Bowe Bergdahl Doesn’t Deserve Jail, Army Investigator Testifies

The Army general who led the investigation into Sgt.

Today was the second day of the hearing. Bergdahl will be court-martialed, Friday, Sept…

(Brigitte Woosley via AP). Maj.

He left his outpost without his automatic weapon, a decision Bergdahl realized would have consequences. Bowe Bergda…

Bergdahl’s Article 32 hearing ended Friday. During one of his escapes attempts, Bergdahl spent eight days wandering through Afghanistan, eating grass to survive and armed with just a water bottle.

“His experience ranks at the same echelon of the most disgusting conditions of the last 60 years”, said Russell, who debriefed Bergdahl after the soldier was freed by the Taliban in 2014 in exchange for the USA release of five Taliban prisoners held at the American naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Bowe Bergdahl’s capture by the Taliban testified Friday that he believes jail time for the soldier would be “inappropriate”.

The hearing at Fort Sam Houston, at which Sgt Bergdahl did not testify, was held to determine whether there is enough evidence to have a military trial.

Russell said Bergdahl was blindfolded, beaten with a rubber hose and left in a cage.

Billings and Silvino said Bergdahl had been a model soldier. He acknowledged the public criticism leveled at Bergdahl, but said Bergdahl did the best he could under the circumstances.

“They couldn’t stand the fact that had to be near or touch such a filthy human”, Russell said.

Hatch told the Herald yesterday in a front page article that Bergdahl’s story should be more than “a blip” on the media’s radar. I hope someday the world gets to understand how hard Sgt. He says Bergdahl was kept in a crouched position for extended periods, which caused the injuries.

“It’s our turn at bat”, Bergdahl’s lead attorney, Eugene Fidell, said Thursday, shortly after prosecutors had finished presenting their case. Aberle said Bergdahl should not remain in the Army as he is not up to physical standards and he has also been diagnosed with PTSD. Bergdahl, dressed in his Army service uniform with his hair in a crew cut, did not make a statement. Military officials and prosecutors downplayed or disputed those mental health claims.

During the hearing, Berghdahl sat at a long table with his civilian and military defense attorneys. When he tried to relay his concerns to a first sergeant, however, the higher-ranking NCO abruptly ended the conversation, Letterman said. She also says Bergdahl placed his fellow soldiers in grave danger during the exhaustive 45-day Operation Yukon Discovery.

If convicted, he faces life in prison or a dishonourable discharge from the military.

The defense asked the platoon leader whether he had been made aware that Bergdahl had a psychological discharge from the U.S. Coast Guard, or that Bergdahl “possessed a severe mental disease or defect?”

He spoke briefly at the start of the hearing, acknowledging that he knew his rights when questioned by the presiding officer, Lt. Col. Mark Visger. Eventually, it will be up to Gen. Robert B. Abrams, the head of US Army Forces Command, to decide how to proceed in Bergdahl’s case.