What happened during the 1980 Rendlesham Forest incident that the U.S. Air Force never fully explained?

Lighthouses don't leave ground traces. Lt. Col. Charles Halt walked into Rendlesham Forest with a tape running and came back with readings.

December 1980, outside RAF Woodbridge. U.S. Air Force security police see lights in the forest and go in. Lt. Col. Charles Halt follows with a patrol, recording as he walks, then writes a memo describing a structured craft, marks in the ground and radiation readings. A fireball and the Orfordness Lighthouse explain some of the lights. They don't explain the patrol.

• What it could changeA full release of the base records would show what the military itself concluded, not just what it said.
• How it touches todayHalt's tape and memo still anchor the case, which is why it outlives every tidy explanation.
• Our futureCases like this may only close when the institutions involved stop treating them as embarrassing.

• Multiple USAF personnel reported unusual lights, investigated the forest, and described an apparent object or event at close range.ufoevidence +2
• Halt’s patrol was recorded on audio, and his later memorandum described structured craft, ground traces, and radiation readings.anomalydesk +1
• Supporters argue that a fireball cannot account for every reported observation, especially the later patrol and claimed physical evidence.ufoevidence +2