Why wasn’t Bowe Bergdahl charged with treason?
It was a plea bargain so he could plead guilty. General upholds judge’s no-prison sentence for Bergdahl
Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is a deserter?
If the desertion claims are true then it's his post he left not the military or serving in. This is true because reports now are some of his fellow soldiers said, "He deserted his post". Although its stupid and wrong to leave your post leaving your post is not tantamount to defecting, deserting, etc.. from the military as a whole. IT does not make you a traitor either. The guy after all was captured. They would not of had to do the whole exchange thing if he were not.
Was Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl a traitor/deserter?
Give me the entire back down on the situation. I saw on a you tube video he was saying the US should not be in Afghanistan. While I agree with that is that against the military code of conduct?
Was Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl ever charged?
Yes, he was charged with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy.On December 14, 2015, the U.S. Army charged Bergdahl with the above specifications.On October 16, 2017, he entered a guilty plea before a military judge at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.On November 3, 2017, Bergdahl was sentenced to be dishonorably discharged, reduced in rank to private, and fined $1,000 per month from his pay for ten months, with no prison time. The fine and reduction in rank took effect immediately, and the discharge was stayed pending automatic appeal
What evidence is there that Bowe Bergdahl deserted his post?
An article reported by a member of Bergdahl's unit leaves little room for interpretation. On the night prior to his capture, Bergdahl pulled guard duty at OP Mest, a small outpost about two hours south of the provincial capitol. The base resembled a wagon circle of armored vehicles with some razor wire strung around them. A guard tower sat high up on a nearby hill, but the outpost itself was no fortress. Besides the tower, the only hard structure that I saw in July 2009 was a plywood shed filled with bottled water. Soldiers either slept in poncho tents or inside their vehicles.The next morning, Bergdahl failed to show for the morning roll call. The soldiers in 2nd Platoon, Blackfoot Company discovered his rifle, helmet, body armor and web gear in a neat stack. He had, however, taken his compass. His fellow soldiers later mentioned his stated desire to walk from Afghanistan to India.The Daily Beast’s Christopher Dickey later wrote that "[w]hether Bergdahl…just walked away from his base or was lagging behind on a patrol at the time of his capture remains an open and fiercely debated question.” Not to me and the members of my unit. Make no mistake: Bergdahl did not "lag behind on a patrol,” as was cited in news reports at the time. There was no patrol that night. Bergdahl was relieved from guard duty, and instead of going to sleep, he fled the outpost on foot. He deserted. I’ve talked to members of Bergdahl’s platoon—including the last Americans to see him before his capture. I’ve reviewed the relevant documents. That’s what happened.We Lost Soldiers in the Hunt for Bergdahl, a Guy Who Walked Off in the Dead of Night
How will Sgt.Bowe Bergdahl be treated by others when he finally leaves the hospital in Texas?
According to the former members of his own unit, Bergdahl was an anti-American deserter and possibly even a traitor. Therefore, how he is treated will depend on whether the people around him believe or disbelieve the accusations against him, until such time as an investigation is performed that definitively settles the matter. But since the Obama administration is unlikely to permit such an investigation, the accusations will never be resolved and will likely hang over Bergdahl for the rest of his life.I would not be surprised if Bergdahl decided to change his name in a few years.
What is punishment for deserting the Army?
Theoretically the punishment for desertion is death. However that never happens anymore, and it won't. The Army will assign him or a lawyer or a civilian lawyer can take the case at no cost to the Army. He will probably just receive a dishonorable discharge. I was the NCO in charge of trouble makers for over a year and dealt with this a few different times. The worst punishment they ever received was 90 days in jail and that individual screwed up more after we had him.
How fair was Bowe Bergdahl's sentence wherein he avoids jail time but gets a dishonorable discharge? Was his Taliban captivity a factor in his sentencing? What message does the light sentence send?
Without a more extensive statement by the presiding judge in this case it is impossible to have a definitive answer.However, the US military has gotten out of the practice of imposing capital sentences for desertion since the execution of Eddie Slovik - Wikipedia in World War II. That case is notable because of the extensive ill-will/bad publicity the case generated. That private appeared to be mentally/psychologically challenged and the punishment seemed to be far more draconian than called for given the circumstances.Something similar appears to be going on in the Bergdahl case where the mental fitness of the defendant was questionable. Additionally, it seems that Bergdahl got the full treatment at the hands of the Taliban so his time in captivity was considered as “time-served.”As a former infantryman with some insight into how I would have felt while out in the mountains looking for this guy I would like to think my feelings would tend towards resigned acceptance to the fact I had to risk my life to bail out somebody for a catastrophically stupid decision. I should like to think I wouldn’t have suggested to the squad to just hole-up somewhere safe and hope his dead body would turn up.Also, It’s pretty obvious that the prosecution and judge in this case really would have been happier if the CINC would have kept his trap shut before and during the trial.A court-martial is a bunch of people who work under the UCMJ (US Code of Military Justice) and the President is the top ranking person in the chain of command. Military officers take chain of command seriously and when the top dog issues an order or makes a statement it is hard-wired in them to listen. These JAG (Judge-Advocate General) officers were put in an awkward position of having to decide for themselves if they should take the president seriously or not. The defense is then put in a position of making a not-inconsequential argument that the whole process is incapable of making an impartial judgement.TLDR: Ultimately, some combination of “time served in captivity,” the US not being in the business of executing deserters for the past 70 years and lack of communication discipline on the part of the president made this the most likely outcome.
Why do many cons want death penalty for SGT. Bowe Bergdah?
The taped leaks from the Taliban said they captured him unarmed on a toilet. He probably just needed to take a dump and got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Was it stupid? Yes. Was it dereliction of duty? Maybe. But either way he remains an American, and a soldier not formally charged with desertion, and therefore it is our government's duty to bring him home.