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Home Front: WoT
Bowe Bergdahl, once-missing U.S. soldier, charged with desertion
2015-03-26
[WASHINGTONPOST] Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the U.S. soldier who was recovered in Afghanistan last spring after five years in captivity, has been charged with desertion and misbehaving before the enemy, Army officials said Wednesday, setting the stage for emotionally charged court proceedings in coming months.

Eugene Fidell, Bergdahl's attorney, told The Washington Post that his client was handed a charge sheet Wednesday. Army officials said in a statement that Bergdahl has been 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. His case has been referred to an Article 32 preliminary hearing, which is frequently compared to a grand jury proceeding in civilian court.
Posted by:Fred

#19  Yeah, give him a free sex change - something neutral. Hammer works for me.
Posted by: KBK   2015-03-26 23:39  

#18  How long until he asks for his gender reassignment hormones and surgery?
Posted by: OldSpook   2015-03-26 23:19  

#17  One would hope this will work out to the shame and embarassment of the Administration...

I don't think these people are capable of shame or embarassment, unless it's related to their country.
Posted by: Woodrow Stalin1308   2015-03-26 20:05  

#16  In Summary a Military Coup of sorts Against the Regime.
Posted by: Ebbomosh Hupemp2664    2015-03-26 15:43  

#15  I could be wrong but I think the typical jihadi fears hard work more than death.
Posted by: rjschwarz   2015-03-26 14:23  

#14  If its too rough a punishment his father can help.
Posted by: rjschwarz   2015-03-26 14:22  

#13  I figure why put him down like the dog he is (and piss off the softies) when we have so many big rocks that need to be turned into gravel.
Posted by: rjschwarz   2015-03-26 14:21  

#12  Next "pivot" to try insulating "The One":

DNC Hack Donna Brazile Refuses To Apologize For Smearing Bergdahl’s Platoon Mates As Liars…


Witnesses? We Don’t Need No Steenking Witnesses! – Obama State Department Calls Bergdahl’s Platoon Mates Liars (Caution: Harf alert!)
Posted by: Hupineger Glomomp52169   2015-03-26 13:22  

#11  NYT was lamenting about BB losing his vet benefits and becoming a pitiful loser. Oh, wait, he already is, never mind.
Posted by: AlmostAnonymous5839   2015-03-26 11:04  

#10  Chelsea Manning couldn’t be reached for comment.
Posted by: DepotGuy   2015-03-26 10:41  

#9  State Department’s Jen Psaki On Bowe Bergdahl Being Charged With Desertion: Swap Was Still “Absolutely” Worth It…
Posted by: Hupineger Glomomp52169   2015-03-26 08:29  

#8  Psaki is still sticking with the trade being a good decision. Good for the army in showing moral integrity--may be the only place to find it these days. Will this court martial be public or closed?
Posted by: JohnQC   2015-03-26 08:26  

#7  I don't believe prisoner (or hostage) swaps or ransoms are a good idea. I do believe in taking all reasonable steps to get a prisoner back (unless you can prove in absentia he was a deserter.) But there was no excuse to glamorize and publicise his return. One would hope this will work out to the shame and embarassment of the Administration, but I doubt it; more likely it will result in pressured retirements in the military and a forced acquittal on serious charges.
Posted by: Glenmore   2015-03-26 08:17  

#6   misbehaving before the enemy

I can think of a lot of commanders and their JAG advisers who could be charged with that one.

10 U.S. Code S 899 - Art. 99. Misbehavior before the enemy
Any member of the armed forces who before or in the presence of the enemy—
(1) runs away;
...
8) willfully fails to do his utmost to encounter, engage, capture, or destroy any enemy troops, combatants, vessels, aircraft, or any other thing, which it is his duty so to encounter, engage, capture, or destroy; or
(9) does not afford all practicable relief and assistance to any troops, combatants, vessels, or aircraft of the armed forces belonging to the United States or their allies when engaged in battle;

shall be punished by death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct.


A lot of RoEs fail on those last two.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2015-03-26 08:03  

#5  I imagine the Army must have been receiving calls from the WH requesting a lower charge but somehow they resisted corruption.

Good for them.

This is similar to the DOJ people investigating the shooting of Brown in MO. Somehow, some good people resisted the corruption.
Posted by: lord garth   2015-03-26 06:03  

#4  I'm not as curious about the desertion as I am the details of the negotiated release, to include the players and decision makers.
Posted by: Besoeker   2015-03-26 05:21  

#3  Here is a section of Article 85, UCMJ: (my emphasis added)

(c) Any person found guilty of desertion or attempt to desert shall be punished, if the offense is committed in time of war, by death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct, but if the desertion or attempt to desert occurs at any other time, by such punishment, other than death, as a court-martial may direct.

It would be nice if the Article 32 Investigating Officer has enough testicular fortitude to find in favor of refiling the charges to reflect desertion in time of war - given that it occurred during armed hostilities as part of wartime Operation Enduring Freedom.
Posted by: Lone Ranger   2015-03-26 04:04  

#2  Boy Howdy the Army is off the leash.

So how are Psaki, Harf, ValJar and the other sock puppets going to spin this after we swapped five certified bad guys (who immediately went on a wanted poster with a big reward) for this traitor?

Seems this flies in the face of the Rice narrative and the whatshisname's presser that announced the swap.

It is almost nutty to see this happen...the administration must sincerely believe the average American has the attention span of a cream filled donut.
Posted by: Mystic   2015-03-26 03:12  

#1  Send his ass back to one of the stans
Posted by: chris   2015-03-26 00:05  

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