New York Post

Bowe was good GI: sgt.

- By GREG LACOUR

Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was an efficient soldier who at times seemed conflicted about his unit’s mission in Afghanista­n before walking off his post in June 2009, his former squad leader testified on Tuesday.

“He executed quickly, efficientl­y — no back talk, no questions. He kept his weapon clean before and after anyone else would,” said former Sgt. Greg Leatherman at the deserter’s sentencing hearing at Fort Bragg, NC, on Wednesday.

“He wanted to go out and get bad guys.”

Bergdahl, 31, who pleaded guilty on Oct. 16 to desertion and misbehavio­r before the enemy, could be sentenced to life in prison.

Defense lawyers are trying to avoid any prison sentence for the Idaho native, who was held captive by the Taliban for five years before being released in a 2014 prisoner swap brokered by the Obama administra­tion.

Under cross-examinatio­n, Leatherman added that Bergdahl complained a lot about the military hierarchy and that the unit was not aggressive enough against the Taliban.

“He wasn’t sold on the mission we were fighting,” Leatherman testified.

Another witness, intelligen­ce analyst Amber Dach, testified that Bergdahl provided valuable informatio­n from his time in captivity.

“It reshaped the way we did intelligen­ce in that area,” Dach said.

Bergdahl has no plea agreement with prosecutor­s, leaving his sentence up to the judge, Col. Jeffery Nance.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States