A US military unit apologised and deleted a tweet that used the spectre of a stealth bomber being deployed against any young people who tried to break into the Area 51 base in Nevada.

The tweet, posted on Friday on the Twitter account of the Defence Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS), took aim at UFO fans and curiosity seekers who poured into the Nevada desert last week, after an online campaign to “storm” the US military base long rumoured to house government secrets about extraterrestrial life and spaceships.

Alongside a photo of military men and women standing at attention in uniform in front of a B-2 stealth bomber, it read: “The last thing #Millennials will see if they attempt the #area51raid today”.

On Saturday, DVIDS said on Twitter that an employee of its DVIDSHub account posted a tweet that “in NO WAY supports the stance of the Department of Defence. It was inappropriate and we apologise for this mistake.”

The US military has disowned previous social media posts that some people also criticised as threatening or insensitive.

On December 31, US Strategic Command, which oversees the country’s nuclear arsenal, apologised or a Twitter message that said it was ready if necessary to drop something “much, much bigger” than the New Year’s Eve ball in New York.

And last year the US Air Force apologised for a tweet that sought to find humour in killing Taliban militants in Afghanistan by invoking a viral Internet debate about whether an audio file says the words “Laurel” or “Yanny”.

In Nevada, any fears about a serious attempt to raid Area 51 appeared to have been unfounded. About 150 people, some in alien garb, gathered near the base on Friday in a festive atmosphere with only a handful of arrests.

That came as a promoter cancelled a second day of music, speakers and movies in Hiko.

“Area 51 Basecamp” organiser Keith Wright said that after drawing just 500 attendees at a Friday event planned for 5,000, he had to pull the plug.

Wright said the event at George Harris’ Alien Research Centre was safe for people who showed up, but became an obvious financial loss.

“It was a gamble financially,” he said.

“We lost.”

In Rachel, Little A’Le’Inn owner Connie West said a slate of musical entertainment would continue as planned for the several thousand revellers at the “Alienstock” event she was hosting.

While costumed space aliens were a common and sometimes hilarious sight in events that began Thursday, no one has reported seeing actual extraterrestrials or UFOs.

Reuters and Associated Press

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