Bergdahl investigation wraps up; top leaders get briefings

[Peter1469]

The Army has finally finished its investigation into Bergdahl. (http://news.yahoo.com/bergdahl-investigation-wraps-top-leaders-briefings-162254983--politics.html)


The Army has finished its investigation into how and why Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl disappeared from his base in Afghanistan and senior Pentagon leaders have been briefed, including Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, officials said Friday.


Details about the probe's conclusion have been closely held. But they are likely to lay out whether Bergdahl deserted his post or was "absent without leave" or AWOL. And it could include recommendations on whether Bergdahl should be charged with any criminal violations or forced to leave the Army. Any final disposition will eventually also determine whether Bergdahl gets as much as $300,000 in back pay and other benefits, including continued health care.

[Mac-7]

My guess is Obama will pin a medal on the deserter.

[Peter1469]

We may see charges preferred (http://usmilitary.about.com/od/justicelawlegislation/l/blucmj85.htm) against Bergdahl before Christmas. I know the Administration is against it, but the Army has made it clear that they will do what they wish in this matter.


a) Any member of the armed forces who--
(1) without authority goes or remains absent from his unit, organization, or place of duty with intent to remain away therefrom permanently;
(2) quits his unit, organization, or place of duty with intent to avoid hazardous duty or to shirk important service; or
(3) without being regularly separated from one of the armed forces enlists or accepts an appointment in the same or another on of the armed forces without fully disclosing the fact that he has not been regularly separated, or enters any foreign armed service except when authorized by the United States;

is guilty of desertion.
(b) Any commissioned officer of the armed forces who, after tender of his resignation and before notice of its acceptance, quits his post or proper duties without leave and with intent to remain away therefrom permanently is guilty of desertion.
(c) Any person found guilty of desertion or attempt to desert shall be punished, if the offense is committed in time of war, by death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct, but if the desertion or attempt to desert occurs at any other time, by such punishment, other than death, as a court-martial may direct.

[Bo-4]

My guess is Obama will pin a medal on the deserter.

You mean like the one Bushie gave to George "Slam Dunk" Tenet? :cool:

http://www.reopen911.info/News/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/bush_tenet.jpg

[Mac-7]

You mean like the one Bushie gave to George "Slam Dunk" Tenet? :cool:

http://www.reopen911.info/News/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/bush_tenet.jpg

You may not like tenet but don't compare him to a hippie deserter/traitor.

[Peter1469]

(c) Any person found guilty of desertion or attempt to desert shall be punished, if the offense is committed in time of war, by death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct, but if the desertion or attempt to desert occurs at any other time, by such punishment, other than death, as a court-martial may direct.

[Bob]

You mean like the one Bushie gave to George "Slam Dunk" Tenet? :cool:

http://www.reopen911.info/News/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/bush_tenet.jpg

Are you still fond of President George W. Bush?

[Bob]

Medal's of honor have sprouted wings and almost anybody can get one under Obama.

Compare some to Audie Murphy.

[Bob]

I kept the UCMJ in my desk to properly refer to, over punishments to EM.

I am Pleased it still says the same thing (as I recall) about deserters.

What we know of the Bergdahl case sure smells like desertion. I believe those serving with him said the same thing and they were there.

[Peter1469]

Bull shit.
Medal's of honor have sprouted wings and almost anybody can get one under Obama.

Compare some to Audie Murphy.

[Bob]

Bull shit.

Hey Peter 1469, I have not claimed I don't make errors.

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right - the Donald shoulda kept his mouth shut...
http://www.politicalwrinkles.com/images/smilies/icon_redface.gif
BREAKING: Judge Lets Bergdahl Walk Free
Nov 03, 2017 - After facing life in prison, Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl is a free man after Judge Col. Jeffery R. Nance ruled Friday he will not face hard time for abandoning his fellow soldiers in Afghanistan and walking off his post eight years ago. He will lose his rank, be dishonorably discharged from the Army and be forced to forfeit $10,000 in payments. Prosecutors argued for a minimum of 14 years in prison. He faces none.


Bergdahl's trial, which took place at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, ended last week. He plead guilty to desertion and misbehavior in front of the enemy. After seeking out the Taliban, the terrorist group held Bergdahl captive for five years. He was traded for five high profile GITMO detainees in May 2014 by President Obama. The wife of a soldier who was shot in the head and left with a traumatic brain injury while looking for Bergdahl testified in the sentencing phase in hopes of a harsh penalty and consequences.

National Guard Master Sgt. Mark Allen was on a mission with other US and Afghan troops to gather information in two villages in July 2009 when they were ambushed by insurgents using small arms, machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades. Allen was attempting to make a radio call when he was shot near the temple. He suffered a traumatic brain injury that left him unable to speak, in need of a wheelchair and dependent on assistance for such everyday tasks as getting out of bed.


https://media.townhall.com/townhall/reu/ha/2017/306/2017-11-02T211739Z_1_LYNXMPEDA11SO_RTROPTP_4_USA-DEFENSE-BERGDAHL.JPG


As a last resort, Bergdahl issued an apology at the end of the trial, saying he was sorry for putting others at risk in their efforts to find him. Six U.S. soldiers were killed looking for him: Staff Sergeant Clayton Bowen, Private 1st Class Morris Walker, Staff Sergeant Kurt Curtiss, 2nd Lieutenant Darryn Andrews, Staff Sergeant Michael Murphrey and Private 1st Class Matthew Martinek. During an interview earlier this year, Bergdahl claimed he was treated better by the Taliban than the U.S. Army. Is this why he was let off?

