LF: Bowe Bergdahl puts the uniform back on to appear in court at Fort Bragg and defers his plea during an arraignment on charges of desertion and misbehavior

Title: Bowe Bergdahl puts the uniform back on to appear in court at Fort Bragg and defers his plea during an arraignment on charges of desertion and misbehavior
Source: Daily Mail Online
URL Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art ... ergdahl-arraigned-charges.html
Published: Dec 22, 2015
Author: Associated Press and AFP
Post Date: 2015-12-22 20:00:58 by cranky
Keywords: None
Views: 1286
Comments: 8

U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who disappeared in Afghanistan in 2009 and was held by the Taliban for five years, made his first appearance before a military judge on Tuesday.

Bergdahl faces charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. He was arraigned on Tuesday during a short hearing in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

He 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.

Bergdahl answered 'yes' and 'no' to questions about whether he understood his rights and the court proceedings.

He wore an Army dress uniform with a dark blue jacket and pants and had closely cropped hair. He mostly sat still in his chair and walked with his head down as he left the courtroom.

If convicted at a general court-martial, Bergdahl could get life in prison on the misbehavior charge and up to five years for desertion.

Bergdahl is currently assigned to Joint Base San Antonio, Texas, with a desk job and did not face any pre-trial jail time. 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 touched off a firestorm of criticism, with some in Congress accusing President Barack Obama of jeopardizing the safety of the country with the exchange.

Bergdahl attorney Eugene Fidell has said the Army did not follow the advice of a preliminary hearing officer in choosing to pursue a general court-martial over a special court-martial, which is a misdemeanor-level forum.

Kept his head down: Bergdal, pictured on Tuesday leaving the courtroom, answered 'yes' and 'no' to questions about whether he understood his rights and the court proceedings. He wore an Army dress uniform with a dark blue jacket and pants and had closely cropped hair

Bergdahl's disappearance and the possibility that he might face light punishment had angered many in the military, who say his fellow soldiers took considerable risks to search for him.

Earlier this month, the Army announced he would face the more serious general court-martial.

The charge of misbehavior before the enemy was used hundreds of times during World War II, but scholars say its use appears to have dwindled in conflicts since then.

After leaving the base, leaving behind his firearm, the young soldier was quickly captured by militants from the feared Haqqani faction, a Taliban-lined outfit blamed for many deadly attacks on US soldiers.

A search and rescue mission was launched and some of Bergdahl's former comrades have accused him of putting their lives in danger by his actions.

Nevertheless, the military worked hard for his release and he was eventually released to US special forces in May last year after US authorities released five Afghan detainees from Guantanamo Bay.

Bergdahl was reassigned to administrative work at a US army base in Texas but an investigation had been launched. In March he was charged with 'desertion with intent to shirk important or hazardous duty' and 'misbehavior before the enemy by endangering the safety of a command, unit or place.'

Court: A military policeman moves a sign outside the courthouse where U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl (not pictured) attended an arraignment hearing for his court-martial. In March he was charged with 'desertion with intent to shirk important or hazardous duty' and 'misbehavior before the enemy'

Controversey: Bergdahl's disappearance and the possibility that he might face light punishment had angered many in the military, who say his fellow soldiers took considerable risks to search for him. He is pictured here on Tuesday leaving the court room

U.S. Army soldiers guard the entrance to the courthouse where Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl attended an arraignment hearing for his court-martial in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.He has not entered a plea, but his lawyers have already protested that the charges go beyond what they see as the evidence against Bergdahl

He has not entered a plea, but his lawyers have already protested that the charges go beyond what they see as the evidence against Bergdahl.

They have also protested that remarks by Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump -- who called Bergdahl a 'dirty, rotten traitor' -- added to the passions surrounding the case and may bias a jury.

For his part, the sergeant has told a Hollywood screenwriter researching for a movie that he walked off base in a bid to prove he was capable of solo heroics like fictional ex-CIA assassin Jason Bourne.

'I had this fantastic idea that I was going to prove to the world that I was the real thing, that I could be what it is that all those guys out there who go to the movies ... want to be, Bergdahl told Mark Boal, in a call broadcast as part of investigative radio show 'Serial.'

