Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Army wraps up investigation of Bowe Bergdahl

...but no results releasted yet.


WASHINGTON (AP) | The Army has finished its investigation into how and why Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl disappeared from his base in Afghanistan and senior Pentagon leaders have been briefed, including Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, officials said Friday.

Details about the probe's conclusion have been closely held. But they are likely to lay out whether Bergdahl deserted his post or was "absent without leave" or AWOL. And it could include recommendations on whether Bergdahl should be charged with any criminal violations or forced to leave the Army. Any final disposition will eventually also determine whether Bergdahl gets as much as $300,000 in back pay and other benefits, including continued health care.

Officials said Army Secretary John McHugh could send the case to a military commander who would decide whether it should go before a court martial and what, if any, charges would be filed against Bergdahl.

Bergdahl disappeared on June 30, 2009, reportedly walking away from his unit after expressing misgivings about the U.S. military's role � as well as his own � in Afghanistan. He was captured by the Taliban and held by members of the Haqqani network, an insurgent group tied to the Taliban that operates both in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

On May 31, Bergdahl was handed over to U.S. special forces in Afghanistan as part of an exchange for five top Taliban commanders who were imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. After spending about two weeks recuperating at a U.S. military hospital in Germany, Bergdahl was sent to Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston on June 13. He is now doing administrative duties at the base, awaiting the conclusion of the case.

Officials suggested that the report's findings may not be made public any time soon.

"Sometimes investigations are used in follow-on judicial processes, and therefore are not released until those judicial processes are complete," said Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby, Pentagon press secretary. He added that Hagel's briefing is "informational" and the Pentagon chief is not expected to have input into the investigation or make any decisions on the case.

"The secretary is not going to do arm twisting" in the case, said Kirby of Hagel. "There's no role for him in the process to modify the investigation."

An initial U.S. military investigation in 2009 concluded that Bergdahl deliberately walked away, based on evidence available at the time. Since his release, some former soldiers who served with him have labeled him a deserter and said he should be held accountable for leaving his post. Others have suggested that troops were put in danger, and even killed, as they tried to find Bergdahl.

But there are also those who contend that even if Bergdahl deliberately walked away, his five years in captivity were more than enough punishment for the soldier.

Shortly after Bergdahl was released, Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, left open the possibility that an Army investigation could result in desertion or other charges. Dempsey was briefed on the results of Dahl's investigation earlier this week and Hagel got a similar briefing on Friday afternoon.

Maj. Gen. Kenneth R. Dahl was tasked to conduct an exhaustive investigation into the matter, and spent months interviewing unit members and commanders, and meeting with Bergdahl and his attorney, Eugene Fidell, a military justice expert who is also a visiting lecturer at Yale Law School. He submitted his report in mid-October, setting off a lengthy legal review on his report and how the Army can legally proceed in the case.

The deal to swap prisoners with the Taliban, meanwhile, enraged members of Congress who complained the administration violated requirements to inform lawmakers of any such transfer 30 days in advance.

A report by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office said the Pentagon broke the law by not telling Congress and using nearly $1 million of a wartime account to make the transfer.

Hagel told Congress that the Defense Department "acted lawfully in the operation to recover Sgt. Bergdahl, a judgment that was supported by the Justice Department."

can we get some predictions? my vote is some kind of desertion charge and 5-10 in leavenworth with forfeiture of rank and pay.

I'm inclined to think they'll convict him but count his 5 years of captivity as time served. The issue of back pay and benefits is big.

+1 on the back-pay and bennies?

My guess is a Christmas Eve release. He keeps his back pay and get an other than honorable discharge.

With Obama in charge my bet is a medal of honor for working behind enemy lines......but by "enemy lines" he'll be talking about are ours!!

My guess is absolutely nothing will be heard of this again until right after the 2016 elections.

There is no way, no how Obama lets this guy come out of this a deserter...more like PTSD...and it's a good thing we got him help when we did.

sadly, I think we all know 'the fix is in' with the Bergdahl case. Let's not forget who the Commander in Chief is, the agenda he is pushing, the outcome he wants.

Sadly, the way the prezidunce has demoralized our Armed Forces, I expect this example to be ANOTHER opportunity to do the same.

He takes the Mooslem tenant of compassion, and rams it up the discipline and devotion oriented Armed Forces behind like a hot poker, using it in contrast to infuriate.

Disgraceful. I cant even listen to the news anymore.

I am not sure that I would class his 5 years with the enemy as "captivity"..He willingly joined them, adopted their religion, and seems at the least to be very sympathetic to their cause..

The guy was a deserter from a war zone and should be treated, but like you I suspect he will be let off lightly..

Pete, in America now, reality is what those in power say it is. If hussein wants to say green is blue, then officially, that's the story.
Hussein's agenda does not look at Bergdahl as a deserter, but as a hero.

Even if convicted, he'll end up with a Presidential Pardon...

and I am sure the HNiC will make sure he gets full military back pay and medical benefits...

I am sure he'll get a military discharge, as they won't want to keep him within their ranks...but will get some sort of low level honorable discharge, to qualify for military veteran benefits...

he'll end up getting some sort of cushy job with the Federal Government of his choosing... all under Obama Administration directives...

ya think about the hate the Administration has for anyone white...their love for anything Islamic, especially radical Islamic sympathies...BergDahl is actually ONE WHITE GUY the Obama Administration and the EarAche Holder crowd LOVE...

There are circles where he will be considered the "ideal" 'conscientious' white American Citizen...and end up being a folk hero to a certain crowd in this nation...

bet he'll never have to spend a nickle on a beer in San Francisco, Seattle or Portland Oregon...

In a way Sam, I suspect your are right, but Hussein does not represent the America or Americans I know, they are both bigger than him..

When he leaves office, the Stars and Stripes will continue to fly and hopefully true Americans can start to repair some of the damage he has done..

Regards,

Peter

it'll take 25 years to deprogram Obama's damage to this country...if Hillary gets elected, it will take twice as long, if ever...

he has incited racial tensions higher than seen since the 1960s, and has advanced the causes of Communism and tolerance Radical Islam like this country has never seen...

conservatives hate him and liberals see him as the new messiah...

I could see the disaster this guy was before he ever took office...and on that subject he has never disappointed me..or proved me wrong..

I know what would have happened had he been under General Stonewall Jackson's command!!

Since they don't have any way of knowing or prove why and what he was thinking when he walked off, he'll keep his rank and pay, he'll be released on a medical discharge without there being any kind of court-martial.

Phil

OTH discharge, PTSD eval, keeping full pay and benefits.

That's what will happen.

What should happen is a court martial and a firing squad.

He shoulda been next in line for public and broadcast beheading... He isn't entitled to a dime, but is entitled to all the scorn that has been mustered up on his behalf.

I retract my statement of what should happen.

He should be turned over to the full unit he deserted and that lost brothers looking for him and due to the intelligence he provided their enemy. They those men decide and them only, with their decision final and kept private.