Beaudry Robert "Bowe" Bergdahl (born March 28, 1986) is a
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
soldier who was held captive from 2009 to 2014 by the
Taliban
The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...
-aligned
Haqqani network
The Haqqani network is an Afghan Islamist group, built around the family of the same name, that has used asymmetric warfare in Afghanistan to fight against Soviet forces in the 1980s, and US-led NATO forces and the Islamic Republic of Afghanis ...
in
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
and
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
.
Bergdahl was captured after deserting his post on June 30, 2009. The circumstances under which Bergdahl went missing and how he was captured by the Taliban have since become subjects of intense media scrutiny. He was released on May 31, 2014, as part of a prisoner exchange for
five high ranking Taliban members who were being held at the
detention center at Guantanamo Bay.
Bergdahl was tried by general
court-martial
A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...
on charges of
desertion
Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or post without permission (a pass, liberty or leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave (AWOL ), which ar ...
and misbehavior before the enemy,
and on October 16, 2017, he entered a guilty plea before a military judge at
Fort Bragg
Fort Bragg is a military installation of the United States Army in North Carolina, and is one of the largest military installations in the world by population, with around 54,000 military personnel. The military reservation is located within Cum ...
,
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
. On November 3, 2017, he was sentenced to be
dishonorably discharged
A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve. Each country's military has different types of discharge. They are generally based on whether the persons completed their training and the ...
, 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, while the discharge was stayed pending appeals and federal review. Bergdahl's sentence was affirmed by the
Army Court of Criminal Appeals
In the United States military, the Army Court of Criminal Appeals (ACCA) is an appellate court that reviews certain court martial convictions of Army personnel.
Jurisdiction
In the United States, courts-martial are conducted under the Uniform C ...
and later by the
Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces
The United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (in case citations, C.A.A.F. or USCAAF) is an Article I court that exercises worldwide appellate jurisdiction over members of the United States Armed Forces on active duty and other perso ...
in 2020.
His case has been under review by the
United States District Court for the District of Columbia
The United States District Court for the District of Columbia (in case citations, D.D.C.) is a federal district court in the District of Columbia. It also occasionally handles (jointly with the United States District Court for the District of ...
since February 2021.
Early life and education
Bergdahl was born in 1986 in
Sun Valley, Idaho
Sun Valley is a resort city in the western United States, in Blaine County, Idaho, adjacent to the city of Ketchum in the Wood River valley. The population was 1406 at the 2010 census, down from 1427 in 2000.[Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...]
and
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
ancestry.
He has an older sister.
Both Bergdahl and his sister were
home schooled
Homeschooling or home schooling, also known as home education or elective home education (EHE), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted by a parent, tutor, or an onlin ...
by their mother in
Hailey, Idaho
Hailey is a city in and the county seat of Blaine County, in the Wood River Valley of the central part of the U.S. state of Idaho. The population was 7,960 at the 2010 census, up from 6,200 in 2000.[Orthodox Presbyterian Church
The Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) is a confessional Presbyterian denomination located primarily in the United States, with additional congregations in Canada, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico. It was founded by conservative members of the Presbyteri ...]
.
Bergdahl received a
GED
The General Educational Development (GED) tests are a group of four subject tests which, when passed, provide certification that the test taker has United States or Canadian high school-level academic skills. It is an alternative to the US high ...
certificate through the
College of Southern Idaho
College of Southern Idaho (CSI) is a public community college in Twin Falls, Idaho. It also has off-campus programs in Jerome, Hailey, Burley and Gooding. Until the foundation of the College of Western Idaho in 2007, CSI was one of only two ...
. As an adult, Bergdahl studied and practiced fencing and martial arts before changing to
ballet
Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
classes at the Sun Valley Ballet School in
Ketchum, Idaho
Ketchum is a city in Blaine County, Idaho, located in the central part of the state. The population was 3,555 at the 2020 census, up from 2,689 in 2010. Located in the Wood River Valley, Ketchum is adjacent to Sun Valley and the communities sh ...
.
He spent time in a
Buddhist monastery
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
between 2007 and 2008.
Military career
In 2006, Bergdahl entered
basic training
Military recruit training, commonly known as basic training or boot camp, refers to the initial instruction of new military personnel. It is a physically and psychologically intensive process, which resocializes its subjects for the unique deman ...
in the
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...
but was discharged after twenty-six days for psychological reasons, receiving an "
uncharacterized discharge" as an entry-level separation.
In 2008, Bergdahl enlisted in the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
and graduated from the
Infantry School
A School of Infantry provides training in weapons and infantry tactics to infantrymen of a nation's military forces.
Schools of infantry include:
Australia
*Australian Army – School of Infantry, Lone Pine Barracks at Singleton, NSW.
France
...
at
Fort Benning
Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama–Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employees ...
, Georgia.
He was then assigned to the 1st Battalion,
501st Infantry Regiment,
4th Brigade Combat Team,
25th Infantry Division, based at
Fort Richardson, Alaska.
According to a fellow soldier,
Specialist Jason Fry, Bergdahl, whom Fry described as a loner but "focused and well-behaved", told him before deploying to
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
: "If this deployment is lame, I'm just going to walk off into the mountains of
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
."
Instead of socializing with his comrades during
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden and ...
, he studied maps of Afghanistan.
Bergdahl's unit deployed to outpost Mest-Malak in May 2009, where they conducted
counterinsurgency
Counterinsurgency (COIN) is "the totality of actions aimed at defeating irregular forces". The Oxford English Dictionary defines counterinsurgency as any "military or political action taken against the activities of guerrillas or revolutionar ...
operations. Bergdahl began learning to speak
Pashto
Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani ().
Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages ...
and, according to Fry, "to gravitate away from his unit
pending
Pending is a district in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two ...
more time with the
Afghan
Afghan may refer to:
*Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia
*Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity
** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...
s than he did with his platoon". Bergdahl's father described his son to military investigators as "
psychologically isolated".
Before capture
On June 25, 2009, Bergdahl's battalion suffered its first casualty:
First Lieutenant
First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment.
The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...
Brian Bradshaw was killed by a
roadside bomb
An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mechan ...
near the village of
Yaya Kheyl, not far from Bergdahl's outpost. Bergdahl's father believes Bradshaw and Bergdahl had grown close at the
National Training Center
Fort Irwin National Training Center (Fort Irwin NTC) is a major training area for the United States military in the Mojave Desert in northern San Bernardino County, California. Fort Irwin is at an average elevation of . It is located northeast o ...
and that Bradshaw's death darkened Bergdahl's mood.
Last e-mail to parents
On June 27, 2009, Bergdahl sent an e-mail to his parents before he was captured:
Bob Bergdahl responded to his son's final message not long after he received it:
Last communication with platoon
A former senior military officer briefed on the investigation into Bergdahl's disappearance stated that on the night he went missing, Bergdahl left a note.
[ The existence of such a note was disputed by the ]Obama administration
Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican ...
during a meeting with Congress on the release of Bergdahl, according to Senator Saxby Chambliss
Clarence Saxby Chambliss (born November 10, 1943) is an American lawyer and retired politician who was a United States Senator from Georgia from 2003 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a U.S. Representative from ...
.[White House defends prisoner swap in tense Hill meeting]
''Politico
''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...
''
In his sworn statement, Bergdahl denied leaving a note. Investigating officer Major General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
Kenneth Dahl acknowledged that there was no evidence of his leaving a note.
Captivity
Circumstances of Bergdahl's disappearance
Bergdahl walked away from his battalion on the night of June 30, 2009, at observation post
An observation post (commonly abbreviated OP), temporary or fixed, is a position from which soldiers can watch enemy movements, to warn of approaching soldiers (such as in trench warfare), or to direct fire. In strict military terminology, an ...
(OP) Mest near the town of Yahya Kheyl in Paktika Province
Paktika (Pashto/Dari: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the eastern part of the country. Forming part of the larger Loya Paktia region, Paktika has a population of about 789,000, mostly ethnic Pashtuns. The town of Sharana ...
. Accounts of his capture differ. In a video, Bergdahl said he was captured when he fell behind on a patrol
A patrol is commonly a group of personnel, such as Law enforcement officer, law enforcement officers, military personnel, or Security guard, security personnel, that are assigned to monitor or secure a specific geographic area.
Etymology
Fro ...
. Taliban sources allege he was ambushed after becoming drunk off base; U.S. military sources deny that claim, stating, "The Taliban are known for lying and what they are claiming snot true." A Department of Defense spokesperson said, "I'm glad to see he appears unharmed, but again, this is a Taliban propaganda video. They are exploiting the soldier in violation of international law
International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...
."
Other sources said Bergdahl walked off base after his shift or that he was grabbed from a latrine
A latrine is a toilet or an even simpler facility that is used as a toilet within a sanitation system. For example, it can be a communal trench in the earth in a camp to be used as emergency sanitation, a hole in the ground (pit latrine), or m ...
. In 2009, the U.S. Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secur ...
attributed his disappearance to "walking off his base in eastern Afghanistan with three Afghan counterparts and was believed to have been taken prisoner".
General Nabi Mullakheil of the Afghan National Police
The Afghan National Police (ANP; ps, د افغانستان ملي پولیس; prs, پلیس ملی افغانستان), is the national police force of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, serving as a single law enforcement agency all across ...
said the capture occurred in Paktika Province
Paktika (Pashto/Dari: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the eastern part of the country. Forming part of the larger Loya Paktia region, Paktika has a population of about 789,000, mostly ethnic Pashtuns. The town of Sharana ...
. Other sources say that he was captured by a Taliban group led by Mullah Sangeen Zadran, who moved him to Ghazni Province
Ghazni (Dari: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in southeastern Afghanistan. The province contains 19 districts, encompassing over a thousand villages and roughly 1.3 million people, making it the 5th most populous province. The ...
. He was held by the Haqqani network
The Haqqani network is an Afghan Islamist group, built around the family of the same name, that has used asymmetric warfare in Afghanistan to fight against Soviet forces in the 1980s, and US-led NATO forces and the Islamic Republic of Afghanis ...
, an insurgent group affiliated with the Taliban, probably somewhere in Pakistan.
Bergdahl was a Private First Class
Private first class (french: Soldat de 1 classe; es, Soldado de primera) is a military rank held by junior enlisted personnel in a number of armed forces.
French speaking countries
In France and other French speaking countries, the rank (; ) ...
when captured; he was promoted ''in absentia'' to Specialist on June 19, 2010, and to Sergeant
Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...
on June 17, 2011. According to soldiers in Bergdahl's platoon, the morning when Bergdahl was discovered to be missing, his equipment was found neatly stacked, with his compass missing.
A Pentagon investigation in 2010 concluded that Bergdahl walked away from his unit. Bergdahl had written (prior to his departure) e-mails to his parents in which he reported having become disillusioned with the war effort and bothered by the treatment of Afghans by American soldiers. He said in his e-mail he was ashamed to be American.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is the presiding officer of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The chairman is the highest-ranking and most senior military officer in the United States Armed Forces Chairman: app ...
