Bowe Bergdahl defers entering plea at Fort Bragg arraignment

The 29-year-old soldier appeared before a military tribunal at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to be formally arraigned on two charges.

If convicted, Bergdahl faces life in prison on the misbehavior charge and up to five years for desertion. Captured soon after, he was held for five years by a group affiliated with the Taliban before he returned to the U.S.as part of a controversial prisoner swap in May 2014.

Bergdahl was charged earlier this year with desertion and endangering United States troops. The move touched off a firestorm of criticism, with some in Congress accusing President Barack Obama of jeopardizing the safety of a nation with the exchange.

But he’s also accused of “misbehavior before the enemy”, a rarely-invoked charge in which prosecutors only have to prove that Bergdahl ” endanger[ed] fellow soldiers when he ‘left without authority; and wrongfully caused search and recovery operations, ‘”according to Military Times. Bergdahl’s next court appearance is set for January. The release was framed as a successful completion of the administration’s vow to bring prisoners of war home, as Bergdahl was the last remaining US military captive in Afghanistan. In one of the few decisions to come out of Tuesday’s hearing, Bergdahl told Frederikson he was pleased with his military and civilian counsel. Members of Bergdahl’s own unit feel strongly that he worked with the Taliban to plot against them. In contrast, statistics show the U.S. Army prosecuted about 1,900 desertion cases between 2001 and the end of 2014.

Bergdahl hasn’t talked publicly about what happened, but spoke extensively with screenwriter Mark Boal, who shared 25 hours of recorded interviews with Sarah Koenig for her podcast, “Serial”.

“The convening authority did not follow the advice of the hearing officer who heard the witnesses”, said Bergdahl’s lawyer, Eugene Fidell, noting he “had hoped the case would not go in this direction”. You know, I could be, you know, what… And he said he wanted to prove himself as a real-life action hero. “Doing what I did is me saying that I am like…” Yet General Robert Abrams, head of the US Army Forces Command, eventually referred Bergdahl’s case to a general court-marital.