John B Alexander is a retired United States Army colonel An infantry officer for much of his career he is best known as a leading advocate for the development of nonlethal weapons and of military applications of the paranormal He has written and lectured on UFOs He characterizes his career as having evolved from hardcore mercenary to thanatologist Alexander figures prominently in journalist Jon Ronsons book The Men Who Stare At Goats which was adapted into a Hollywood film starring George Clooney 2009