Posted on 06/01/2014 8:06:58 PM PDT by kristinn
The sense of pride expressed by officials of the Obama administration at the release of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is not shared by many of those who served with him -- veterans and soldiers who call him a deserter whose "selfish act" ended up costing the lives of better men.
"I was pissed off then and I am even more so now with everything going on," said former Sergeant Matt Vierkant, a member of Bergdahl's platoon when he went missing on June 30, 2009. "Bowe Bergdahl deserted during a time of war and his fellow Americans lost their lives searching for him."
Vierkant said Bergdahl needs to not only acknowledge his actions publicly but face a military trial for desertion under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
A reporter asked Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel Sunday whether Bergdahl had left his post without permission or deserted -- and, if so, whether he would be punished. Hagel didn't answer directly. "Our first priority is assuring his well-being and his health and getting him reunited with his family," he said. "Other circumstances that may develop and questions, those will be dealt with later."
Following his release from five years of captivity in Afghanistan on Saturday, Bergdahl was transferred to a military hospital in Germany.
SNIP
On August 18, 2009, Staff Sgt. Clayton Bowen and Pfc. Morris Walker were killed by an IED in the search for Bergdahl. Staff Sgt. Kurt Curtiss was killed on August 26; 2nd Lt. Darryn Andrews and Pfc. Matthew Michael Martinek were killed after being attacked in Yahya Khail District on September 4; Staff Sgt. Michael Murphrey was killed September 5 by an IED at the Forward Operating Base, Sharana.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
I justify it like this.
We have a chance now to eliminate them, rather than babysitting them in comfort.
You’re dreaming if you think this administration will go after them.
“... don’t believe any of them will live in Qatar for a year”
They probably agreed to stay there until after the mid-term elections.
I don’t believe anything that comes from the Obama administration or their steno pool (MSM). Why did the members of his unit need to sign a non disclosure statement? If they did, it was probably under duress - punishment by the Obama gang - similar to the Benghazi people. What are the Obama’s thugs hiding? Where is the independent media?
He said something like “Trust them. They are “our” people.
This whole affair stinks to high heaven.
I’m angry but not surprised. This is just the sort of thing we’ve come to expect from this administration.
I predict that this deserter will not see a court martial, no matter what comes out by way of the soldiers who know the truth. Obama has his officer corps well-stacked and they will NOT try to put this guy to trial.
I caught that statement too, and I also thought it was some sort of code.
“our people”....as far as I can see, if he did nothing wrong, he shouldn’t need any “people”.
Thanks for the info Miserare. I was searching for which press conference it was said in and had to take a break because I get upset. His dad saying something like we’re proud of how far you went to help the Afghani people. Really? What about the soldiers that got killed looking for this guy? *smh*
You’re probably correct.
I heard Jake Tapper was reaching out to some of the guys in Bergdahl’s unit. I guess he’s turning honest.
I always liked Tapper.
He may lose his job over this, though.
Here's what is surprising. This report came out of CNN! Not Fox, CNN!
Are you kidding? The POTUS can do whatever he wants. And the military has to comply or retire or be fired.
Bowe Bergdahl will begin the reintegration process at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, where he will be given time to tell his story, decompress and reconnect with his family through telephone calls and video conferences, a U.S. defense official said Saturday. Eventually, he is expected to be taken to a military base in Texas to reunite with his family.Bob Bergdahl urged Bowe to trust his military reintegration team, and Jani Bergdahl told her son to take all the time he needs to heal and decompress. They said they were grateful for the work that the U.S. government and other countries - including Qatar, which served as a go-between in the negotiations - did to bring their son home.
"You are from a strong tribe, you are even stronger now," Jani Bergdahl said.
*****
It’s possible he was on a covert mission to infiltrate the Taliban. Likely, no - but possible, yes. It would explain why he was aloof from the other members of his team, and was busy studying languages. And why they wanted to bring him back.
Or he could be a deserter. His father being a wacko Muslim doesn’t help his case.
I’ll reserve judgement until I hear more.
OK, flame away...
One almost wonders if this was the plan all along for this kid and his activist parents: go native, be a “hostage” and get traded. I bet it took longer than they thought, though, and I wonder if the Afhanis were as lovely a bunch as the kid thought they would be.
I WAS THERE. I'm sick of all the lies. Here is the TRUTH, from someone on the ground. We were at OP Mest, Paktika Province, Afghanistan. It was a small outpost where B Co 1-501st INF (Airbone) ran operations out of, just an Infantry platoon and ANA counterparts there. The place was an Afghan graveyard. Bergdahl had been acting a little strange, telling people he wanted to "walk the earth" and kept a little journal talking about how he was meant for better things. No one thought anything about it. He was a little “out there”. Next morning he's gone. We search everywhere, and can't find him. He left his weapon, his kit, and other sensitive items. He only took some water, a compass and a knife. We find some afghan kids shortly after who saw an american walking north asking about where the taliban are. We get hits on our voice intercepter that Taliban has him, and we were close. We come to realize that the kid deserted his post, snuck out of camp and sought out Taliban… to join them. We were in a defensive position at OP Mest, where your focus is to keep people out. He knew where the blind spots were to slip out and that's what he did. It was supposed to be a 4-day mission but turned into several months of active searching. Everyone was spun up to find this guy. News outlets all over the country were putting out false information. It was hard to see, especially when we knew the truth about what happened and we lost good men trying to find him. PFC Matthew Michael Martinek, Staff Sgt. Kurt Robert Curtiss, SSG Clayton Bowen, PFC Morris Walker, SSG Michael Murphrey, 2LT Darryn Andrews, were all KIA from our unit who died looking for Bergdahl. Many others from various units were wounded or killed while actively looking for Bergdahl. Fighting Increased. IEDs and enemy ambushes increased. The Taliban knew that we were looking for him in high numbers and our movements were predictable. Because of Bergdahl, more men were out in danger, and more attacks on friendly camps and positions were conducted while we were out looking for him. His actions impacted the region more than anyone wants to admit. There is also no way to know what he told the Taliban: Our movements, locations, tactics, weak points on vehicles and other things for the enemy to exploit are just a few possibilities. The Government knows full well that he deserted. It looks bad and is a good propaganda piece for the Taliban. They refuse to acknowledge it. Hell they even promoted him to Sergeant which makes me sick. I feel for his family who only want their son/brother back. They don’t know the truth, or refuse to acknowledge it as well. What he did affected his family and his whole town back home, who don’t know the truth. Either way what matters is that good men died because of him. He has been lying on all those Taliban videos about everything since his “capture”. If he ever returns, he should be tried under the UCMJ for being a deserter and judged for what he did. Bergdahl is not a hero, he is not a soldier or an Infantryman. He failed his brothers. Now, sons and daughters are growing up without their fathers who died for him and he will have to face that truth someday.
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