After surviving that, should he be sent to prison for desertion and abandoning his post?
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Bowe Bergdahl will not be testifying at his military hearing, according to his lead attorney. “That would be inappropriate”.
The latest on the hearing to determine if Army Sgt.
Bergdahl’s platoon leader, Capt. John Billings, testified that he was “in shock” when he couldn’t find one of his own men that day in June 2009. “I think that’s what needs to happen here and I have good faith the military will do the right thing”. Bergdahl “very bright and very well-read” and fascinated by samurai warrior culture. Dahl said the officer has an impeccable record.
He’d already mailed home his computer, Kindle, a journal, and two books.
Instead, Bergdahl was captured by the Taliban 10 to 12 hours after he left. So that night in 2009, said major general Dahl, bergdahl headed down the mountain, naively believing that if he was thousands of soldiers searched desperately, berghdahl was captured by the Taliban. Russell went on for several minutes without interruption to describe the excruciating conditions Bergdahl suffered at the hands of what he called a “psychopath terroristic organization”.
Bergdahl never gave up trying to escape despite living in deplorable conditions in which he was first beaten and then left to waste away, Russell said.
Once, he hid himself in a mud puddle before being recaptured 10 minutes later.
The prisoner exchange drew a lot of public criticism, with many Republicans and some Democrats saying they felt it was politically motivated and contrary to the USA policy of not negotiating with terrorists. Held blindfolded in a cage for almost four years, bergdahl he said, sustained extensive lifelong injuries. Bergdahl, dressed in his Army service uniform with his hair in a crew cut, did not make a statement.
When asked if Bergdahl was remorseful about leaving Observation Post Mest, Dahl said yes, “He was young, naïve and inexperienced”. Soldiers were pushed to the limits on the mission that covered vast and hard terrain. General Dahl also said that Sergeant Bergdahl had shown remorse about how his decision to leave his base could have endangered others in his platoon.
“My conclusion is that there were no soldiers killed who were deliberately looking for Sergeant Bergdahl”, Dahl said. Mendocino County Sheriff’s Captain Greg Van Patten told Fox News that Bergdahl was detained during a Redwood City pot raid but was only visiting the residence and was not arrested or charged with any crime.
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Here’s a more detailed look at the procedures involved in an Article 32 hearing and what happens afterward. Eventually, it will be up to Gen. Robert B. Abrams, the head of U.S. Army Forces Command, to decide how to proceed in Bergdahl’s case.
