Bergdahl sentencing: Army soldier receives dishonorable discharge
Bowe Bergdahl
Army Sgt.  Bowe Bergdahl  was sentenced to a dishonorable discharge  avoiding prison time  on Nov. 3. Bergdahl  who the Taliban held hostage for five years  pleaded guilty in October to charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. (The Washington Post)
Army Sgt.  Bowe Bergdahl  was sentenced to a dishonorable discharge  avoiding prison time  on Nov. 3. Bergdahl  who the Taliban held hostage for five years  pleaded guilty in October to charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. (The Washington Post)
FORT BRAGG  N.C. â Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl  who in 2009 walked off a U.S. military outpost in eastern Afghanistan and spent the next five years in enemy captivity  was sentenced Friday to a dishonorable discharge from the Army but will avoid prison time.
 Bergdahl âs case sparked ferocious debate over his actions and the controversial prisoner exchange that led to his release in 2014  challenging the militaryâs bedrock principle of never leaving a soldier behind.
It also was overshadowed by President Trumpâs accusation that  Bergdahl  is a traitor who should be executed. Bergdahlâs defense siezed on those remarks  arguing they compromised his right to a fair hearing. Nance indicated earlier this week that Trumpâs statements could result in a less severe sentence.
Sgt.  Bowe Bergdahl  leaves the courthouse after the seventh day of sentencing proceedings in  his  court martial at Fort Bragg  N.C.  on Nov. 2  2017. (REUTERS/Jonathan Drake) (Jonathan Drake/Reuters)
As a consequence of his dishonorable discharge   Bergdahl  will lose all benefits  including medical care  afforded to military veterans. He will also forfeit $1 000 a month for the next 10 months. His rank will be reduced from sergeant to private.
Fidell said in a written statement that  Bergdahl  is grateful to those who searched for him during his captivity and to those who helped secure his release. He also excoriated Trump for what he called an âunprincipled effort to stoke a lynchmob atmosphereâ during the presidential campaign.
[The Army let a convicted murderer into  Bowe Bergdahlâs  trial. He said âI got a firing squad standing by.â]
The sentence closes a major chapter in whatâs become an eight-year odyssey.  Bergdahl  the sole U.S. service member to be captured in Afghanistan   became a political lightning rod across two administrations. The episode drew in Trump and former President Barack Obama  who was roundly criticized for holding a Rose Garden ceremony to celebrate Bergdahlâs return even as details of the soldierâs voluntary abandonment had begun to circulate.
Trump said on the campaign trail that  Bergdahl  was a âdirty  rotten traitorâ who should be executed. Bergdahlâs sentencing hearing began Oct. 23 with a motion from Bergdahlâs attorneys to dismiss the case on grounds Trump improperly used his position as commander in chief to interfere in the process. Trump recently referred back to his inflammatory statements.
 Bergdahl  walked away from his combat outpost just before midnight June 29  2009  in what an Army investigation determined was an attempt to cause a crisis and draw attention to concerns that  Bergdahl  had about his leaders.
While  Bergdahl  and his lawyers have said it was a decision he later regretted  prosecutor Maj. Justin Oshana said Thursday that âit wasnât a mistake  it was a crime.â
 Bergdahl  was captured within hours by armed Taliban fighters on motorcycles and turned over to the Haqqani network  a group in Pakistan that tortured him on and off for years. His release was secured as part of a controversial prisoner exchange initiated by the Obama administration in 2014  in which five Taliban militants were swapped for the U.S. soldier.
[For those tasked with finding  Bowe Bergdahl   deep resentment remains]
The prosecution has said Bergdahlâs decisions contributed to grim injuries as the war effort in eastern Afghanistan ground to halt so that thousands of U.S. and Afghan troops  charged with rolling back Taliban influence and securing polling stations for upcoming elections  could instead look for  Bergdahl . But the trail quickly grew cold. Later they would learn he had been spirited away to Pakistan.
Army Sgt.   [TGT] was sentenced to a dishonorable discharge  avoiding prison time  on Nov. 3. Bergdahl  who the Taliban held hostage for five years  pleaded guilty in October to charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. (The Washington Post)
Army Sgt.   [TGT] was sentenced to a dishonorable discharge  avoiding prison time  on Nov. 3. Bergdahl  who the Taliban held hostage for five years  pleaded guilty in October to charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. (The Washington Post)
FORT BRAGG  N.C. â Sgt.  [TGT] who in 2009 walked off a U.S. military outpost in eastern Afghanistan and spent the next five years in enemy captivity  was sentenced Friday to a dishonorable discharge from the Army but will avoid prison time.
  [TGT]  âs case sparked ferocious debate over his actions and the controversial prisoner exchange that led to his release in 2014  challenging the militaryâs bedrock principle of never leaving a soldier behind.
It also was overshadowed by President Trumpâs accusation that  Bergdahl  is a traitor who should be executed. Bergdahlâs defense siezed on those remarks  arguing they compromised his right to a fair hearing. Nance indicated earlier this week that Trumpâs statements could result in a less severe sentence.
Sgt.   [TGT] leaves the courthouse after the seventh day of sentencing proceedings in   [TGT]   court martial at Fort Bragg  N.C.  on Nov. 2  2017. (REUTERS/Jonathan Drake) (Jonathan Drake/Reuters)
As a consequence of his dishonorable discharge   Bergdahl  will lose all benefits  including medical care  afforded to military veterans. He will also forfeit $1 000 a month for the next 10 months. His rank will be reduced from sergeant to private.
Fidell said in a written statement that   [TGT] is grateful to those who searched for him during his captivity and to those who helped secure his release. He also excoriated Trump for what he called an âunprincipled effort to stoke a lynchmob atmosphereâ during the presidential campaign.
[The Army let a convicted murderer into   [TGT] .  [TGT]  said âI got a firing squad standing by.â]
The sentence closes a major chapter in whatâs become an eight-year odyssey.  Bergdahl  the sole U.S. service member to be captured in Afghanistan   became a political lightning rod across two administrations. The episode drew in Trump and former President Barack Obama  who was roundly criticized for holding a Rose Garden ceremony to celebrate Bergdahlâs return even as details of the soldierâs voluntary abandonment had begun to circulate.
Trump said on the campaign trail that   [TGT] was a âdirty  rotten traitorâ who should be executed. Bergdahlâs sentencing hearing began Oct. 23 with a motion from Bergdahlâs attorneys to dismiss the case on grounds Trump improperly used his position as commander in chief to interfere in the process. Trump recently referred back to his inflammatory statements.
  [TGT] walked away from  [TGT]  combat outpost just before midnight June 29  2009  in what an Army investigation determined was an attempt to cause a crisis and draw attention to concerns that   [TGT] had about  [TGT]  leaders.
While   [TGT] and his lawyers have said it was a decision he later regretted  prosecutor Maj. Justin Oshana said Thursday that âit wasnât a mistake  it was a crime.â
  [TGT] was captured within hours by armed Taliban fighters on motorcycles and turned over to the Haqqani network  a group in Pakistan that tortured him on and off for years. His release was secured as part of a controversial prisoner exchange initiated by the Obama administration in 2014  in which five Taliban militants were swapped for the U.S. soldier.
[For those tasked with finding  Bowe Bergdahl   deep resentment remains]
The prosecution has said Bergdahlâs decisions contributed to grim injuries as the war effort in eastern Afghanistan ground to halt so that thousands of U.S. and Afghan troops  charged with rolling back Taliban influence and securing polling stations for upcoming elections  could instead look for  Bergdahl . But the trail quickly grew cold. Later they would learn he had been spirited away to Pakistan.