A lesson learned firsthand about the KGB

I'm an Air Force veteran, serving nearly 70 years ago. Having received my training at three U.S. Air Force sites in the United States, I was sent to the U.K. for a three-year assignment.

My specialty was nuclear weapons. My last training in the U.S. was only a few miles from Alamogordo, New Mexico, (Trinity Test) at which time, after being vetted, I received a top-secret security clearance.

Being on foreign soil for the first time, I received an initial indoctrination, a warning about indiscriminate talk to anyone who could be a potential security risk. We were especially told of the Soviets' insidious police force, the KGB, meticulously trained to pry information from any susceptible victim to advance their development of its nuclear stockpile. One unforgettable lesson taught that day: Once a KGB agent, always a KGB agent.

We now have someone in the White House, apparently forming an alliance with Vladimir Putin, a former KGB agent who still harbors the intent to destroy this country by any means.

Why did I sign an oath to give my life for my country? For what reason? For what purpose?

James D. Cook

Schaumburg