Comrades torn by Bergdahl conversion from Rambo to Afghans’ friend

The Australian / The Wall Street Journal ^ | June 9, 2014 | Dion Nissembaum

[2ndDivisionVet]

BOWE Bergdahl arrived in ­Afghanistan ready to kill. Like many soldiers heading into a war zone for the first time, the 22-year-old US army private was eager. As he and his unit prepared for battle in late 2008, he ­approached his squad leader at their Alaska military base with a memorable question.

“The first thing he said was: ‘Can I cut off the face of the first Taliban I kill and wear it like a mask?’” said Josh Korder, an army soldier who said he couldn’t ­believe what he was hearing.

The bravado didn’t last. The Private Bergdahl’s view of America’s war began to turn after his first big firefight on an Afghan mountainside in May 2009. A month later, after complaining about the army’s strategy, he disappeared from his post.

Now that Sergeant Bergdahl, 28, has been released after nearly five years in Taliban captivity — he was promoted during that time — some of his friends and fellow soldiers are speaking out on the question at the heart of the controversial prisoner exchange that freed him: why did he vanish?

“I’ve been thinking about it since the day he left,” Mr Korder said. “Where’d Bergdahl go?”

Was he trying to switch sides? Did he want to leave the war behind and become a nomad? Was he betrayed by two Afghan police officers who Mr Korder said mysteriously fled the same outpost the day Bergdahl disappeared?

The answer rests with Sergeant Bergdahl, now lying in a US military hospital bed....

[2ndDivisionVet]

Curiouser and curiouser.

[headstamp 2]

He’s a mental case like his old man.

[Veto!]

I just saw the NBC Nightly News version of the Bergdahl saga. Gee whiz, he is such a nice guy, had a really bad time of it, and John Kerry says the very idea that the Taliban5 will kill more Americans is “baloney.”

Oh goody, let’s trust the sanitized version and dance around the May Pole.

[piasa]

Two mysterious Afghans nicknamed Joe the Tea Swiller and Valerie Super Dooper Deep Cover made him send his computer home to Dad days before he was forced to change clothes and be teleported out of the base against his will on the orders of eeevil Dick Cheney.

[Ouchthatonehurt]

Oh yeah, and the other guys in his unit were the psychopaths?

[Vendome]

He is a certified whack job but, absolutely not incompetent.

He knew what he was doing and I’m looking forward to the 3rd season of Homeland....

[piasa]

“The first thing he said was: ‘Can I cut off the face of the first Taliban I kill and wear it like a mask?’”

I bet John Kerry said something like that back when he was looking to recruit the troops of Genghis Khan to join his VVAW and testify before congress about imaginary American atrocities. “The first thing he said was: ‘Can I chase down the first Viet Cong I see and kill him behind a hut like a rabid dog?’”

[ConorMacNessa]

" . . . and John Kerry says the very idea that the Taliban 5 will kill more Americans is “baloney.”

More Bravo Sierra from the Secretary of Treason.

America demands Justice for the Fallen of Benghazi!

O stranger, tell the Lacedaemonians that we lie here, obedient to their command.

Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)

[lacrew]

I am an American, fighting in the forces which guard my country and our way of life. I am prepared to give my life in their defense.III will never surrender of my own free will. If in command, I will never surrender the members of my command while they still have the means to resist.IIIIf I am captured I will continue to resist by all means available. I will make every effort to escape and to aid others to escape. I will accept neither parole nor special favors from the enemy.IVIf I become a prisoner of war, I will keep faith with my fellow prisoners. I will give no information or take part in any action which might be harmful to my comrades. If I am senior, I will take command. If not, I will obey the lawful orders of those appointed over me and will back them up in every way.VWhen questioned, should I become a prisoner of war, I am required to give name, rank, service number, and date of birth. I will evade answering further questions to the utmost of my ability. I will make no oral or written statements disloyal to my country and its allies or harmful to their cause.VII will never forget that I am an American, fighting for freedom, responsible for my actions, and dedicated to the principles which made my country free. I will trust in my God and in the United States of America.

[piasa]

May 2009, when Obama admin released interrogation photos :

Poison Photo-Drop .. decision to release photographs .. will imperil nation .. its defenders.
National Review Online ^ | May 12, 2009 | Andrew C. McCarthy http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2249304/posts

[Tennessee Nana]

“The first thing he said was: ‘Can I cut off the face of the first Taliban I kill and wear it like a mask?’”
___________________________________________

and this while he was still state side and hadn’t yet been to a war zone...

[Baynative]

[Baynative]

...and then there's this one...

[servo1969]

Bergdahl=turnip+head

[sagar]

I am now pretty sure that the guy was a CIA agent.

[Disambiguator]

That looks like a wedding ceremony.

[blueunicorn6]

Yep. This guy is no patriot. I’m leaning towards thrill seeker.

[rockrr]

Downright creepy - but then everything about Øbozo has a high creep-factor.

[Baynative]

That’s what I thought ...just plain creepy!

[reasonisfaith]

Could be he planned to join the Taliban all along, and the “bravado” when he first got there was just an act.

I could be wrong, but it sure sounds like he was trying too hard with the Taliban mask idea.