Bergdahl apologizes to personnel hurt in search
FORT BRAGG, N.C. — In an unexpected and emotional statement, Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl apologized in court Monday to all the military personnel who were wounded searching for him and described the nightmares and flashbacks he experienced during five years in captivity of Taliban allies.
Bergdahl was the first witness in what’s expected to be a multiday presentation by the defense to the judge who will decide his punishment for endangering comrades by walking off his post in Afghanistan in 2009. He spoke for two hours, giving a wide-ranging description of his brutal years in captivity and what challenges he still faces with daily life.
“I would like everyone who searched for me to know it was never my intention for anyone to be hurt, and I never expected that to happen,” he said, choking up at times. “My words alone can’t take away their pain.”
Bergdahl faces a maximum of life in prison after pleading guilty to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy.
His appearance on the witness stand, which the defense hadn’t publicly made known in advance, served as a dramatic counterpoint to several days of emotionally wrenching testimony by several service members who were seriously wounded during a massive search effort.
He described the brutal conditions he faced, including beatings with copper wire and unending bouts of gastrointestinal problems brought on by squalid conditions. He was kept in a cage for four out of the five years after several escape attempts, and his muscles atrophied to the point he could barely stand.
He was returned when President Barack Obama brought him home in 2014 in a swap for five Taliban prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.
Asked by a defense attorney what the worst part of captivity was, he responded that it wasn’t the beatings.
“The worst was the constant, just the constant deterioration of everything. The constant pain from my body falling apart. The constant screams from my mind,” he said, haltingly. “It was the years of waiting to see whether or not the next time someone opens the door if that would be the person coming to execute you.”
Earlier Monday, a judge ruled that President Donald Trump’s scathing criticism of Bergdahl won’t prevent the soldier from receiving a fair sentence.
Army Col. Jeffery Nance said the court has not been directly affected by Trump’s remarks, nor would the comments cause a reasonable member of the public to have doubts about the fairness of the military justice system. He had to consider both questions in deciding on whether actual or apparent unlawful command influence was interfering in the case.
“I am completely unaffected by any opinions President Trump may have about Sgt. judge said.
On the campaign trail, then-Republican nominee Trump repeatedly called Bergdahl a traitor and suggested that he be shot or thrown from a plane without a parachute. Trump revived those comments when Bergdahl pleaded guilty on Oct. 16 by saying at a news conference that he thinks people are aware of what he said before.
The White House later released a statement that, while not mentioning Bergdahl by name, said that every military justice case should be decided by military personnel using their own judgment. Nance cited that statement in his ruling.
Nance did say he would keep Trump’s comments in mind as he weighs other factors that will go into his sentencing decision.
Those mitigating factors, such as Bergdahl’s mental health or his time in captivity by Taliban allies, would encourage leniency.
After Nance’s ruling, prosecutors called their final witness, Shannon Allen, to discuss a traumatic brain injury suffered by her husband when he was shot in the head during a search mission for Bergdahl. National Guard Master Sgt. Mark Allen is unable to speak, uses a wheelchair and needs help with everyday tasks, his wife testified. Bergdahl,” the