[Beowulf]

According to Philip H. Melanson in his 1990 book "Spy Saga: Lee Harvey Oswald and U.S. Intelligence," Oswald, as a Marine, was taught Russian while stationed at Atsugi Naval Air Facility, Japan.

Atsugi was a spook hotbed. U2 flights originated at Atsugi.

At the time Oswald "defected" to Russia he wasn't the only former U.S. military member having recently left service that sought entry into Russia.

[cgbg]

Correct—my memory was that Angleton (CIA Chief of Counterintelligence) sent seven or eight agents into Russia as spies. They were all military folks given Russian language training.

He knew they would have limited success but at that time it was very difficult to get intel from inside Russia so he viewed these folks as expendable so he had nothing to lose.