The hearing could last several days, the AP says, and the final decision about whether to convene a court-martial will be made by Gen. Robert Abrams of the U.S. Army Forces Command.
Advertisement
Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl walked off the base in Afghanistan and his entire platoon was distraught when they found he was missing. Prosecutors planned to call one more witness, the commander of Bergdahl’s battalion.
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, and that the injuries were caused by Bergdahl being kept in a crouched position for extended periods.
The prosecutors said the search for Bergdahl was a massive effort that took over 45 days in hard terrain.
The U.S. Coast Guard discharged Bergdahl for psychological reasons years before he joined the Army, the attorney, Lt. Col. Franklin Rosenblatt, said.
The search for Bergdahl was exhausting, but officers encouraged their men to keep at it. Maj.
Billings said if he had known of any such mental issue, he would have recommended him to specialist care. The Times said Fidell has cited an Army investigation that determined that Bergdahl did not intend to desert, and that he’d instead left his post to report “disturbing circumstances” to the “nearest general officer”.
The Article 32 hearing for Bergdahl, who is charged with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy, is taking place at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, where he has been stationed since returning to the USA past year .
“I was in shock, ma’am, in utter disbelief that I couldn’t find one of my men”, Billings told the Army’s main attorney, Maj. Bowe Bergdahl after he disappeared from his post in southeastern Afghanistan six years ago. Many Republicans and some Democrats have criticized the deal, saying it was politically motivated and violated the USA policy on not negotiating with terrorists. Billings, now a captain, said that Bergdahl was a good soldier who did not complain, and seemed fine when he encountered him at Observation Post Mest one day before he vanished. He could also be dishonorably discharged, reduced in rank and have to forfeit all pay.
“We can’t have soldiers abandoning their posts in a combat zone during a time of war”, said Youngner.
Capt. John Billings, who led Bergdahl’s platoon, described the 45-day search for the Idaho native as grueling, saying soldiers got little food or sleep and endured temperatures in the high-90s.
Advertisement
On Thursday, Fidell offered Visger a single-sentence opening statement: “The government should make Sergeant Bergdahl’s statement available to the public, not just to you”. His defense team is led by Professor Eugene Fidell of Yale Law School, who declined to comment to the media but has said publicly that the highly negative publicity surrounding the prisoner exchange could influence the case. Bergdahl’s mental-health problems were famous among his associate soldiers and questioned since his autocratic officers weren’t sensitive of those concerns. Abrams will ultimately decide whether to send the case to a court-martial, which is the military equivalent of a civilian trial.
