Charges against Bergdahl referred to trial by court-martial

[458mag]

So what happens now?

[duckey]

Doesn't sound like he wants to accept the charges.

[Rick Hodges]

I hope he will be tried, convicted and imprisoned, before being given a dishonorable discharge.

[popper]

Patton would have solved the problem right --- away.

[Houndog]

Should have just left him where he was or pushed him out a helo door at 2K feet and been done with it! Prison is too good for a deserter!

[Petrol & Powder]

So what happens now?

He'll get a trial under UCMJ and if found guilty :

(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.


I don't think it will be a tough case for the government to prove and I think they'll make an example of him.
I also think he deserves death but it is very unlikely he will be sentenced to death.

[jaysouth]

From what I have heard on the idiot tube, He is charged with desertion and misconduct. According the the talking head I saw, he could get 5 years for desertion and life for misconduct in enemy hands. Is this the same as aiding and abetting the enemy?

[richhodg66]

Several guys got killed during the operation to try to find and recover him right after he walked off the FOB. Could he be charged with second degree murder or similar as well?

[leeggen]

His uncle o that traded 5 for 1 will get him reduced charges.In my opinion the little slob should be taken back to the desert and dumped out for the buzzards to puke on.
CD

[bubba.50]

once they determined where he was, he shoulda never lived long enough to have a trial of any kind in any justice system. wrap an American flag around him & drop him on an isis camp along with the plane's full payload.

[Petrol & Powder]

He's charged with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. Those two charges both carry a maximum penalty of death but that's an unlikely outcome. I think they have more than enough evidence to convict him so the question is more about potential sentence.
Obama could pardon him but the timing will be an issue. If done before the election it would poison other democrats running but he could wait until the months after the election but before he left office.

The stories about men in his unit dying after he ran away are all over the map. Some say men were killed while looking for him, some say they died in unrelated combat and some claim the stories are completely fabricated. For me, it's a non-issue as it pertains to his potential punishment - he deserted his unit in the face of the enemy and he should be killed.

[Pumpkinheaver]

I can't type what I want to say. The fact he lives and so many better service members don't pisses me off. He's a damn traitor!!!

[flint45]

I can't type what I want to say. The fact he lives and so many better service members don't pisses me off. He's a damn traitor!!!
My feelings also!

[Blackwater]

Bergdahl is the worst kind of soldier imaginable. He seems to have no remorse or concern about the good, diligent and brave men who died in trying to reclaim him. That alone speaks his character, or more precisely, the lack thereof. He needs to be shot, but as stated by several above, I'm sure he won't be. He not only deserted, but went over to the other side. Nothing could be more deserving of a firing squad than this, but again, I don't look for that to happen. He probably doesn't deserve the honor of a fighting man's death by firing squad, but a rope instead. Left hanging like so much garbage. If there's been anyone worse than him in my lifetime, I don't know of it.

A nation that can't or won't dispense real justice, even in wartime and war scenarios, isn't long to last.

[Love Life]

He will be tried. If convicted, he will be given flowers and roses since it will be so much more egg on the President's face. All those involved in the Court Martial on the prosecution side will be "offered" retirement. In the end, he'll get a Medal or something and a free sex change.

[fryboy]

Wouldn't capital punishment qualify as a "sex change" ? :bigsmyl2:

[Petrol & Powder]

We will see what happens to this traitor. I think he is more than just a deserter. Ideally his life would end prematurely at the end of a rope but I know the best outcome will be long prison sentence.

There is a double edge sword in the timing of the court marshal. In some ways it is better that it occurs early in the election season. People have short memories and his punishment may be ancient history by the time the national elections go down in November. On the other hand, if the court marshal is drawn out and is still in play late summer, a post election pardon becomes a possibility. However, I don't think our current President cares about anything other than himself so there's not much value in a pardon unless there's some political edge in doing so.
A pre-election pardon would be bad for the dems and a post election pardon has little value.

My best guess is that he will be convicted and get a substantial sentence. If that happens soon, the issue will disappear from the public eye shortly after that sentence is handed down.

