On the heels of ‘Serial’ launch, Bowe Bergdahl faces court-martial

The Army said Monday that it would refer the desertion case of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl to the highlesty level of military court-martial. He has been a political lightning rod since he was exchanged in May 2014 in a prisoner swap approved by the White House in which five Taliban officials were released from the military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and kept under supervised watch in Qatar.

Bergdahl was charged March 25 with 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.

In a move that may be coincidental but certainly doesn’t seem like it, Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl will face a general court martial just four days after he was featured on the first episode of “Serial” Season 2, reports The Washington Post.

But recently, the Army lawyer who presided over a preliminary hearing in his case recommended that Bergdahl neither face jail time nor a punitive discharge.

He added that he “had hoped the case would not go in this direction” but he would continue defending Bergdahl.

Bergdahl disappeared on foot on June 30, 2009, from Combat Outpost Mest-Malak in Paktika Province, Afghanistan, and was subsequently captured by the Taliban. Gen. Kenneth Dahl, who led the inquiry, testified in favor of Bergdahl, whom he said felt remorse for causing panic during his disappearance, The Christian Science Monitor reported.

The Army’ began their investigation after Bergdahl was returned to Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, where he’s been working a desk job.

Overriding the recommended punishment by an Army officer, head of Army Forces Command Gen. Robert B. Abrams ordered that Bergdahl, now the subject of the Serial podcast, face a court-martial for desertion.

The senior general who will ultimately decide Bergdahl’s fate is expected to come before McCain’s committee in the future for his next promotion.

The podcast ran excerpts of an interview, in which the soldier claims that he left his base without permission in order to create a crisis and highlight poor leadership within his unit. After the announcement was released, Eugene Fidell, Bergdahl’s lawyer, asked for GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump to “cease his prejudicial months-long campaign of defamation against our client”.

29-year-old Bergdahl made headlines around the world when he was released from five years of Taliban captivity in 2014.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., said his committee would hold hearings on the case if Bergdahl was not punished for his actions.

The Idaho native suffered torture, abuse and neglect at the hands of Taliban forces, including months of beatings, and confinement for 3-1/2 years in a metal cage barely big enough to stand in, a military expert testified previously.