It's Official: Bergdahl Charged With Desertion

[Bill]

Bowe Bergdahl to face desertion charges: NBC

Reuters
9 hours ago

Bowe Bergdahl to be charged with desertion


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl will be charged with desertion for disappearing from his base in Afghanistan in 2009, NBC News reported on Tuesday.

Bergdahl, who was released from captivity last year in a controversial Taliban prisoner swap, could be charged within a week, the television network said, quoting senior defense officials who were not identified by name.

However, senior Army and defense officials contacted by Reuters could not confirm the report.

The officer in charge of the case, General Mark Milley, is reviewing facts and findings submitted by Army investigators last month and has not publicly said whether he will file charges, said spokesman Jim Hinnant. Milley heads the Fort Bragg, North Carolina-based U.S. Forces Command.

Milley is expected to make a decision soon on whether the findings merit a court-martial or some form of administrative punishment. The general also could decide no action against Bergdahl is warranted.

Bergdahl's attorney, New Haven, Connecticut-based Eugene Fidell, declined to comment on NBC's report.

Bergdahl is stationed at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, where he is working as a clerk.

The soldier, who spent five years in captivity after leaving his post, was released in May in exchange for five prisoners from the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The deal was blasted by some Republicans, and some of his fellow soldiers called him a deserter.

If officials conclude that Bergdahl broke U.S. military law, they could force him to forfeit hundreds of thousands of dollars in back pay accumulated during his captivity and give up future benefits, NBC said.

According to the network, charges against Bergdahl will not say that he left the base with the intent to never return. Citing defense and military officials, the network also said that he could be given a less than honorable discharge.

He would also likely be given consideration for his time in captivity, NBC quoted officials as saying.

(Reporting by Susan Heavey, David Alexander; Additional reporting by Jim Forsyth in San Antonio, Texas; Editing by Doina Chiacu, Bill Trott and Jonathan Oatis)

So we traded a deserter for 5 guys responsible for the deaths of American soldiers. I'm sure Dear Leader didn't know about the desertion thingie at the time. Seems legit.

[Aerovette]

POS now available in extra strength.

[DAB]

Charge him, convict him, reduce rank to buck private, loss of all pay, dishonorable discharge. Done.

Lots of luck son.

[LATB]

NBC day late dollar short.

FOX reported it Monday on orielly.

[Bill]

Soldiers died trying to rescue our POS/POW. Whatever the max sentence for desertion is, B-man needs to get it. What really sucks is, the guys tasked with getting him back, especially the ones who died trying, KNEW he was a deserter, yet they still made the effort to rescue him.

[Bill]

Originally Posted by LATB

NBC day late dollar short.

FOX reported it Monday on orielly.

And yet, it first appeared on the VB Tuesday.

[Norm]

It's about time.

[LATB]

Originally Posted by bill_daniels

And yet, it first appeared on the VB Tuesday.

VB > NBC

[69camfrk]

Originally Posted by DAB

Charge him, convict him, reduce rank to buck private, loss of all pay, dishonorable discharge. Done.

Lots of luck son.

That is how most .mil types feel too. However, we all know that because of dear leader that it will not go down that way. Dear leader should be in prison right beside the deserter for releasing known terrorists. Holy shit this country has gone down the crapper.

[RedLS1GTO]

Originally Posted by 69camfrk

That is how most .mil types feel too. However, we all know that because of dear leader that it will not go down that way. Dear leader should be in prison right beside the deserter for releasing known terrorists. Holy shit this country has gone down the crapper.

He'll end up with an open invitation to the White House and a gig on MSNBC.

[VatorMan]

Amazing how this is 3rd page news on all the major news sites.

[LATB]

Originally Posted by VatorMan

Amazing how this is 3rd page news on all the major news sites.

Because it makes Obama look stoopid. And they worship at the alter of BHO. Mmmm...Mmmm...Mmmm

[GentleBen]

God, would I love to be recalled to duty to sit on the jury panel. . .

Article 85 states:

Any person found guilty of desertion or attempt to desert shall be punished, if the offense is committed in time of war, by death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct, but if the desertion or attempt to desert occurs at any other time, by such punishment, other than death, as a court-martial may direct.

The question would be "Was the conflict in Afghanistan a war?" I would argue that it was and that Bergdahl's desertion deserves the death penalty. That would not preclude Obama from granting him clemency, but it would give him yet one more major PR problem.

[dwjz06]

Around damn time

[Fasglas]

Originally Posted by DAB

Charge him, convict him, reduce rank to buck private, loss of all pay, dishonorable discharge. Done.

Lots of luck son.

Not so fast...

Between DD and Done, meaningful incarceration is appropriate.

There is a facility in Maine that could be partially refitted to serve the purpose admirably. Return it to RED LINE status.

The "Castle" still stands. The military still owns it. Put it to good use.

[VITE1]

According to the Pentagon spokes person this AM on Fox this is not true.

This Administration will do whatever it takes to delay and trail of this scum bag.

[mrvette]

Fox this AM, supposedly no decision is made about this, previous reports were seen and the communist/islamic in the WH has directed the .mil to do nothing....

[Cybercowboy]

Guaranteed Obama stepped in and told them to stand down on this. Disgusting.

Bergdhal (and his father) already knew Farsi and then learned Pastun prior to Bergdhal going into the military. It's my contention that he had plans from the very start of his military career to defect to the other side. He is the only American soldier taken captive by the Taliban, the ONLY ONE. All others were killed immediately, or tortured and killed. There was a very good reason they kept him alive for 5.5 years.

[Lakota]

In my Army days you had to be AWOL for 30 days to be a deserter. If your kidnapped and can't return by free will, you have no chance to return.

The Army needed troops and quality people weren't enlisting in the Infantry. The Army scraped the bottom of the barrel to get people to include the alleged low life's in the mentioned Platoon.

Bergdahl left the Coast Guard when he couldn't hack it after a few weeks. The Army took him "as is".

I blame the Army and Nation for not bring back the draft to get quality troops needed. The Business people and Politicians are always willing to fight useless wars with other people's children. Draft their kids, assume responsibility for our defense.

[Bill]

Originally Posted by Lakota

In my Army days you had to be AWOL for 30 days to be a deserter. If your kidnapped and can't return by free will, you have no chance to return.

The Army needed troops and quality people weren't enlisting in the Infantry. The Army scraped the bottom of the barrel to get people to include the alleged low life's in the mentioned Platoon.

Bergdahl left the Coast Guard when he couldn't hack it after a few weeks. The Army took him "as is".

I blame the Army and Nation for not bring back the draft to get quality troops needed. The Business people and Politicians are always willing to fight useless wars with other people's children. Draft their kids, assume responsibility for our defense.

While I reject the idea of a draft on libertarian principles (forced servitude is slavery, and wrong), if I toss aside my ideals for a minute, the idea has some merit, although I would fine tune it. Since we are willing to force American citizens into forced servitude, we should start with the children of those in government, particularly Congress and the President. They should be first-to-go-in, front line infantry. Perhaps the very real possibility of losing your own kid might dissuade our war hawks from prosecuting more BS wars. I wonder if Hillary would have been so eager to invade Iraq, for example, if she knew Chelsea faced getting blown up and coming back home dead or permanently injured.

Normal, everyday people don't want war. They just want to live their lives, work, raise families, vacation, plan for the future, and all that other mundane stuff.