Martin Dempsey
Martin “Marty” Edward Dempsey (born March 14, 1952), is a retired United States Army general who served as the 18th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 1, 2011 until September 25, 2015. He previously served as the 37th chief o ...
said: "The questions about this particular soldier's conduct are separate from our effort to recover ANY U.S. service member in enemy captivity" and that the military will investigate how Bergdahl was captured. "Like any American, he is innocent until proven guilty. ..Our Army's leaders will not look away from misconduct if it occurred. In the meantime, we will continue to care for him and his family."
Some soldiers who had served with Bergdahl have called him a deserter
Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or post without permission (a pass, liberty or leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave (AWOL ), which ...
.
Nathan Bradley Bethea, a member of Bergdahl's battalion, wrote a ''Daily Beast
''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008.
It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...
'' article stating that there was no patrol the night that Bergdahl went missing and that Bergdahl had talked about his desire to walk to India. Bethea wrote that the brigade received an order not to discuss Bergdahl due to safety reasons, but since he had been found there was no need for further silence. Cody Full, a member of Bergdahl's platoon, said, "He knowingly deserted and put thousands of people in danger because he did. We swore to an oath and we upheld ours. He did not." Full said that Bergdahl had mailed his computer and other possessions home prior to his disappearance.[Eric Schmitt; Helene Cooper; Charlie Savage (June 2, 2014]
Bowe Bergdahl's Vanishing Before Capture Angered His Unit
''The New York Times''
Contacts by Taliban
On July 18, 2009, the Taliban
The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...
released a video showing Bergdahl, who appeared downcast and frightened. A Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to:
Current departments of defence
* Department of Defence (Australia)
* Department of National Defence (Canada)
* Department of Defence (Ireland)
* Department of National Defense (Philippin ...
statement issued the following day confirmed that Bergdahl had been declared "missing
Missing or The Missing may refer to:
Film
* ''Missing'' (1918 film), an American silent drama directed by James Young
* ''Missing'' (1982 film), an American historical drama directed by Costa-Gavras
* ''Missing'' (2007 film) (''Vermist''), a Bel ...
/whereabouts unknown" on July1 and that his status had been changed to "missing/ captured" on July 3.
In the twenty-eight–minute video, his captors held up his dog tags
Dog tag is an informal but common term for a specific type of identification tag worn by military personnel. The tags' primary use is for the identification of casualties; they have information about the individual written on them, including i ...
to establish that the captured man was Bergdahl. Bergdahl gave the date as July 14 and mentioned an attack that occurred that day.
On December 25, 2009, five months after Bergdahl's disappearance, the media arm of the Taliban released a video of "a U.S. soldier captured in Afghanistan" entitled "One of Their People Testified".
The Taliban did not name the American, but the only U.S. soldier known to be in captivity was Bergdahl. U.S. military officials had been searching for Bergdahl, but it was not publicly known whether he was being held in Afghanistan or in Pakistan. On December 25, another video was released showing Bergdahl wearing sunglasses, a combat uniform
A combat uniform, also called field uniform, battledress or military fatigues, is a casual wear, casual type of uniform used by military, police, firefighter, fire and other public uniformed services for everyday fieldwork and combat duty purpo ...
, and helmet
A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protect ...
.
He described his place of birth, deployment to Afghanistan, and subsequent capture and made several statements regarding his humane treatment by his captors, contrasting this to the abuses suffered by insurgents in prisons. He finished by stating that the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
should not be involved in Afghanistan and that its presence there was akin to the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
.
The Taliban originally demanded the release of six Taliban prisoners. After Taliban commander Awal Gul died of a heart attack at Guantanamo Bay on February 2, 2011, the demand was reduced to five Taliban prisoners.
On April 7, 2010, the Taliban released a third video depicting Bergdahl, pleading for the release of Afghan prisoners held at Guantanamo and Bagram
Bagram (; Pashto/ fa, بگرام) is a town and seat in Bagram District in Parwan Province of Afghanistan, about 60 kilometers north of the capital Kabul. It is the site of an ancient city located at the junction of the Ghorband and Panjshir Va ...
. In November 2010, Bergdahl appeared briefly in a fourth video. In May 2011, Bergdahl appeared briefly in a fifth video.
In June 2010, Bergdahl managed to escape his captors but was recaptured after less than nine days. In August 2010, it was reported that a Taliban commander named Haji Nadeem had claimed that Bergdahl was helping to train the Taliban in bomb-making and infantry tactics. The Pentagon dismissed the reports as Taliban propaganda.
In June 2013, Bergdahl's parents received a letter from him through the Red Cross
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...
.
In January 2014, the United States received another proof-of-life video dated December 14, 2013, in which Bergdahl mentioned the death of South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
n president Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...
, indicating the video had been filmed after December 5.
In early 2014, it was suggested in some media that the United States government had attempted to secure the release of Bergdahl by paying a ransom
Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or the sum of money involved in such a practice.
When ransom means "payment", the word comes via Old French ''rançon'' from Latin ''red ...
and that the intermediary had absconded with the money. The Pentagon said no ransom was paid but that a payment had been made for intelligence that led to Bergdahl's release.
