I wonder if this woman has ever had any exposure to the military in her life. Doesn't seem like it.
Posted on 09/15/2014 2:27:14 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Staff Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl left captivity to be catapulted into an overgrown spotlight of controversy and reckless speculation in May of this year. What should have been a flood of relief to see the American POW return home was replaced with, oddly enough, outrage, mostly from the Right.
Angry tweets accused Obama of endangering U.S. soldiers by exchanging five prisoners from Guantanamo for Bergdahl. Twitter filled with frothing accusations against not only the President but the POW himself, as well as his family, who even received death threats. Bergdahl was a Taliban sympathizer, it was decided, and so was his family. Obama was anti-American too. Most devastating of all, Fox News declared that Bergdahl was a deserter, that his father was a Taliban sympathizer and that the family’s visiting the president was “inappropriate.”
Welcome home, Bergdahl. After enduring being a prisoner of the Taliban, forced to sit in a “metal box,” and forgetting how to speak his own language, he then came home to learn that some consider him the enemy along with his captors. After Bergdahl’s rescue his fellow platoon mates went on Fox to speak out against him. They still claim he is no hero, and are now in book and movie deals to prove it. They say Bergdahl mentioned wanting to disappear into the mountains and go to China, that he sent home some possessions (confirmed in the letter he wrote home), and he was learning the local language.
Bergdahl had gone missing in the past before returning to his unit, and a letter he wrote to his parents about the cruelty he had witnessed from his fellow soldiers against the people of the region showed he had become disillusioned, going so far as to say he was ashamed of being American. Bergdahl wrote about seeing soldiers “running their children down in the dirt streets” in armored trucks and laughing in the Afghanis’ faces.
There is also the fact that Bergdahl was a model soldier and this caused jealousy among some men in his unit. His initial good behavior contrasted with the rest of the unit to some degree. The unit “lacked discipline” and the first Sergeant was a yelling, cursing man with strange habits.
“The few good SGTs are getting out as soon as they can,” Bergdahl told his parents in his letter. One of the soldiers who served alongside Bergdahl, Josh Korder, spoke out against him. However, Korder was “other than” honorably discharged. After Bergdahl’s disappearance his platoon mates claimed they found a note that proved his desertion. No such note appeared in the classified file on Bergdahl.
Perhaps Bergdahl did desert his unit. It is not known what happened that day, as the investigation is still being conducted. An extension has been given, so the wait will be even longer. In the meantime, Bergdahl is on desk duty after extensive medical attention and debriefings.
To be fair, it is very possible that, overcome with grief or disgust, Bergdahl did leave willingly. He appears to have been without many options and felt morally opposed to his unit’s actions. But even if that turns out to be the case he has suffered extensively the past five years and his intentions thus far appear more noble than reckless or malevolent. He definitely does not fit the bill of a traitor, and the overblown controversy surrounding Bergdahl ignores the human elements to the story.
Yet from the way the commentators describe it, desertion is the worst possible thing for a soldier, and Bergdahl is a literal traitor in some eyes. The facts have escaped them, however, and their emotional response is just that. In World War II, 50,000 U.S. soldiers deserted, and in fact desertions are relatively common in wars. Rarely are American soldiers punished with the severity Bergdahl has demanded be administered to him. Some called for the death penalty, a traitor’s punishment. The last time a soldier was given the death penalty was 70 years ago, and that was mostly as an example. The last execution for desertion before that was 140 years ago. It just is not done.
90 percent of America’s deserters are not even tried. “Failure to adapt,” psychological issues, and other reasons explain why they walk off. Soldiers are held to such admirable or unrealistically high standards that when one, or as has been shown even thousands, act human with human weaknesses they become fodder for the outrage machine. Or at least this one did.
If Bergdahl is proved to be a deserter, the options are less dramatic than what the blood-thirsty crowd craves. He may simply be let go with honors, given the circumstances, or he may spend some time in prison. If he is given a dishonorable discharge, Bergdahl will lose his veteran’s benefits. Execution does not appear on the table, however, nor should it.
The case is not easy to discern, but the controversy, overblown and over-simplified, has robbed Bergdahl of his name and casts judgment before the facts. Real life in not like G.I. Joe, where the good guys and the bad guys are easily discernible and sorted out for the sake of convenience. Sometimes soldiers lose heart. Sometimes they see terrible things. Sometimes people with good intentions do desperate things. Should Bergdahl be found a deserter, Americans need to keep a calm head and whatever happens, let the man move on with his life.
I wonder if this woman has ever had any exposure to the military in her life. Doesn't seem like it.
Agreed. 100%
Let him move on and move back with the Taliban. Or ISIS.
Just slap a transponder on his ass first so the missle has something to home in on.
First hand reports of those working with the command indicate about 15 Army soldiers lost their lives in the process of searching for Bergdahl, following the policy of “Leave No Man Behind”.
