A Soldier’s Perspective on Bergdahl
A Soldier's Perspective on Bergdahl by Chase Spears – Baltimore Sun
Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who pleaded guilty to charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy, will soon face sentencing, bringing him and the Army one step closer to legally resolving the chain of events that started when Sergeant Bergdahl walked away from his unit in Afghanistan in 2009. He was captured and held as a hostage for five years; six soldiers died looking for him, according to some accounts.
Sergeant Bergdahl’s case has faced politicization from both sides of the aisle. Those speaking the loudest publicly about it have overlooked the consequences that his actions had on the unit he abandoned.
Sergeant Bergdahl was assigned to the storied 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment, which traces its history to the liberation of France during World War II. Soldiers in this unit are proud to be part of the “1-Geronimo” battalion…
Though it was common knowledge inside the unit that Sergeant Bergdahl had deserted, the Army allowed the myth to perpetuate that he might have fallen behind on a patrol. Soldiers who knew the truth were afraid to speak up, out of fear that they would be punished.
When the brigade returned to Afghanistan in late 2011, Sergeant Bergdahl still cast a shadow over the unit. At least one news story openly questioned if part of our mission was to rescue the captive soldier. On that deployment, my office on Forward Operating Base Salerno had its own Bergdahl ghost. Another officer shared how he had kept a bag of party favors in that very room during his previous deployment there, longing to open it for the rescue celebration that the leadership hoped for in 2009…
Sergeant Bergdahl’s return to the U.S. resembled a well-orchestrated public relations campaign, complete with presidential Rose Garden ceremony and National Security Advisor Susan Rice telling ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on June 2, 2014, that Sergeant Bergdahl “served the United States with honor and distinction.” This prompted fury among those who knew the truth…
Those of us who know the truth have been waiting three years now to see what the Army and defense would present at trial. The original investigation into Mr. Bergdahl’s disappearance remains classified. The pending court martial presented an opportunity for the nation to finally hear all the facts, on the record.
Soldiers enforce political policy through the force of arms, yet under rules that limit our participation in the political process. One of the benefits is that the military services avoid much of the political fray in this increasingly polarized nation. Unfortunately, senior decision-makers in both parties politicized the Bergdahl situation from the start…