In closing arguments, defense attorneys argued that Bergdahl already had suffered enough confinement during five years of brutal captivity by Taliban allies. They asked the judge for a dishonorable discharge and no prison time. Their argument for leniency also cited harsh campaign-trail criticism by Donald Trump and Bergdahl's mental disorders. Capt. Nina Banks, a defense attorney, said it wouldn't be justice to rescue Bergdahl from the Taliban "only to place him in a cell" now. "Sgt. Bergdahl has been punished enough," Banks added. "Sgt. Bergdahl paid a bitter price for the choices that he made."

The judge also considered comments made by President Trump about Bergdahl. President Trump’s harsh criticism of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who walked off his Army post in Afghanistan in 2009 and was captured by the Taliban, will weigh in favor of a lighter sentence for the sergeant, a military judge said on Monday. “I will consider the president’s comments as mitigation evidence as I arrive at an appropriate sentence,” the judge, Col. Jeffery R. Nance of the Army, said during a hearing at Fort Bragg. The judge is expected to sentence Sergeant Bergdahl in the next few weeks.

This is a developing story, stay tuned for updates.

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2017/11/03/breaking-berghdahl-isnt-getting-prison-time-n2404502

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right - charge him what it cost to look fer him when he wandered off...
http://www.politicalwrinkles.com/images/smilies/thumbsup.gif
Lawmakers to Army: Don't Award Bergdahl Back Pay
20 Nov 2017 | One hundred lawmakers are urging the U.S. Army not to award Bowe Bergdahl any back pay -- potentially worth hundreds of thousands of dollars -- for his time in Taliban captivity.


Led by Rep. Rick Crawford, a Republican from Arkansas and a former soldier, the lawmakers in a Nov. 15 letter to Acting Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said that, while they are "happy" Bergdahl was returned, they remain concerned about the circumstances surrounding his disappearance. "At the very least, we know Private Bergdahl's actions, by his desertion admissions in court, jeopardized the lives of his comrades," they wrote. "Despite being given a dishonorable discharge and demotion from sergeant to private, he remains eligible for significant back pay." Bergdahl, 31, who earlier this month dodged a prison sentence for voluntarily walking off his post in 2009 in Afghanistan, could be eligible for hundreds of thousands of dollars in back pay for his nearly five years in Taliban captivity even though he was also sentenced to forfeit his pay of $1,000 per month for 10 months.


http://images02.military.com/media/global/newscred/bergdahl-hearing-1800-27-sep-2017-ts600.jpeg
Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl leaves a motions hearing during a lunch break on Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2017, in Fort Bragg, N.C.

President Donald Trump called the ruling, which included a dishonorable discharge and a reduction in rank to private, "a complete and total disgrace." In a press release, Crawford said captive soldiers normally receive special compensation worth around $150,000, in addition to hostile-fire pay and the basic pay they accumulated during captivity. Bergdahl could be eligible for about $13,500 in hostile-fire pay and about $84,000 in basic pay at the rank of private, according to military pay tables. "I don't believe the pay is deserved," said Crawford, a former sergeant who served as an explosive ordnance disposal technician. "While we should always do everything in our power to bring home prisoners of war, given the circumstances of Bergdahl's capture and his admission of desertion, I don't think it is appropriate to award that pay."

While the letter references "those killed in action who were trying to locate him," Command Sgt. Maj. Ken Wolf, the top enlisted leader in Bergdahl's brigade -- Bergdahl served in Blackfoot Company, 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division -- has said no troops died while searching for him.

But Bergdahl's trial included testimony from survivors who were wounded during missions to find him. Bergdahl, who was held in a cramped cage and beaten by his captors, also testified that he was sorry for the wounds suffered by searchers. It's not clear when the Army may decide on the issue of Bergdahl's back pay. An email request for comment to a spokesperson wasn't immediately returned. The congressman hasn't yet heard back from McCarthy, who will soon be leaving his post as the Army's top civilian. The Senate last week confirmed Mark Esper, defense giant Raytheon Co.'s top lobbyist, for Army secretary.

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2017/11/20/lawmakers-to-army-dont-award-bergdahl-back-pay.html

[Peter1469]

Why would they even consider it?

Granny says, "Dat's right - charge him what it cost to look fer him when he wandered off...
http://www.politicalwrinkles.com/images/smilies/thumbsup.gif
Lawmakers to Army: Don't Award Bergdahl Back Pay
20 Nov 2017 | One hundred lawmakers are urging the U.S. Army not to award Bowe Bergdahl any back pay -- potentially worth hundreds of thousands of dollars -- for his time in Taliban captivity.

[Peter1469]

Sentence (https://www.military.com/daily-news/2018/06/05/general-upholds-judges-no-prison-sentence-bergdahl.html): forfeit $10,000, reduced to E-1 (lowest enlisted rank), and a dishonorable discharge. No jail time.

With the dishonorable discharge he gets zero VA benefits.

I hope he is miserable with the rest of his pathetic life.