[TXGunNut]

What I want to know is why it took so long. And how in the heck did he get a promotion while "in enemy hands"?

[Petrol & Powder]

What I want to know is why it took so long. And how in the heck did he get a promotion while "in enemy hands"?
please explan

[TXGunNut]

I understand he was promoted to Sgt while in "captivity". I also wonder why it took so long to finally charge him. He's been loafing around some Army base doing busy work, drawing a paycheck and generally just being a common air thief. This circus should have left town long ago.

[Petrol & Powder]

I think it is a common practice is to promote enlisted POW's and then present that back pay upon their release if they were actually captured as POW's as opposed to deserting and running to the enemy. What difference does it make what we called him while he was held by the enemy? Those few dollars for him mean nothing in the grand scheme if he is later found guilty but that money would be useful to a real solider that was captured and later returned to his family.
The promotion from E3 to E whatever doesn't mean much to me.

As for how long it has taken to get to a court marshal, that doesn't appear to have been delayed beyond the normal bureaucratic mess. He had the typical non-judicial hearing opportunity afforded most military defendants and was eventually denied that path. I'm SURE he would have preferred this matter to have been handled in a non-judicial setting but now he faces the real punishment. Not to mention it gave time to for the government to build a better case. Time to talk to the members of his unit. Time to look at his social media posts. Time to gather intelligence from sources near his captor's. Time to talk to his friends and family after he came home. Time to conduct surveillance. .......I don't think his defense got better during that time but I'd bet my bottom dollar the government's case got better during that time.
That delay put the last nails in his coffin.

It may have taken a while to get to where we are now but there's no going back. It is Leavenworth or freedom at this point and Leavenworth is far more likely now. He wanted a trial and he is GOING to get one !

[nicholst55]

Since Bergdahl hadn't yet been convicted of any crimes, he was automatically promoted with his "peers." This is normal for POWs. The late Col. Nicholas Rowe was a lieutenant when he was captured in Viet Nam, and a Major when he escaped.

I believe that Bergdahl will be tried and convicted, and sentenced to Leavenworth. Obama will then issue him a presidential pardon during his last days in office. If we're really, really lucky, some patriotic prisoner at Leavenworth will shank Bergdahl in the shower while shouting 'Aloha Snack Bar!!!' before the presidential pardon comes to pass. Or something.

[Bogart]

Deleted, if I have nothing good to say, then say nothing.

[richhodg66]

Since Bergdahl hadn't yet been convicted of any crimes, he was automatically promoted with his "peers." This is normal for POWs. The late Col. Nicholas Rowe was a lieutenant when he was captured in Viet Nam, and a Major when he escaped.

I believe that Bergdahl will be tried and convicted, and sentenced to Leavenworth. Obama will then issue him a presidential pardon during his last days in office. If we're really, really lucky, some patriotic prisoner at Leavenworth will shank Bergdahl in the shower while shouting 'Aloha Snack Bar!!!' before the presidential pardon comes to pass. Or something.

I'm actually surprisd no one capped him when he got back to the world. There are a lot of angry people towards him (the entire US Army for starters). He must have been laying awfully low for the past year or so.

[Petrol & Powder]

:lol: Aloha Snack Bar!!!

I don't care who you are. That's funny !

[Love Life]

I understand he was promoted to Sgt while in "captivity". I also wonder why it took so long to finally charge him. He's been loafing around some Army base doing busy work, drawing a paycheck and generally just being a common air thief. This circus should have left town long ago.

While in POW status, you are still eligible for promotion. In the military, he is innocent until proven guilty (sort of, lol). They had to build the case against him first. Once he is convicted, then he will be handed his punishment.

[Rockydog]

once they determined where he was, he shoulda never lived long enough to have a trial of any kind in any justice system. wrap an American flag around him & drop him on an isis camp along with the plane's full payload.

bubba, Shame to mistreat a flag like that. RD

[Gavetta]

it well be interesting to see the facts as they develop,and form an opinion after that.