RE: Bergdahl had deserted before
Why did this guy even bother to join the army?
In basic combat training I talked with a neo-Nazi who had joined to learn small unit weapons & tactics for his fascist group. The Army had sniffed him out and had him painting murals in the orderly room (he wasn’t half-bad in a primitive way) before giving him his bad conduct discharge.
Maybe something like that in this case?
He was homeschooled by mama...but didn't get his GED until he was 20.
There was plenty known about Afghanistan, the people and the troops by the time he joined.
I'd go back to when he tried to sign up for the Foreign Legion (Who does that?)
Then see if there are any comments when he did sign up. You just have to track him. He's another Richard ??? (forgot).