Search efforts
After Bergdahl was confirmed as missing, the Army initiated a DUSTWUN DUSTWUN (abbreviation for ''duty status—whereabouts unknown'') is a transitory casualty status assigned to United States service members who cannot be located but have not been confirmed dead or captured. A service member can have DUSTWUN status ...
search to find him. According to soldiers from his platoon, there was an increase in attacks against US forces in Paktika Province following his disappearance.[ Significant resources were deployed in an effort to find Bergdahl.] Two Pashto-language leaflets were distributed by the U.S. military in seeking Bergdahl. One showed a smiling GI shaking hands with Afghan children, with a caption that called him a guest in Afghanistan. The other showed a door being broken down and threatened that those holding Bergdahl would be hunted down.
According to soldiers involved in the effort to find Bergdahl, at least six soldiers from his battalion were killed during the search. Retired general Michael Flynn
Michael Thomas Flynn (born December 24, 1958) is a retired United States Army lieutenant general and conspiracy theorist who was the 24th U.S. National Security Advisor for the first 22 days of the Trump administration. He resigned in light of ...
also blamed their deaths on the search for him,[ but the Army's investigations did not report that any of these men were on a mission to look for him.][ National Guard Master Sgt. Mark Allen was on a mission to gather information about Bergdahl from two Afghan villages in July 2009 when his unit was ambushed by insurgents using small arms, machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades. Allen, who was shot in the head, was permanently disabled from the wound, leaving him unable to walk or speak. He died on October 12, 2019.
Officers who served in Afghanistan during that time told CNN that diverting resources to find Bergdahl delayed the closing of ]Combat Outpost Keating
Combat Outpost Keating was a small American military outpost in Nurestan Province, in Afghanistan. Plans were drawn up in the summer of 2006 by the US Army's 10th Mountain Division as part of Operation Mountain Lion. Combat Outpost Keating is bes ...
,[ where eight American soldiers were killed on October 3, 2009, when 300 Taliban insurgents overran the base.
However, a former senior military officer told ''The New York Times'' that there was no direct evidence that diversion of surveillance aircraft or troops to search for Bergdahl encouraged the Taliban attacks. "This was a dangerous region in Afghanistan in the middle of the 'fighting season'," the officer said, adding that while the search "could have created some opportunities for the enemy ]t was
T, or t, is the twentieth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''tee'' (pronounced ), plural ''tees''. It is deri ...
difficult to establish a direct cause and effect."
After a review of the database of Afghan war casualties, ''The New York Times'' editorialized that "Sergeant Bergdahl's critics appear to be blaming him for every American soldier killed in Paktika Province in the four-month period that followed his disappearance."
Torture in captivity
According to a senior U.S. official, Bergdahl told military officials that he had been tortured, beaten, and held in a cage by his captors after he tried to escape. He told medical officials that he was locked in a metal cage in total darkness for weeks at a time as punishment for trying to escape.
Release
On May 31, 2014, Bergdahl was released by his captors and recovered by Delta Force
The 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment–Delta (1st SFOD-D), referred to variously as Delta Force, Combat Applications Group (CAG), Army Compartmented Elements (ACE), "The Unit", or within Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), Task Fo ...
, a Special Mission Unit
The term Tier One Special Mission Unit or Special Missions Unit (SMU) is a term sometimes used, particularly in the United States, to describe some highly secretive military special operations forces. Special mission units have been involved in h ...
component of the Joint Special Operations Command
The Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) is a joint component command of the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) and is charged with studying special operations requirements and techniques to ensure interoperability and equip ...
in eastern Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
. The release was brokered with the Taliban by the American, Qatari
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sha ...
, and Afghan governments, in exchange for five Guantanamo Bay detainees transferred to Qatari custody for at least one year. At 10:30 a.m. ( EDT) on May 31, 2014, Bergdahl was handed over by 18 Taliban members to a special operations team in eastern Afghanistan, near Khost
Khōst ( ps, خوست) is the capital of Khost Province in Afghanistan. It is the largest city in the southeastern part of the country, and also the largest in the region of Loya Paktia. To the south and east of Khost lie Waziristan and Kurram in ...
on the Pakistani border, in what was described as a "peaceful handover". A video of the handover was later released by the Taliban.
Bergdahl was treated by U.S. military medical staff at an undisclosed base in eastern Afghanistan. He was then transferred to Bagram Airfield
Bagram Airfield-BAF, also known as Bagram Air Base , is located southeast of Charikar in the Parwan Province of Afghanistan. It is under the Afghan Ministry of Defense. Sitting on the site of the ancient Bagram at an elevation of above sea leve ...
before being flown to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center
The Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC), also known as Landstuhl Hospital, is a U.S. Army medical center, located in the German town of Landstuhl, near Ramstein Air Base. The installation is an amalgamation of Marceau Kaserne (german: Infan ...
in Germany, for medical treatment. On June 13, 2014, he was flown by military plane to San Antonio, Texas, where he was taken to the Brooke Army Medical Center
Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) is the United States Army's premier medical institution. Located on Fort Sam Houston, BAMC, a 425-bed Academic Medical Center, is the Department of Defense's largest facility and only Level 1 Trauma Center. BAMC ...
to complete his recovery and reintegration.
The Taliban detainees – known as the "Taliban Five
The Taliban Five were five Afghan detainees at Guantanamo Bay and former high-ranking members of the Taliban government of Afghanistan who, after being held since 2002, indefinitely without charges, were exchanged in 2014 for United States Army s ...
" – who were transferred from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to custody in Doha
Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...
, Qatar, are Mohammad Fazl
Mullah Mohammad Fazl ( ; born 1967) is the former acting Deputy Defense Minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, serving from 7 September 2021 to 21 September 2021. He also served in the position during the previous Taliban government (19 ...
