Thousands? I'd like to know where you found that info. The MSM would have had a field day with numbers like that.
I saw the desertion figure in the article, so I did this neat little trick and went to this site called "GOOGLE" and searched for figures. From Army reports, I verified the Wash Compost article. I also verified that Bergdahl charge is more serious than the average deserter who did not show up for deployment.