I had exactly the same thought. This guy was part of a Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) unit assigned to monitor Soviet/Warsaw Pact activity along inter-German border (back before the wall came down). Very good chance this guy was a linguist or an ELINT specialist; in that capacity, he would be in a position—even as an airman—to know what we were collecting, and more importantly, the gaps in our collection efforts.
From what we’ve been told, this guy becomes “disillusioned” with Reagan’s policies and decides to go to Sweden. I was a junior enlisted member at the same time, and believe me, I wasn’t looking for tax shelters. But this guy not only travels to Sweden, he manages to support himself until he lands a government job (another amazing coincidence), despite the obvious handicaps of not speaking the language, and having no real basis for asylum or resident alien status. All in a country with some of the highest living costs in Europe. Yeah, I know Sweden has welfare programs out the ying-yang, but how many illegals make the transition to civil servant. Sorry, but his account just doesn’t add up.
True, some Vietnam-era deserters and draft dodgers made their way to Sweden. But the U.S. wasn’t at war in 1983. Clearly, someone greased the skids to help this traitor settle into a rather comfortable lifestyle in his adopted homeland. The KGB was very active in Sweden during the Cold War. Why send him there—instead of “Mother Russia?” Perhaps they had thoughts of returning him to Germany at some point, or (if he had language skills) utilizing him for operations in that country.
Additionally, if he entered Sweden legally (say, on a tourist visa), he had to show someone a passport. During the early stages of the hunt, the Air Force would have checked tourist/immigration lists for the missing airman, but his name never turned up. Either this guy was good at covering his tracks; the AFOSI was incompetent (not the first time that’s happened), or he had outside assistance. I’m putting my money on option three.
One more thought: if you look at the “Most Wanted” list for the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, you’ll see that all of them are deserters. But (obviously) those aren’t the only airmen who walk away and never return. Most are on the list because they’ve been charged with (or suspected of) committing serious crimes, along with . There’a a reason this guy has remained on the list for 28 years, and there’s most likely an espionage link.
Do members of the military carry passports overseas or just military ID?