Hostage video: U.S. Army Private Bowe Bergdahl watches as one of his captors displays his identity tag to the camera at an unknown location in Afghanistan on July 19, 2009

Bergdahl told Boal his original plan was not to get himself captured but to trek to another military base to draw attention to what he called a failure in leadership in his unit.

He wanted to create a 'Dustwun' -- the radio signal for 'duty status, whereabouts unknown'-- that would scramble the military and the CIA so that, when he returned, he might be able to get the ear of a general.

But once off base, by his own account, Bergdahl quickly realized he was in trouble.

He decided to appease the anger he would face by gathering intelligence and so modified his plan, hoping to track insurgents planting roadside bombs and return with this information as a 'bonus point.'

Taliban website: This undated image from video footage taken from a Taliban-affiliated website shows a man who says he is Private First Class Bowe R. Bergdahl, a U.S. soldier captured by the Taliban in southeastern Afghanistan in late June. Bergdahl appeared in court on Tuesday

But -- moving across the terrain at night -- he walked wildly off course and found himself in open desert with no cover when the sun came up.

He said he was spotted by six or seven men armed with AK-47s and travelling on motorcycles and denied reports that he had tried to resist capture.

'They pulled up and that was it,' he said. 'I'm not stupid enough to try and knife off a bunch of guys with AK-47s.'

The White House and the Pentagon defend themselves against charges that it was wrong to make concessions to negotiate Bergdahl's release by insisting that no US service member is left behind.

Legal databases and media accounts turn up only a few misbehavior cases since 2001, when fighting began in Afghanistan, followed by Iraq less than two years later.

In contrast, statistics show the U.S. Army prosecuted about 1,900 desertion cases between 2001 and the end of 2014.

Before the chaos: This US Army file handout photo obtained June 1, 2014 shows former Private First Class Bowe Bergdahl, before his capture by the Taliban in Afghanistan. US army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, who was held by insurgents in Afghanistan for five years before being freed in a prisoner swap

Six soldiers got killed searching for him. I think two were Brits, four Americans.

Many who served there said there was a sharp escalation of attacks and more effective attacks after Bergdahl defected. They believe he colluded with the enemy, giving them information that helped them attack NATO troops.

Whatever sentence the military lays on Bergdahl will be commuted once the current WH occupant pardons him.

That is not proven. Even if it was - Bergdahl was a section 8 but was allowed into the military because they were short of troops. He is not mentally able to b e a soldier nor to be held accountable for his actions as a soldier.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/bowe-bergdahl-discharged-from-coast-guard-prior- to-army-service/

owe Bergdahl, the Army sergeant recently exchanged for five Taliban detainees after he had spent nearly five years in detention himself, joined the Coast Guard in 2006 and was dismissed just 26 days later, according to military sources.

Lt. Col. Elaine Conway confirmed to CBS News correspondent Margaret Brennan that the Army knew that Bergdahl had been "administratively discharged" from the Coast Guard. When asked whether this was known at the time of his enlistment and whether he was given a waiver, an Army spokesperson said they were "looking into it" and could not comment on the grounds for the discharge.

The U.S. Coast Guard's Lisa Novak confirmed that Bergdahl went to boot camp but was dismissed 26 days later on an "uncharacterized discharge," which means that he didn't serve long enough to have his performance judged or characterized.

The revelation first came to light in The Washington Post, which also obtained several of Bergdahl's writings. The writings, along with other previously revealed emails, appear to reveal a man struggling with his mental health, "trying to keep myself togeather [sic]," he wrote.

Before he enlisted in the Army, undaunted by his CG failure, and got a half-dozen real soldiers killed after he staged a Jason Bourne desertion.

I think there were mental health issues which should be taken account in punishing this man. And if there were identifiable mental health issues that were waved then the blame falls on the military institution as well. Lastly, there is no proof that his actions caused anyone's death. I heard it said on talk radio and FOIX but not backed up by official statements proving this. Do you have such a link for me to read?

We will have some when the trial begins. So far, we have a number of his fellow-soldiers who say it very bluntly: Bergdahl was a traitor. And there is other evidence among his own belongings and his behavior that point strongly to that conclusion.

However, treason is a political charge and very rare. Certainly, Obama's flunky at Justice would never bring charges.

The military is conducting a court martial, a different matter. The charges reflect that.