Sgt. Bergdahl to tell his side on desertion charges
The public hearing, starting this week, will determine whether there is probable cause to proceed to a court-martial on desertion for the soldier alleged to have walked away from his post in Afghanistan and into captivity by the Taliban.
Public hearing this week will determine whether soldier should face court-martial.
Evan Buetow was home in Washington state last year when he learned Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, a member of his team in Afghanistan, had been released after five years in Taliban captivity.
He was glad Bergdahl was safely returned, but a Rose Garden ceremony and hero’s welcome for an alleged deserter didn’t seem right to him.
After President Obama announced that five Taliban leaders were released in exchange for Bergdahl’s freedom, Buetow turned off the TV. “Why are they talking about him like he’s some poor POW, like he never had a choice?” said Buetow, who is no longer in the Army.
Buetow’s feelings reflect one side of a wartime incident that has divided the nation. Bergdahl, 29, has been largely silent since his release, but his version of events will start coming out at a public hearing to begin Thursday in San Antonio. The hearing will determine if there is probable cause to proceed to a court-martial on desertion and other charges. Both sides can present evidence and cross-examine witnesses at the hearing.
Bergdahl is charged with “desertion with intent to shirk important or hazardous duty” and “misbehavior before the enemy by endangering the safety of a command, unit or place.” He could face life imprisonment if convicted. At issue is whether he deserted his post in Afghanistan, how he was taken captive by insurgents and the risk comrades who searched for him faced.
His attorney, Eugene Fidell, urged the public not to draw a conclusion until hearing all the evidence. “People ought to keep an open mind,” he said.
The case may not have gotten this far if it were not for the infantrymen who demanded that the nation’s top political and military leaders hold Bergdahl accountable for his actions.
“If we would have kept our mouths shut, it probably would have been swept under the rug,” said Cody Full, a former platoon mate of Bergdahl’s now out of the Army. “There would be a bronze statue of him somewhere.”
Shortly after Bergdahl’s release, national security adviser Susan Rice described his service as honorable.
Soldiers who served with him, however, see nothing honorable about being disloyal to buddies on the front lines of battle by jeopardizing their safety, said Mi- chael Barbero, a retired Army lieutenant general. “The greatest value our young troopers hold dear is loyalty to each other,” he said. “It’s a bond sacred to them.”
That’s particularly true for front-line infantry units. Bergdahl was part of the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment that had established a platoon outpost in a remote section of eastern Afghanistan.
After his disappearance, the military pulled out all stops to recover him, sending out patrols and diverting drones and other resources to scour the area. “That’s putting people’s lives at unnecessary risk,” Buetow said.
The case puts the Army in an awkward position. The charges against Bergdahl carry a heavy penalty, yet he undoubtedly suffered. Bergdahl said he tried to escape a dozen times and was regularly chained and beaten, according to a statement his attorney released this year.
Should he seek a deal to plead guilty to a lesser charge, the military may have difficulty making a deal because of the controversy surrounding the case.
The case puts the Army in an awkward position. The charges against Bergdahl carry a heavy penalty, yet he undoubtedly suffered during five years of Taliban captivity.