, Khairullah Khairkhwa
Khairullah Said Wali Khairkhwa ( ps, خیرالله سید ولي خیرخواه ; born 1967) is the current Afghan Minister of Information and Culture and a former Minister of the Interior. After the fall of the Taliban government in 2001, he ...
, Abdul Haq Wasiq
Abdul Haq Wasiq ( ; born 1971) is the current Director of Intelligence of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan since September 7, 2021. He was previously the Deputy Minister of Intelligence in the former Taliban government (1996–2001). He was hel ...
, Norullah Noori
Mullah Noorullah Noori ( ; born 1967) is the current Minister of Borders and Tribal Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan since 7 September 2021. He was also the Taliban's Governor of Balkh Province during their first administration (199 ...
, and Mohammad Nabi Omari
Mawlawi Mohammad Nabi Omari is a citizen of Afghanistan who was held for nearly twelve years in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba.
His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 832. American int ...
. They were the Taliban army chief of staff, a Taliban deputy minister of intelligence, a former Taliban interior minister, and two other senior Taliban figures.
Some Republican members of Congress have said that the prisoner swap that led to Bergdahl's release may have been illegal. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 (; NDAA 2014Pub.L 113-66 is a United States federal law which specifies the budget and expenditures of the United States Department of Defense (DOD) for Fiscal Year 2014. The law author ...
(NDAA) mandates that all prisoner transfers from Guantanamo Bay require 30 days' notice to Congress, which was not done in this case. When President Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
signed the bill, he released a signing statement
A signing statement is a written pronouncement issued by the President of the United States upon the signing of a bill into law. They are usually printed along with the bill in ''United States Code Congressional and Administrative News'' (USCCAN). ...
saying that the restriction interfered with the president's executive power
The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state.
In political systems ba ...
as commander-in-chief.
The White House released a statement acknowledging that the release of the Guantanamo prisoners did not comply with the NDAA provision, but cited the president's signing statement and "unique and exigent circumstances" as justification. One year earlier, Jay Carney
James Ferguson 'Jay' Carney (born May 22, 1965) is an American public relations officer, political advisor and journalist who has served as Amazon's Senior Vice President of Global Corporate Affairs from 2015 to 2022, and the United States Whit ...
(then-spokesperson for the White House) had assured the press that the decision to free Bergdahl would be made only after consulting Congress, in accordance with said law.
Release efforts
For months, U.S. negotiators sought to arrange the transfer of five Taliban detainees held at Guantanamo Bay detention camp
The Guantanamo Bay detention camp ( es, Centro de detención de la bahía de Guantánamo) is a United States military prison located within Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, also referred to as Guantánamo, GTMO, and Gitmo (), on the coast of Guant ...
to the Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...
state of Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...
. The transfer was intended as one of a series of confidence-building measures designed to open the door to political talks between the Taliban and Afghan President
The president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was constitutionally the head of state and head of government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (2004–2021) and Commander-in-Chief of the Afghan Armed Forces.
On 15 August 2021, as ...
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai (; Pashto/ fa, حامد کرزی, , ; born 24 December 1957) is an Afghan statesman who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from July 2002 to September 2014, including as the first elected president of the Islamic Repub ...
's government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
. That move – at the center of U.S. strategy for ending the long, costly conflict in Afghanistan – was supposed to lead directly to Bergdahl's release. The Taliban has consistently called for the United States to release those held at Guantanamo Bay in exchange for freeing Western prisoners. But the Guantanamo transfer proposal ground to a halt when the Taliban rejected U.S. conditions designed to ensure transferred Taliban would not slip away and re-emerge as military leaders. Ultimately, the Obama administration agreed to the prisoner exchange, allowing Bergdahl to be released on May 31, 2014.
White House Rose Garden ceremony
On May 31, 2014, President Obama appeared with Bob and Jani Bergdahl in the White House Rose Garden where he delivered a speech about the prisoner swap that resulted in the recovery of their son.
Return to duty
On July 13, 2014, it was reported that Bergdahl would return to duty at Fort Sam Houston
Fort Sam Houston is a U.S. Army post in San Antonio, Texas.
"Fort Sam Houston, TX • About Fort Sam Houston" (overview),
US Army, 2007, webpageSH-Army.
Known colloquially as "Fort Sam," it is named for the U.S. Senator from Texas, U.S. Represen ...
in San Antonio, Texas
("Cradle of Freedom")
, image_map =
, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, subdivision_t ...
. This was confirmed by Army officials on July 14, with a spokeswoman saying that "He will now return to regular duty within the command where he can contribute to the mission." In 2015, he was serving as a clerk; however, the "military taboo surrounding desertion is such that he had to have a security detail to guard him from possible attacks from his fellow soldiers."
Debate over negotiations
Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee
The United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), also known as the House Intelligence Committee, is a committee of the United States House of Representatives, currently chaired by Adam Schiff. It is the primary committ ...
said he was "extremely troubled" and that "This fundamental shift in U.S. policy signals to terrorists around the world a greater incentive to take U.S. hostages". This sentiment was repeated by Congressmen Buck McKeon
Howard Philip "Buck" McKeon (born September 9, 1938) is an American politician who served as a U.S. representative from California's 25th congressional district from 1993 to 2015. He is a member of the Republican Party. He is a former chairman of ...
and James Inhofe
James Mountain Inhofe ( ; born November 17, 1934) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Oklahoma, a seat he was first elected to in 1994. A member of the Republican Party, he chaired the U.S. Senate Committe ...
