Bergdahl’s supervising officer, Capt. John Billings, testified Thursday that he had no denote that Sgt.
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Dahl added that he does not believe Bergdahl should be given jail time.
Maj. Gen. Kenneth Dahl, investigating officer in the case, testified Friday that his 22-person investigation team interviewed 57 people in the case.
Hatch wants Bergdahl court-martialed, but trusts the system, concluding, “The military will do the right thing”.
(AP Photo/Brigitte Woosley). Nurse practitioner Curtis Aberle testifies during a preliminary hearing to determine if Army Sgt. It has steadfastly defended the decision to recover Bergdahl amid backlash from Republicans and some who served with him in Afghanistan. Bowe Bergda…
Dahl said Bergdahls perceptions about his unit were completely off the mark. He said the Idaho native mistakenly believed there was a sergeant major who had joined the Army to be a rapist; to be a thief. Dahl said the officer has an impeccable record. “I think it would be healthy, uh, for everyone to have more information rather than less information”, says Eugene Fidell, Bergdahl’s attorney.
“Sgt. Bergdahl has missed birthdays and holidays and the simple moments with family and friends”, the President said when the soldier returned.
Hatch expressed frustration that Bergdahl’s trial has received scant media attention, saying, “I think it’s telling that this hearing isn’t a blip on the radar of today’s news”.
A Department of Defense official who helped debrief Bowe Bergdahl after the Army sergeant was recovered in a prisoner exchange says Bergdahl was subjected to horrific abuse during his five years in captivity. Each spoke in detail about the difficulties involved in the 45-day search for Bergdahl and how it put other soldiers in danger.
For Hatch, whose femur was shattered and left him unable to return to duty, Bowe Bergdahl should face court martial.
He was then held by the Taliban, who released him past year in a controversial swap for five Taliban detainees.
“Leatherman said the first sergeant told him: “Shut the (expletive) up.” and “(Expletive) off”.
Bergdahl has said he tried to escape a dozen times and was regularly chained and beaten, according to a statement his attorney released this year.
He said Bergdahl left the post that evening without a rfle because he wanted to be “light and lean”.
“They don’t know what the facts are”. It’s not known yet if Bergdahl intends to testify.
He said Bergdahl has muscular nerve damage in his lower legs, a degenerative disc in his lower back and an injury that has left him with limited movement in his shoulder – injuries that he said were caused by Bergdahl being kept in a crouched position for extended periods. “Bergdahl does not meet retention standards for the Army and should not remain in the military”, Mr. Aberle said.
The defense asked the platoon leader whether he had been made aware that Bergdahl had a psychological discharge from the U.S. Coast Guard, or that Bergdahl “possessed a severe mental disease or defect?”
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On Friday, squad leader Greg Leatherman, who supervised Bergdahl, said he became concerned when the sergeant wasn’t socializing with fellow soldiers and had grown dissatisfied with the mission.
