]. The accounts include:

• Strange noises and shadowy figures in a room at Vandenberg Air Force Base [8].
• A video showing soldiers in old uniforms marching at night toward a cemetery near Fort Sill [9].
• An aircraft auxiliary power unit starting on its own with no explanation [10].
• A reported burning stagecoach that appears on a route and scares Marines on patrol [11].
• Hearing combat boots walking in a cargo bay, then finding nobody there [12].
• A military police officer firing at an intruder who continued walking and passed through a wall [13].
• A Coast Guard member seeing a moving apparition at a historic house near Ocracoke [14].
• An unexplained radio call requesting a tire, with no one knowing who made it [15].
• Figures in colonial uniforms carrying flintlocks during a training exercise at Fort Frederick State Park [16].

There are also veteran-focused groups and authors collecting these kinds of tales. Military Veterans Paranormal, an all-veteran organization founded in 2013, helps military-affiliated people investigate paranormal experiences and provides camaraderie for veterans and service members [1][3][4]. The group’s podcast covers ghosts, UFOs, cryptozoology, demons, and other paranormal topics [2].

Strange creatures and cryptid encounters

Some military-related stories involve unusual creatures. One Army intelligence veteran’s book collects bizarre military tales including encounters with sub-humans like the “rock apes” in Vietnam, mysterious giants in Afghanistan and Iraq, and Sasquatch and ghost sightings across the U.S. [40][41][42][44]. The collection also highlights supernatural events at locations like Forward Operating Base Salerno and Observation Point Rock in Afghanistan, reports near Abu Ghraib prison, and a story called “The Ghost Plane of Mindanao” [43][45][46]. It even mentions a military Sasquatch research program [48].

Sleep paralysis and explainable experiences

Some experiences that seem paranormal have a more ordinary explanation. Marines have reported episodes of sleep paralysis, where they wake up unable to move and see dark figures standing over them [49]. This is a useful reminder that not every scary or weird experience is necessarily supernatural.

Official military and government records

The government has taken these reports seriously enough to investigate them. The Pentagon announced a new group to investigate reports of UFOs near sensitive military areas [56]. The Department of War also announced the initial release of never-before-seen files on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena [55]. The Pentagon noted that airborne objects entering special use airspace raise safety, operations security, and national security concerns [60].

Going back further, the U.S. Air Force’s Project Blue Book cataloged 12,618 UFO sightings over two decades, including lights, objects, and unexplained radar readings from military and civilian pilots [50]. Navy pilots near Florida and Virginia in 2014 also reported multiple encounters with unidentified craft, including a near-collision, that they could not explain [51][52].

Overall, the evidence points to two broad themes: military members and veterans often report unexplained objects in the sky, and they often report ghostly or haunting experiences on bases and during deployments. The exact most common type cannot be ranked from the evidence alone, but those two categories are by far the most visible in the sources.