The U.S. Army sentenced Bo Bergdahl, the deserter and AWOL soldier disappearing from his post in Afghanistan, with loss of rank and dishonorable discharge.
They figured his capture, torture and beatings by his captors over five years was enough punishment. However, there were others who lost their lives or were wounded in trying to find Bergdahl after his disappearance. I’m sure they and their loved ones now moving on with life are disagreeing over the sentence.
And like usual, remember when Mr. Bergdahl was released and came home? President Obama praised his bravery, his honorable service, and gave up 5 detainees in exchange for him. Remember the Rose Garden address about Bo? What a farce. Just like President Obama’s terms in office.
I have been mute over the Army’s handling of Bergdahl and his obvious desertion and compliance with his captors. I hoped the Army legal system would take proper care of a deserter. I was wrong.
I don’t understand the judge in this case; Mr. Bergdahl (he is “Mr.” because to call him by his rank dishonors all that hold the honorable enlisted rank) deserted his post and comrades in arms. That alone is worth death by firing squad at the extreme or at least years of hard labor at Leavenworth.
The sentence passed down was illogical, and no punishment at all for his evil deed. His voluntary action to desert necessitated others to look for him and put their lives in harm’s way. Even if there hadn’t been deaths or wounding while looking for him, at the very least he should spend time in Leavenworth.
Again, the innocent are dead or wounded, the guilty get off free with no punishment (reduction in rank and a dishonorable discharge doesn’t carry the weight of shame it once did). He essentially got off with a hand slapping.
I agree with President Trump, he should have been in front of a firing squad and my preference; buried in an unmarked grave. That would be justice.
If you’ve never served, you wouldn’t understand. The bond of men in any service is strong, especially in combat, and anyone realizing he no longer wants to serve should have made it known so he could have been transferred to different duty or discharged with a less than honorable discharge. Committing desertion in a war zone is not only a serious offense, but it affects the comrades you leave behind, as has been realized with death and woundings because of his selfish desertion/AWOL offense.
Bo Bergdahl, I hope your life is long and tortuous and every day you think about the men you put in harm’s way because of your cowardice. May God have mercy on your soul, because you surely don’t deserve any by mortal humans. You received an undeserved break by a judge who evidently doesn’t care about unit or branch morale and cohesiveness.
Future disgruntled soldiers will cite the “Bergdahl” case if they desert and expect the same light/no sentence. Thank you Judge, you’ve dishonored yourself and the U.S. Army.
Mr. Bergdahl, you are a disgrace to the uniform and the U.S. Army. I’m sure you’ll now write a book, become a celebrity on the liberal, fake news, morning TV shows. The “View” will clamor to have you on and tell your side of the story and lavish praise about your “bravery”. That tells you how low society has delved into the depths of depravity.
You might want to stay away from veterans that have honorably served, and stay out of any VFW or American Legion hall, lest you get the beating you deserve. To them, you are scum and got away with “it”, just like O.J., Bill Clinton, and all other Hollywood scumbags now in the news.
You are in great company. What a country, huh!
The rotting of America from within continues …………
Well said, we need to put this person in our rear view mirrors and forget him. A Dishonorable Discharge will follow him for life.
It is so unfortunate that President Trump felt the need to weigh in on Bergdahl’s case. Final sentence hasn’t been pronounced yet, if I’ve read correctly what has transpired, and public opinion seems to be running against the outcome so far. I’d hate to see a death penalty, but a traitor needs to be punished appropriately. And Bergdahl did commit a gross crime against his fellow soldiers. I hope the military judicial system can do right by all involved.
Its’ hard to believe anyone with combat experience would want less than the death penalty for someone leaving their post …of course , most do not know what it is to be in a war or war zone…only than can you truly understand why anything but death for this person is a “slap in the face ” to those who served and paid the highest price by dying …..
As a vet with combat experience I was surprised at Bergdahl’s sentence for dissertation.
Given that 3 of his fellow soldiers were injured, one with a serious head wound that left him permanently disabled, I would have been satisfied with 12 years. Bergdahl went AWOL in Jun’09 and was released May’14. He has been in the brig for 3 years while his case made it through the military court. 12 years plus time served as a captive and awaiting sentence would be 20 years plus the dishonorable he received.
Had people been killed searching I would have not objected to life sentence.
This should serve as a warning to our Commander in Chief to keep comments about the military judicial system to himself. His current job requires an independent judiciary in military and civilian courts even when different sets of laws apply.
If you remember correctly, Bergdahl was praised and returned after 5 of the worst detainees at Gitmo were released in exchange for Bergdahl’s freedom. He was given a hero’s welcome by President Obama, promoted and given medals – remember. This goes to show how out of touch President Obama was about the military he commanded, and most things he had a hand in. The racist implications about law enforcement by the president were a disgrace. We didn’t have a president for 8 years. If President Trump is out of line by your reasoning, what about President Obama? Guess it only cuts one way. You Trump haters need to get over Hillary giving Trump the presidency. He won, she lost BIG TIME – suck it up buttercup!