UFO Sighting in Palmdale, California on March 31st 2001 – Disc shaped object with multicolored lights hovered and ascended backward over our sight of operation

I was in the middle of the dessert training in 29 Palms Marine base with 1st Marine division 5th marine regiment. My platoon had just set up many 30 foot omnidirectional antennas on our site. Our platoon noticed a large bright disc with multicolored lights hovering maybe 50 foot obove our antennas. It hovered over our location and we all had our weapons drawn. Then the disc shaped object ascended in the sky. We called the sightings into 29 Palms base headquarters and they responded it was just a weather balloon. Our whole platoon saw it about 38 people and we all agreed what we saw and how could it be a weather balloon. After that night none of us spoke of it again. I am interested in anyone else that may have reported a sighting over 29 Palms open desert around summer 2001 or time near or around that time within or around that time frame. Thank you. We all got a strange feeling whole seeing the lights. We all were trained in calling in close air support and this was no plane made no noise hovered then ascended backwards into the sky disappearing.