Bowe Bergdahl’s commanding officer when the Idaho native vanished from his post in Afghanistan six years ago testified Thursday that he thought his soldiers were playing a joke on him when they told him that Bergdahl had gone missing.
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The U.S. Coast Guard discharged Bergdahl for psychological reasons years before he joined the Army, the attorney, Lt. Col. Franklin Rosenblatt, said. Margaret Kurz, said Bergdahl showed deliberate disregard for his unit by leaving his post and was “intending to draw attention to himself”, according to ABC News.
Bergdahl’s attorney, Eugene Fidell, admitted that his client did walk away from his post, but claimed that the sergeant did not abandon the Army “generally”, ABC News reports.
His former platoon leader, Capt. John Paul Billings, recounted being awakened early by soldiers telling him Bergdahl was missing. “It’s a hard thing to swallow”, he said, adding that a squad of men was immediately sent out to look for him. His company commander, Maj.
“I would tell them we are doing what we are doing because he is our brother”, Silvino testified.
Silvino says the search lasted 45 days and involved thousands of soldiers. He was swapped for five Taliban detainees in 2014 and brought home as a hero, but the narrative quickly changed, with questions about Bergdahl’s loyalty and the wisdom of letting the so-called Taliban Five free. Many Republicans and some Democrats criticized the swap as politically motivated and a violation of the USA policy of not negotiating with terrorists. Bowe Bergdahl suffered from a serious mental illness or defect, his invulnerability group asserted during a troops justice move Thursday that will establish either he will face a court-martial for purported abandonment and other misconduct. When asked by the presiding officer if he understood the charges, he said “Yes sir I do”.
Before disappearing, Bergdahl had expressed opposition to the war in general and misgivings about his own role in it. Military prosecutor Maj.
Silvino said he heard of Bergdahl’s disappearance through a message from Billings while at the command post in a nearby city. After the hearing wrapped up for the day, Fidell repeated his call for the military to make public Bergdahl’s interview with military investigators after the prisoner exchange, saying it would help counteract the negative publicity Bergdahl has faced.
SAN ANTONIO-An Army mental-health board concluded that Sgt. Both also said they weren’t aware of Bergdahl’s mental health history.
“The misbehavior before the enemy charge, which falls under Article 99 of the [Uniform Code of Military Justice], carries a maximum punishment of confinement for life as well as a dishonorable discharge, reduction in rank to E-1, and forfeiture of pay and allowances”.
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Bowe Bergdahl, speaks to members of the media after a preliminary hearing to determine if Sgt.
