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Prosecutor: Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl planned for weeks to abandon post
FILE - This undated file image provided by the U.S. Army shows Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the soldier held prisoner for years by the Taliban after leaving his post in Afghanistan. Bergdahl is facing charges, including desertion, for leaving his post in Afghanistan in 2009.(AP Photo/U.S. Army, file) ORG XMIT: TXKJ103(Photo: Uncredited, AP)
SAN ANTONIO — Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the soldier held captive for five years by the Taliban before being released last year in a controversial prisoner exchange, had planned for weeks to abandon his post, an Army prosecutor said Thursday at a pretrial hearing.
“Under the cover of darkness, he snuck off the post,” Maj. Margaret Kurz said at the hearing to determine whether Bergdahl should face a court-martial on charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. If convicted, he faces a maximum life sentence.
Bergdahl's defense attorneys will call witnesses Friday and present their own evidence. It's unknown yet whether Bergdahl, now 29, will testify.
Kurz said Bergdahl mailed home items such as his Kindle and laptop and tried to have his pay diverted to his godmother before he left his post.
Wearing a dress blue uniform and seated between his attorneys, Bergdahl showed little emotion during the hearing at Fort Sam Houston but appeared to be taking notes.
Bergdahl’s freedom was exchanged for five Taliban leaders being held by the U.S. at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in a swap that was widely criticized. The Taliban leaders were released to the government of Qatar.
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Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl allegedly left his post in Afghanistan in 2009. Now, one of the charges against him carries a sentence of life in prison. Newslook
Bergdahl’s platoon leader at the time of his disappearance testified that he was stunned when he learned one of his men was missing. “I was in shock in utter disbelief. I couldn’t find one of my own men. It’s hard to swallow,” Capt. John Billings said.
His unit carried out an extensive search in the days after Bergdahl’s disappearance. Under cross-examination by Lt. Col. Franklin Rosenblatt, a defense attorney, Billings said no one from his platoon died during the search.
Billings considered Bergdahl “a great soldier from all accounts” before his disappearance.
Under questioning, Billings conceded he had no idea Bergdahl had been discharged earlier by the Coast Guard after a mental health evaluation. He said he didn’t know the Army had waived mental health requirements when Bergdahl enlisted and that the Army later concluded Bergdahl had a mental disease.
The search for Bergdahl was exhausting, but officers encouraged their men to keep at it. Maj. Silvino Silvino testified that he told his men they were obliged to find Bergdahl.
“We are doing what we’re doing because he’s one of us,” he said. “He’s our brother, and we have to get him back.”
By the end of the search, 80% of the company’s vehicles had to be repaired because of damage from roadside bombs and rugged driving conditions.
The hearing, which is expected to last a couple of days and is presided over by a legal officer, is designed to determine if there is probable cause to proceed to a court-martial.
Bergdahl’s lead attorney, Eugene Fidell, has urged the public not to draw a conclusion until hearing all the evidence. “People ought to keep an open mind,” Fidell said in a recent interview.
Bergdahl has said he tried to escape a dozen times and was regularly chained and beaten, according to a statement his attorney released this year.
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1iStjST
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Prosecutor: Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl planned for weeks to abandon post
SAN ANTONIO — Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the soldier held captive for five years by the Taliban before being released last year in a controversial prisoner exchange, had planned for weeks to abandon his post, an Army prosecutor said Thursday at a pretrial hearing.
“Under the cover of darkness, he snuck off the post,” Maj. Margaret Kurz said at the hearing to determine whether Bergdahl should face a court-martial on charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. If convicted, he faces a maximum life sentence.
Bergdahl's defense attorneys will call witnesses Friday and present their own evidence. It's unknown yet whether Bergdahl, now 29, will testify.
Kurz said Bergdahl mailed home items such as his Kindle and laptop and tried to have his pay diverted to his godmother before he left his post.
Wearing a dress blue uniform and seated between his attorneys, Bergdahl showed little emotion during the hearing at Fort Sam Houston but appeared to be taking notes.
Bergdahl’s freedom was exchanged for five Taliban leaders being held by the U.S. at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in a swap that was widely criticized. The Taliban leaders were released to the government of Qatar.
UP NEXT
03
Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl allegedly left his post in Afghanistan in 2009. Now, one of the charges against him carries a sentence of life in prison. Newslook
Bergdahl’s platoon leader at the time of his disappearance testified that he was stunned when he learned one of his men was missing. “I was in shock in utter disbelief. I couldn’t find one of my own men. It’s hard to swallow,” Capt. John Billings said.
His unit carried out an extensive search in the days after Bergdahl’s disappearance. Under cross-examination by Lt. Col. Franklin Rosenblatt, a defense attorney, Billings said no one from his platoon died during the search.
Billings considered Bergdahl “a great soldier from all accounts” before his disappearance.
Under questioning, Billings conceded he had no idea Bergdahl had been discharged earlier by the Coast Guard after a mental health evaluation. He said he didn’t know the Army had waived mental health requirements when Bergdahl enlisted and that the Army later concluded Bergdahl had a mental disease.
The search for Bergdahl was exhausting, but officers encouraged their men to keep at it. Maj. Silvino Silvino testified that he told his men they were obliged to find Bergdahl.
“We are doing what we’re doing because he’s one of us,” he said. “He’s our brother, and we have to get him back.”
By the end of the search, 80% of the company’s vehicles had to be repaired because of damage from roadside bombs and rugged driving conditions.
The hearing, which is expected to last a couple of days and is presided over by a legal officer, is designed to determine if there is probable cause to proceed to a court-martial.
Bergdahl’s lead attorney, Eugene Fidell, has urged the public not to draw a conclusion until hearing all the evidence. “People ought to keep an open mind,” Fidell said in a recent interview.
Bergdahl has said he tried to escape a dozen times and was regularly chained and beaten, according to a statement his attorney released this year.
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1iStjST
0) { %>
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