, who released a joint statement saying that terrorists now have a "strong incentive" to capture more soldiers. Ted Poe
Lloyd Theodore Poe (born September 10, 1948) is an American politician who represented Texas's 2nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2005 to 2019. Poe was the first Republican to represent the 2nd district. ...
, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade, said the Bergdahl exchange appeared to violate the United States policy of not negotiating with terrorists. Anderson Cooper
Anderson Hays Cooper (born June 3, 1967) is an American broadcast journalist and political commentator from the Vanderbilt family. He is the primary anchor of the CNN news broadcast show ''Anderson Cooper 360°''. In addition to his duties at C ...
asked White House spokesman Jay Carney
James Ferguson 'Jay' Carney (born May 22, 1965) is an American public relations officer, political advisor and journalist who has served as Amazon's Senior Vice President of Global Corporate Affairs from 2015 to 2022, and the United States Whit ...
if it can "still be said that the United States does not negotiate with terrorists" to which Carney replied:
It can be... because when you put on the uniform of the United States and you go and fight on behalf of your country in a foreign land at war, and you're taken captive by the enemy, the principle that we don't leave our men and women behind doesn't have an asterisk attached to it depending on who's holding you.
Cooper followed up by asking "Even if it was a group like Al Qaeda, there would be negotiations with them?" to which Carney replied: What I'm saying is he was a prisoner in an armed conflict, and we were engaged in an effort for five years to try to recover him. As an admiral said on TV today, he said when one of your shipmates goes overboard, you go get them. You don't ask whether he jumped or he was pushed or he fell. You go get him first and then you find out.
Secretary of Defense
A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
Chuck Hagel
Charles Timothy Hagel ( born October 4, 1946)[Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...]
'' magazine published an article stating that the Taliban are: t really a 'terrorist' enemy as we commonly understand the word. The group is not on the State Department's official list of terrorist organizations and has long been a battlefield enemy in the ground war for control of Afghanistan. It is not plotting to, say, hijack American airplanes—even if it does have sympathies with people who are. Ditto the Taliban leaders released over the weekend.
''Time'' pointed out that the United States and other countries have "negotiated with terrorists" multiple times in previous years. In February 2014, CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...
published an article discussing the possibility of releasing Bergdahl in exchange for the five Taliban, and concluded that "discussions about the release of Bergdahl with the Afghan Taliban are not directly with a terrorist organization per se, but instead with an insurgent group that has a terrorist wing".
In August 2014, the Government Accountability Office
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is a legislative branch government agency that provides auditing, evaluative, and investigative services for the United States Congress. It is the supreme audit institution of the federal govern ...
published a report stating that the Pentagon broke the law when conducting the prisoner exchange because it failed to notify U.S. Congress in advance, as required by the law.
National Security Advisor A national security advisor serves as the chief advisor to a national government on matters of security. The advisor is not usually a member of the government's cabinet but is usually a member of various military or security councils.
National sec ...
Susan Rice
Susan Elizabeth Rice (born November 17, 1964) is an American diplomat, policy advisor, and public official serving as Director of the United States Domestic Policy Council since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Rice served as the 27th ...
appeared on ABC News' ''This Week'' on June 1, 2014, several days after the exchange, saying Bergdahl "served the United States with honor and distinction." Following the announcement that Bergdahl was formally charged with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy, much debate regarding the administration's handling of the negotiations resumed, centered on Rice's comment and then-State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki
Jennifer Rene Psaki (; born c. 1978) is an American television political analyst who currently works for MSNBC. Previously, she was a political advisor who served under both the Obama and Biden administrations. Immediately prior to working for ...
's statement in late March 2015 that the swap was "absolutely" worth it.
In September 2014, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 249 to 163 (with 22 Democrats joining the Republican majority) to pass a nonbinding resolution condemning President Obama for failing to give Congress thirty days' notice before exchanging Bergdahl.
Military investigation, court-martial, and conviction
On June 16, 2014, the U.S. Army said that it had begun investigating the facts and circumstances surrounding the disappearance and capture of Bergdahl in Afghanistan.
On June 25, 2014, the U.S. Army stated that there is "no evidence" that Bergdahl "engaged in any misconduct" during his years in captivity.
The 2010 Pentagon investigation referred to above dealt with events leading up to his capture. In July 2014, Bergdahl was returned to active duty.
In August 2014, it was announced that an investigation headed by Major General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
Kenneth Dahl would be conducted. During the course of Dahl's inquiry, Bergdahl told investigators that he left his position in June 2009 to report on "misconduct in his unit" and that he had intended to return quickly. During a 59-day investigation, Dahl interviewed 57 witnesses, including Bergdahl.[Robert A. Oppel Jr.]
Bowe Bergdahl Should Not Be Imprisoned, Army Investigator Says
(September 18, 2015).[Ralph Ellis, Faith Karimi & Chris Lett,]
Bowe Bergdahl investigation leader says GI should not face jail time
, CNN (September 21, 2015).
According to his lawyer, Eugene Fidell, Bergdahl told him that he "had concerns about certain conditions in the unit and things that happened in the unit and he figured that the only way to get any attention to them would be to get that information to a general officer."[ Fidell opined that Bergdahl was actually ]AWOL
Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or Military base, post without permission (a Pass (military), pass, Shore leave, liberty or Leave (U.S. military), leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with u ...
when he was captured, rather than a deserter.
In December 2014, the Army referred Bergdahl's case to a four-star general for a possible court-martial. On March 25, 2015, the Army announced that Bergdahl had been charged with two counts under the Uniform Code of Military Justice
The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. §§ 801–946 is the foundation of military law in the United States. It was established by the United States Congress in accordance with the authority given by the United States Constitution ...
