Hardships detailed in Bergdahl searches

MILITARY DESERTER

JONATHAN DREW FORT BRAGG, N.C. — Several soldiers and a Navy SEAL testified Wednesday about the risky, all-out efforts to find Bowe Bergdahl after the soldier’s 2009 disappearance in Afghanistan.

Troops and commanders went without sleep. Shirts and socks disintegrated on soldiers during weeks-long patrols. And several service members were seriously wounded — including the Navy commando whose career was ended by AK-47 fire.

The testimony came at a sentencing hearing for Bergdahl, who walked away from a remote post in Afghanistan and was held by Taliban allies for five years. He pleaded guilty to desertion and misbehaviour before the enemy last week and faces a maximum of life in prison.

The wounded SEAL, retired Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer James Hatch, said his team’s helicopters came under fire as they landed in an area near the Pakistan border where they had information on Bergdahl’s possible whereabouts.

A military dog leading them through a field located two enemy fighters that the team had seen at a distance. Hatch said the fighters sprayed AK-47 bullets at them, killing the dog. He was hit in the leg.

“I screamed a lot. It hurt really bad ... I thought I was dead,” said Hatch, who entered the courtroom with a limp and a service dog.

Hatch, who has subsequently had 18 surgeries, was largely stoic except for several times when he talked about the slain military dog, Remco.

As the hearing got underway, the Army judge, Col. Jeffery R. Nance, said he was still considering a motion by the defence to dismiss the case.

The defence has argued President Donald Trump’s comments about Bergdahl prevent him from having a fair sentencing hearing.

Army Col. Clinton Baker, who commanded Bergdahl’s battalion at the time, said one unit on patrol for nearly 40 days straight had their clothing start to disintegrate on their bodies.

Evan Buetow, who served as a sergeant in Bergdahl’s platoon, said he was among three soldiers who were left behind for 10 days to guard the outpost that Bergdahl walked away from near the Afghan town of Mest.

Sitting in a fortified bunker, Buetow and another soldier suffered stomach flu-like symptoms while trying to stay awake and be vigilant.

“Every single day I think about it,” he said of the heat and ever-present dung beetles. “It was miserable.”

Several more days of testimony are expected.

James Hatch