As someone who spent years of my life protecting some of our nation’s most sensitive military assets, I never expected the greatest threat I’d face would come not from a foreign enemy — but from within. At the young age of 18, I was handpicked for a highly classified assignment, tasked with guarding America’s newest top-secret stealth aircraft at the Nevada Test and Training Range.

For three and a half years, my job was to secure “the resource” (as we called it) at a base so secret, it didn’t officially exist. We were operating under constant alert and secrecy, with absolute commitment to mission and country. I was proud to serve and don’t regret a thing. 

But many years after I left the Air Force, my life took a turn I never expected. I began developing tumors throughout my body. I was diagnosed with silicosis and other serious lung issues. My wife suffered three miscarriages. And our son was born with neurofibromatosis — a rare genetic disorder that causes tumors to grow on nerves, the skin and inside the body. After exchanging stories with other veterans whose stories were eerily similar to mine (abnormally high rates of tumors, cancers, miscarriages, birth defects, mental illness, unexplained deaths and other devastating health issues), the pattern was impossible to ignore.

Years of research later, I came to understand what no one had ever told us: Our health and the health of our families was being ravaged by the toxic legacy of nuclear weapons testing and related activities across the Nevada Test and Training Range. 

As the chairman of the nonprofit The Invisible Enemy, I work tirelessly to expose the full scope of this tragedy and fight for the justice and medical care we deserve. So when rumors of renewed discussions in Washington, D.C., about restarting explosive nuclear weapons testing at the Nevada National Security Site surfaced, my breath caught. 

What message would resuming nuclear weapons testing send to the world? That the United States is abandoning its commitment to nonproliferation? That the painful lessons of our past no longer matter?

This is not hypothetical for me. What I and every volunteer, soldier and contractor have experienced is not coincidence — it’s consequence. And we live with those consequences every day. 

I’m 60 years old. After a lifetime of service, sacrifice and watching too many friends suffer, I’ve had enough. And every Nevadan should feel the same. After 928 explosive tests, what is left to learn?

We know that radiation spreads through air, water and soil. It travels. It contaminates. It kills. While I believe nuclear energy can and should be part of a clean, reliable energy future, there is no scientific, military or moral justification for detonating nuclear weapons — especially not so close to a growing metropolitan area such as Las Vegas. 

That’s why I supported AJR13, a resolution urging the federal government to maintain the moratorium on explosive nuclear weapons testing. This is not a political issue. It’s a human issue. I am grateful that our state legislators unanimously agreed and voted “yes” on this measure. 

We must never go back to the dark days of radioactive contamination. For the safety of Nevadans and the integrity of our state and its flagship city, we must stand firmly against any resumption of nuclear weapons testing. 

Ret. Sgt. David Crete, U.S. Air Force, is the chairman of The Invisible Enemy, a nonprofit that advocates for legislation that guarantees the comprehensive free medical treatment and just financial compensation for the victims and their families who worked on the Nevada Test and Training Range and suffered or died from exposure to toxic radiation and materials from decades of nuclear weapons testing.

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