Posted on 12/22/2015 1:21:10 PM PST by DogByte6RER
Bowe Bergdahl arraigned in court martial at North Carolina Army base
FORT BRAGG, N.C. – Wearing a dress blue uniform, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl faced a military judge Tuesday for the first time since the U.S. Army decided to proceed with a military trial that could result in a life sentence for his disappearance in Afghanistan in 2009.
Bergdahl, who was held by the Taliban for five years after he walked off a base, was arraigned during a short hearing on charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy, a relatively rare charge that carries the severe punishment. If convicted of desertion, he could get up to five years in prison.
Bergdahl deferred entering a plea and did not decide whether he wants to face a court-martial with a jury or one with just a judge. He said little beyond answering “yes†and “no†to questions about whether he understood his rights and the court proceedings.
He appeared demure, sitting mostly still in his chair then walking deliberately with his head down as he left the courtroom. He talked quietly with his military attorney before and after the hearing.
The next pretrial hearing was scheduled for Jan. 12 before Army Judge Col. Jeffery R. Nance, who will preside over future hearings.
Bergdahl, 29, of Hailey, Idaho, walked off his post in eastern Afghanistan’s Paktika province on June 30, 2009. He was released in late May 2014 as part of a prisoner swap, in exchange for five detainees in Guantanamo Bay. The move prompted harsh criticism, with some in Congress accusing President Barack Obama of jeopardizing the safety of the country with the exchange.
(Excerpt) Read more at ocregister.com ...
I would think the only thing Bergdahl should be talking to his attorney about is what color of blindfold he wants to wear ...
A disgrace to the uniform.
Is he going to get back pay and draw full pay like Major Hassan? Where is that creep now?
Hes not worth that many bullets but I like the idea.
I wonder if Obama will pardon him before he leaves office.
Scum rat Bergdahl should have is mellon wrapped in a muzzie diaper, just like his buddies wear, if he gets the strapped to a pole, lead bath treatment.
He’s guilty as sin.
His own little video blog further indicts him because he says he would rather risk Leavenworth trying to go to another base, than allow his commanders to continue unopposed. As if though his single year in the military (after being kicked out of boot camp with the Coast Guard) qualified him to second guess his sergeants, Lt.s and Captain.
In any case, he never tried to go to the other base. The villagers said, the next day when questioned by soldiers looking for Bergdahl, that he asked how to get to the Taliban, and then went that way.
Regardless of how the Obama admin and the MSM want to paint it, US servicemen were injured and died in the aftermath looking for him.
At the very best he should spend 20 years in Leavenworth. At the worst he should be hung for desertion in war.
We’ll see what they actually do.
Staff Sergeant Clayton Bowen, 29, of San Antonio, Texas, and Private 1st Class Morris Walker, 23, of Chapel Hill, N.C., were killed by a roadside bomb in Paktika province on Aug. 18, 2009, while trying to find Bergdahl. Like Bergdahl, they were part of the 4th BCT from Fort Richardson, Alaska.
Staff Sergeant Kurt Curtiss, 27, of Murray, Utah, died Aug. 26 in Paktika Province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when he was shot while his unit was supporting Afghan security forces during an enemy attack. Like Bergdahl, Bowen and Walker, he was part of the 4th BCT.
2nd Lieutenant Darryn Andrews, 34, of Dallas, Texas, died Sept. 4 in Paktika Province when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device and a rocket-propelled grenade. Like Bergdahl, Bowen, Walker and Curtiss, Andrews was part of the 4th BCT.
Staff Sergeant Michael Murphrey, 25, of Snyder, Texas, died Sept. 6 in Paktika province after being wounded by an IED. Like Bergdahl, Bowen, Walker, Curtiss and Andrews, Murphrey was part of the 4th BCT.
On Sept. 4, 2009, Private 1st Class Matthew Martinek, 20, of DeKalb, Ill., was seriously wounded in Paktika province when Taliban forces attacked his vehicle with an improvided explosive device, a rocket-propelled grenade and small-arms fire.
The U.S. military rushed him to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany, the same medical facility where Bergdahl was being treated.
Death Row, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
My thoughts exactly. He needs life in prison for being responsible for the deaths of five of our bravest Americans.
I read that six died looking for him.
Yes, until he’s convicted. The bigger question for me is whether the panel will convict him of the desertion charge. If so, his 5 years with the Taliban was “bad time” so as to subject his back pay to recoupment by the government. If convicted of desertion, it should be automatic.
I smell a pardon on this dirtbag.
I think there is no doubt whatsoever that he will. Do you think for one minute, that Obungler would release five terrorist generals, just to see his boy do life in prison? Yes, Obungler will pardon that POS.
The dirtbag Bergdahl got promoted to sergeant for desertion during time of war. They should rip those stripes from his uniform and then hang the bastard.
He got promoted to sergeant/E-5 because the Army did NOT originally charge him with desertion. If it had, any favorable action would have been automatically canceled.
As he was carried as a PoW, the promotions continued as if he were a prisoner and in an honorable position. If he had been carried as AWOL, then he would still have been a PFC when bh0 did his dirty deal.
Our PoWs during the Vietnam War continued to receive promotions when they came due during their time as POW. the difference is that they were either capture in the South or, a majority, after they were shot down over North Vietnam.
Private Garwood, formerly USMC, went over to the enemy in Vietnam was charged with desertion and when he came back 20 years later, he was court martialed, reduced to E-1 and given a dishonorable discharge. All favorable actions ceased when the Corps listed him as AWOL and after 30 days as a deserter. Unfortunately the Army didn’t do that with Bergdahl.
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