: one count of "desertion with intent to shirk important or hazardous duty" and one count of "misbehavior before the enemy by endangering the safety of a command, unit or place"; the second more serious misbehavior charge can be charged with a life sentence.
According to documents released by his defense team, Bergdahl was diagnosed with schizotypal personality disorder
Schizotypal personality disorder (STPD or SPD), also known as schizotypal disorder, is a mental and behavioral disorder. DSM classification describes the disorder specifically as a personality disorder characterized by thought disorder, parano ...
following an Army Sanity Board evaluation. On July 27, 2015, a memorandum from the sanity board stated "Though Sgt. Bergdahl did have a severe mental disease or defect at the time of the alleged criminal conduct, he was able to appreciate the nature and quality and wrongfulness of this conduct."
In September 2015, following earlier postponements, an Article 32 hearing
An Article 32 hearing is a proceeding under the United States Uniform Code of Military Justice, similar to that of a preliminary hearing in civilian law. Its name is derived from UCMJ section VII ("Trial Procedure") Articl32(10 U.S.C. § 832), ...
(similar to a preliminary hearing
Within some criminal justice, criminal justice systems, a preliminary hearing, preliminary examination, preliminary inquiry, evidentiary hearing or probable cause hearing is a proceeding, after a criminal complaint has been filed by the prosecuto ...
in the civilian system) was held at Fort Sam Houston, Texas
Fort Sam Houston is a U.S. Army post in San Antonio, Texas.
"Fort Sam Houston, TX • About Fort Sam Houston" (overview),
US Army, 2007, webpageSH-Army.
Known colloquially as "Fort Sam," it is named for the U.S. Senator from Texas, U.S. Represen ...
.[Krishnadev Calamur]
"The Case of Bowe Bergdahl: The Army sergeant will be in court for a preliminary hearing into whether he deserted his post in Afghanistan"
''The Atlantic'' (September 17, 2015). At the hearing, Dahl testified that he found no evidence suggesting that Bergdahl was "sympathetic to the Taliban" or intended to desert. Dahl also testified that Bergdahl had "idealistic and unrealistic expectations" of people, identifying with Ayn Rand
Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum;, . Most sources transliterate her given name as either ''Alisa'' or ''Alissa''. , 1905 – March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (), was a Russian-born American writer and p ...
's character of John Galt
John Galt () is a character in Ayn Rand's novel ''Atlas Shrugged'' (1957). Although he is not identified by name until the last third of the novel, he is the object of its often-repeated question "Who is John Galt?" and of the quest to discover ...
. Dahl testified that he had found no evidence that any soldiers had been killed while specifically engaged in the effort to retrieve Bergdahl. Dahl also testified that imprisonment would be an "inappropriate" penalty for Bergdahl.
Lieutenant Colonel Mark Visger presided over the hearing and made a recommendation on whether Bergdahl should be court-martialed. In October 2015, Visger "recommended that the charges be referred to a special court-martial and that a punitive discharge and confinement would be inappropriate given all the circumstances." Visger's recommendation was reviewed by General Robert B. Abrams, the commander of United States Army Forces Command
United States Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) is the largest United States Army command. It provides expeditionary, regionally engaged, campaign-capable land forces to combatant commanders. Headquartered at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, FORSCOM con ...
at Fort Bragg, North Carolina
Fort Bragg is a military installation of the United States Army in North Carolina, and is one of the largest military installations in the world by population, with around 54,000 military personnel. The military reservation is located within Cum ...
, the "convening authority
The term convening authority is used in United States military law to refer to an individual with certain legal powers granted under either the Uniform Code of Military Justice (i.e. the regular military justice system) or the Military Commissions ...
" in Bergdahl's case.[Luis Martinez]
Officer in Bergdahl Hearing Recommends No Jail Time, His Lawyers Say
ABC News (October 10, 2015).
In December 2015, Abrams rejected the recommendation and ordered that Bergdahl face a general court-martial
A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...
on the two charges. His trial was first set for February 2017. Regarding these charges, Bergdahl had sought a pardon from President Obama, which was not granted.
In 2016, Bergdahl's case was the focus of Season2 of the podcast ''Serial''.
On President Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
's inauguration day
The inauguration of the president of the United States is a ceremony to mark the commencement of a new four-year term of the president of the United States. During this ceremony, between 73 to 79 days after the presidential election, the pres ...
, Bergdahl's lawyers sought to use the president's words to end the prosecution. Specifically, Trump had denounced Bergdahl during the presidential campaign as a "dirty rotten traitor". The defense attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the desertion and endangerment charges against Bergdahl, saying it was now impossible for him to get a fair trial. They contended that the effect of President Trump's statements violates a prohibition on unlawful command influence
Unlawful command influence (UCI) is a legal concept within American military law. UCI occurs when a person bearing "the mantle of command authority" uses or appears to use that authority to influence the outcome of military judicial proceedings. ...
, a legal concept in military justice
Military justice (also military law) is the legal system (bodies of law and procedure) that governs the conduct of the active-duty personnel of the armed forces of a country. In some nation-states, civil law and military law are distinct bodie ...
.
Colonel Jeffery Nance declined to dismiss the case in February 2017, then it was appealed and was denied by the U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals in March. Bergdahl's defense then filed a third motion, again asking to dismiss the case over the comments from Trump. Bergdahl returned to court for a pre-trial hearing on May 5, 2017, where the judge said he intended to start jury selection on October 16, 2017.
