Bowe Bergdahl

US Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl leaves the courthouse at the end of the third day of sentencing proceedings in his court martial at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, US, October 26, 2017. Credit: Reuters/Jonathan Drake

Fort Bragg, NC: US army sergeant Bowe Bergdahl took the stand at his sentencing on Monday, apologising to the troops who got hurt searching for him, after he deserted in Afghanistan in 2009 and detailing the harsh conditions of Taliban captivity.

“I made a horrible mistake,” the 31-year-old soldier said during his most extensive comments to date at North Carolina’s Fort Bragg. “Saying I’m sorry is not enough.”

His statements marked the opening of the defence’s case, which suffered a blow earlier in the day when the presiding military judge said President Donald Trump had not damaged Bergdahl‘s chances of a fair sentence.

Trump called Bergdahl “a no-good traitor” who should be executed during last year’s presidential campaign, and the defence said more recent remarks by the Republican showed his opinion had not changed.

Army Colonel Jeffery Nance said Trump’s comments during the campaign were “condemning and damning of the accused” but had not influenced the proceedings.

“I am completely unaffected by any comments President Trump has made about SergeantBergdahl,” Nance said.

The judge said he would consider the president’s comments as a mitigating factor, however, raising the possibility of a lighter punishment for Bergdahl.

He faces up to life in prison after pleading guilty on October 16 to desertion and misbehaviour before the enemy. The Idaho native was captured by the Taliban after walking off his combat outpost in Paktika Province in June 2009 and spent the next five years in captivity suffering torture, abuse and neglect.

He was released in a 2014 Taliban prisoner swap brokered by the Democratic administration of former President Barack Obama.

Bergdahl testified that his captors locked him in “the cage” after a brief escape. He got little food, water or sleep and was forced to watch beheading videos.

“Years of nothing but waiting to see if the next person to come in through the door would be the person to execute you,” he said.

Bergdahl said he knew his words would not take away the pain of those injured looking for him.

Master Sergeant Mark Allen, the most critically hurt, suffered a debilitating brain injury that left him unable to speak or walk after being shot in the head during a July 2009 mission.

His wife, Shannon Allen, was the final prosecution witness on Monday.

“Instead of being his wife, I’m his caregiver,” she said. “Which doesn’t mean I love him any less, but it’s a very different dynamic. We can’t even hold hands anymore without me prying open his hand and putting mine in.”

(Reuters)

US Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl is pictured in this undated handout photo provided by the US Army and received by Reuters on May 31, 2014. Credit: Reuters

Fort Bragg, North Carolina: US Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl pleaded guilty on Monday to deserting his duties in Afghanistan in June 2009 and endangering the lives of fellow troops, a step toward resolving the politically charged case that could send him to prison for life.

The 31-year-old Idaho native told a judge in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, that he walked off his combat outpost in Paktika province and headed to a nearby base to report “critical problems” in his chain of command.

But he got lost after 20 minutes, was captured by the Taliban several hours later and spent the next five years suffering torture, abuse and neglect in captivity.

The dangerous search for him that ensued – and the Taliban prisoner swap that won his release in 2014 – drew wide derision from soldiers and Republicans. During last year’s presidential campaign, Republican Donald Trump called Bergdahl “a no-good traitor.”

In court on Monday, Bergdahl admitted wrongdoing but said he never intended to put anyone at risk.

“I didn’t think there’d be any reason to pull off a crucial mission to look for one guy,” he said, adding that his actions were “very inexcusable.”

Bergdahl pleaded guilty to desertion and misbehaviour before the enemy, with the latter offence carrying a possible life sentence.

His decision to enter a “naked plea” – meaning he had not reached an agreement about the sentencing terms with prosecutors – came as a surprise to some military law experts.

The sentencing proceedings will begin on October 23. Experts said the defence was betting on getting a better deal from Army Judge Colonel Jeffery Nance than it would have from a jury panel of officers.

Two law professors said they expect Bergdahl will receive a dishonourable discharge at a minimum.

“I think Colonel Nance will realise that the men who put their lives on the line looking for him are entitled to see a level of punishment that is appropriate for his misconduct,” said Geoffrey Corn, a professor at South Texas College of Law Houston and retired Army lieutenant colonel.

Army prosecutors will present evidence at sentencing of soldiers who were injured in the search for Bergdahl.

The judge can consider Bergdahl‘s time in captivity, but Jeffrey Addicott, a retired lieutenant colonel in the Army, doubts it will help the soldier much.

“He knew what the Taliban was, and he inflicted that on himself,” said Addicott, now a law professor at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas.

Bergdahl, who remains on active duty in a clerical job at a base in San Antonio, on Monday said he had tried to escape his captors up to 15 times.

The first attempt came on the day he was caught, Bergdahl said. Blindfolded, with a blanket over his head and his hands chained behind his back, he decided to run from the village where he had been taken.

But he quickly was tackled, he said, and taken to another location.

(Reuters)

Tag: Bowe Bergdahl

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