Small Wars Journal

Bergdahl Planned to Run 20 Miles to Report Troubles in Unit

Sun, 09/20/2015 - 3:30am

Bergdahl Planned to Run 20 Miles to Report Troubles in Unit by Sig Christenson, San Antonio Express-News

Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl left his combat outpost in Afghanistan in the middle of the night intending to run nearly 20 miles to another base, hoping to tell a top commander there about leadership problems in his platoon, an Army general testified Friday.

Maj. Gen. Kenneth Dahl, who led an investigation into the case, said Bergdahl believed that the intensive search resulting from his disappearance from Observation Post Mest would bring enough attention to him to allow him to talk to a general once he arrived at Forward Operating Base Sharana.

Instead, the Taliban captured him less than 10 hours after he left. A visit with a general wouldn’t have been likely in any event, Dahl said.

The Army is seeking a court-martial of Bergdahl on charges of desertion with intent to shirk important or hazardous duty and misbehavior before the enemy by endangering the safety of a command, unit or place. Prosecutors said Bergdahl’s disappearance put thousands of U.S. and Afghan troops in danger during a fruitless search for him…

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Comments

Additional reports indicate that Bergdahl, after completing the arduous 20-mile trek, was planning to commandeer a 5-ton truck after hiding beneath the under-carriage, dive into the Arabian Sea and sneak onto a passing enemy submarine in order to make his way to the Pentagon to report the location of the Ark of the Covenant.