However, it was announced on August 21 that Bergdahl had rejected a trial by jury and chose instead a trial by military judge Colonel Nance. On October 16, 2017, Bergdahl, via his attorney, pleaded guilty to charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. His sentencing hearing was slated to take place on October 23.
On October 23, the military judge heard arguments to renew a motion to dismiss the court-martial, citing recent comments by President Trump on October 16. President Trump said that he couldn't comment on the case, and added, "but I think people have heard my comments in the past." Prosecutors claimed that Trump was merely trying to distance himself from his previous remarks about Bergdahl. Sentencing testimony began on October 25.
On November 3, 2017, military judge Nance accepted Bergdahl's guilty plea and sentenced him to be dishonorably discharged
A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve. Each country's military has different types of discharge. They are generally based on whether the persons completed their training and the ...
, reduced in rank, and fined $1,000 per month from his pay for ten months, with no prison time. The fine and reduction in rank were to take effect immediately, while the discharge was stayed pending automatic appeal.
The judge did not give his reasons for the sentence, which was later reviewed by General Abrams. As the final sentence included a punitive (dishonorable) discharge, it was reviewed by the United States Army Court of Criminal Appeals
In the United States military, the Army Court of Criminal Appeals (ACCA) is an appellate court that reviews certain court martial convictions of Army personnel.
Jurisdiction
In the United States, courts-martial are conducted under the Uniform C ...
.
After the sentencing, President Trump tweeted "The decision on Sergeant Bergdahl is a complete and total disgrace to our Country and to our Military." In June 2018, General Abrams approved the sentence.
On August 28, 2020, his sentence was approved by the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces
The United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (in case citations, C.A.A.F. or USCAAF) is an Article I court that exercises worldwide appellate jurisdiction over members of the United States Armed Forces on active duty and other perso ...
. In February 2021, Bergdahl filed a petition in the U.S. District Court in Washington DC to have the conviction and sentence expunged. On August 2, 2021, the Justice Department filed a motion to dismiss Bergdahl's petition that is under consideration awaiting a response from Bergdahl's lawyers.
Military awards
As an infantryman who had engaged in combat with the enemy prior to his capture, Bergdahl was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge
The Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) is a United States Army military decoration. The badge is awarded to infantrymen and Special Forces soldiers in the rank of colonel and below, who fought in active ground combat while assigned as members of ei ...
and a total of 10 overseas service bar
An Overseas Service Bar is an insignia worn by United States Army soldiers on the Army Service Uniform, and previously on the Army Green (Class A) and the Army Blue (Dress Blue) uniforms, that indicates the recipient has served six months overseas ...
s for the five years he spent in the combat zone in Afghanistan.
His awards and service ribbons include the Army Good Conduct Medal
The Good Conduct Medal is one of the oldest military awards of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Navy's variant of the Good Conduct Medal was established in 1869, the Marine Corps version in 1896, the Coast Guard version in 1923, the Army ...
, National Defense Service Medal
The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is a service award of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It is awarded to every member of the US Armed Forces who has served during any one of four sp ...
, Afghanistan Campaign Medal
The Afghanistan Campaign Medal (ACM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was created by Executive Order 13363 of President George W. Bush on November 29, 2004, and became available for general distribution in June 2005. T ...
, Global War on Terror Service Medal
The Global War on Terrorism Service Medal (GWOT-SM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces which was created through Executive order (United States), Executive Order 13289 on 1 ...
, Army Service Ribbon
The Army Service Ribbon (ASR) is a military award of the United States Army that was established by the Secretary of the Army on 10 April 1981 as announced in Department of the Army General Order 15, dated 10 October 1990.
History
Effective 1 Au ...
, and the Overseas Service Ribbon
An Overseas Service Ribbon is a service military award of the United States military which recognizes those service members who have performed military tours outside the borders of the United States of America. There are different versions of the ...
.
In January 2016, his military lawyer requested the Army award Bergdahl the Purple Heart
The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, w ...
and the Prisoner of War Medal
The Prisoner of War Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was authorized by Congress and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on 8 November 1985. The United States Code citation for the POW Medal statute is .
The ...
on the grounds that withholding the medals might prejudice and "cast a semblance of guilt" on Bergdahl as he awaited trial.
After sentencing on November 3, 2017, his civilian attorney indicated that the defense team would still seek to have the Prisoner of War Medal issued to Bergdahl for the five years he spent in captivity.
References
External links
Finding Bergdahl
A five-part series on the search for Bergdahl in VICE magazine
''Vice'' (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian-American magazine focused on lifestyle, arts, culture, and news/politics. Founded in 1994 in Montreal as an alternative punk magazine, the founders later launched the youth media company Vice Media, ...
by Robert Young Pelton
Robert Young Pelton (born July 25, 1955) is a Canadian-American author, journalist, and documentary film director. Pelton's work usually consists of conflict reporting and interviews with military and political figures in war zones.
Pelton has ...
Transcript of Bergdahl's Article 32 hearing
Serial Podcast
An 11 part series released in the winter of 2015/16 investigating the motives and circumstances of this case.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bergdahl, Bowe Robert
1986 births
Living people
Deserters
United States Army personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
American prisoners of war
American people of Norwegian descent
American people of Swedish descent
Foreign hostages in Afghanistan
People from Hailey, Idaho
People from Sun Valley, Idaho
People with schizotypal personality disorder
United States Army personnel who were court-martialed
United States Army soldiers
War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) prisoners of war
Military personnel from Idaho
Orthodox Presbyterian Church members
Military personnel missing in action