They would never had been placed in that risk had he not voluntarily left his post, as was directly reported by local indigent eyewitnesses.
That is the source of extreme animosity by those in the unit and several tiers above it. Not only is it insulting for his criminal actions to go unanswered, but now the cowardly excuses attacking the innocent, obedient, and faithful who risked their own lives searching for Bergdahl.
Real life in not like G.I. Joe, where the good guys and the bad guys are easily discernible and sorted out for the sake of convenience.
Tell it to James Foley...
If there were 50,000 deserters in WW II out of 17 MILLION who served, actually by historical standards that is way low. Over 4.5 years of war, normal ratios would put the number closer to a million.
[ enduring being a prisoner of the Taliban, forced to sit in a “metal box,” and forgetting how to speak his own language ]
He left his base - he sought out the enemy - he wanted to leave his assignment - knowing full well the motto, “Leave no one behind” and risked the lives (and in some cases cost the lives of what was suppose to be his fellow soldiers) thinking the Taliban was going to rejoice in him deserting.
What he found was the true nature of the enemy he knew nothing about - he wasn’t one of them - an outsider - not to be trusted - and can;t be trusted to do the right thing...
He’s traitor - deserter - and should have been given a court martial by firing squad!
Rumor at the Moslem-Caliphate White House
is the Gen Bergdahl will soon be
a SCOTUS or DNC Senate candidate.
“Tell it to James Foley... “
James Foley had bought into the Islamic lies. He was there to support and show solidarity with the Islamic cause. He apparently believed that because he was on their side that they wouldn’t bother him. He was taken first by the organization of Pharmacists and Doctors that Obama wants to arm and train to fight ISIS. He was traded or sold to ISIS so they could execute him, much like you’d sell a lamb for slaughter. There was nothing heroic about the man. I feel sorry that he died in fear and pain but he was a liberal living the multicultural fantasy.
I hear ya ,
just one step at a time,,,
Woman?
Spoiled brat is more like ...
Oh, but, but...he was a model soldier and everyone in his unit was just jealous!
Don't make the mistake that any exposure to "military" is all pure pro America and conservatism. Our military for decades has been for many a big social program and is now full of liberals and loons. Unfortunately many of these have risen to the top brass where Duty, Honor, Country is now Pensions, Pensions, Pensions.
“....15 Army soldiers lost their lives in the process of searching for Bergdahl, following the policy of “Leave No Man Behind”........
We can all thank Bergdahl. Now its time to ship him back to Iraq or Afgh to fulfill his military obligation. Hopefully he will come under “friendly fire” of which I have great hopes for.
Anyone, let me repeat, ANYONE that walks away from their post in a war zone is not a good person. PERIOD. Whether AWOL or a Deserter doesn’t matter. Everything about this man and the situation screams unfit for the military at the least.
I had to laugh at this line...
the first Sergeant was a yelling, cursing man with strange habits.
Bwhahahahah.
Of course you twit.
Brody, Brody is that you?
Bergdahl has not, I say again, HAS NOT been promoted to Staff Sergeant (E-6/SSG).
He is flagged, which means all favorable (and unfavorable, for that matter) actions are held in abeyance, other than pay and allowance, until such time as the investigation is complete.
He was promoted to Sergeant (E-5/SGT) as a result of time in service/time in grade which accumulated while in a "captivity" status.
Her idiotic musings as to what Bergdahl thought of his First Sergeant (1SG/E-8) will certainly become a full chapter in the next NCO Guide, as we do not want a 1SG to act like a 1SG should act like and certainly not if it offends her metrosexual feelings.
As to her assertion, that even if Bergdahl is found to have been a deserter, we should just let him get along with his life, is one of the most ludicrous and just plain stupid things I have seen a so-called "journalist" write.
I can continue on and cut every thing she has written to absolute ribbons, but she really isn't worth it.
Whatever podunk community news rag hired her, should certainly re-evaluate her abilities to write even on a high school level, which is where she appears to be coming from.
Agreed.
We all know it happens from time to time, though it is a lot rarer than most might expect.
I’’m afraid I’d give his squad leader a damned good going over as well though - its his JOB to notice when one of his guys are starting to get a bit twitchy. The medic certainly commented on it, and that, in my book, is always a red flag.
Individually they all seem like nothing:
1/ He was a bit quiet and withdrawn - you take any bit of privacy you can get in close quarters, and your mates grant you that precious bit of privacy.
2/ He was learning the local language - sort of praiseworthy, having someone who can sling some of the lingo as a cross check to any translator.
3/ He sent some gear home - A little more dodgy, but it happens often enough not to be too noticeable.
4/ Talking about what they are actually doing out there - bull sessions are totally normal and help keep you sane.
But put them together with him leaving his post at least once before (reportedly) and a totally different pattern emerges. One that was missed.
Dont get me wrong, the decision to start walking was totally his, and his alone. His squad leader dropped the ball though.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.