“In the days following Sergeant Bergdahl’s desertion, soldiers with knowledge of the facts were forced to sign nondisclosure agreements. The truth about Sergeant Bergdahl was suppressed at the cost of their peace of mind. 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.”
This should be the focus of a full investigation, and those responsible for the Army spreading this lie removed from their positions, if they’re still there. If Obama was responsible, that needs to come out as well.
“A soldier’s perspective on Bergdahl,” by Chase Spears, Baltimore Sun, October 24, 2017:
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.
I began my career as a military officer at Fort Meade and served as the public affairs officer for Sergeant Bergdahl’s unit before returning to Maryland to attend graduate school this year. I worked and spoke candidly for six years with soldiers who were deployed with the unit when Sergeant Bergdahl disappeared, and I have read the initial investigation.
The most basic tenet of my job as the unit spokesman was to be knowledgeable on all critical facts pertaining to the brigade. The Bergdahl story was the biggest annual recurring news event reflecting one of our soldiers. Yet, it took months for me to convince a leader to brief me on the facts associated with it. In the days following Sergeant Bergdahl’s desertion, soldiers with knowledge of the facts were forced to sign nondisclosure agreements. The truth about Sergeant Bergdahl was suppressed at the cost of their peace of mind.
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….
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….
Linde Barrera says
So if I, when i was teaching, only told jokes to my class and let them play all day, did not get reprimanded by my principal for this (test scores would reveal me being derelect in my duties) and the principal covered it up, the parents would have every right to complain. How come the paid employees of the US government who oversee the Dept. of the US Army are not complaining about this grievous event and this malicious man, Bergdahl? ?
gravenimage says
Yes–and as bad as your example would have been, it still would not have cost anyone their lives–as the traitor Bergdahl and US Army policy did.
eduardo odraude says
The author of the piece writes also this, apparently a suggestion of the reason for the coverup:
But it seems possible there were additional reasons for the coverup. The administration did not want the jihadists to have a propaganda victory that would have been all over the news? The administration was afraid of copycat desertions by other traitorous soldiers? Remember that the US military was working with lots of allied Muslims — including some Muslim US soldiers — and had to worry about them periodically going jihadi and killing US troops…
That said, it still seems bizarre to turn him into a hero.
eduardo odraude says
In addition, maybe the affair stems in part from Obama’s leftish quasi-anti-American instinct, which might have led him to bend over backward to give Bergdahl the benefit of the doubt about exactly what happened…
Custos Custodum says
Nothing “quasi” about Barry Obama’s fashionable anti-American instincts.
vyx says
IMHO, Obama was at least a Muslim sympathizer.
So let’s frame it another way.
Bergdahl was an excuse to free five jihadi’s. Perhaps Obama felt those jihadi’s deserved to be free to do whatever they wanted, and wanted any excuse to free them.
Here comes Bergdahl, a deserter who is another Muslim sympathizer. Release the five jihadis, and hail Bergdahl, who supports Islam, as a hero. It’s a complete lie, but it’s a lie that enabled Obama to release five jihadi, who love Islam and hate America.
Does Obama love Islam and hate America? I don’t know. However, in this case, he did what was advantageous for Islam and not America.
DG, United States says
VYX, I am certain Obama hates America and loves Islam. He is a muslim.
WorkingClassPost says
If the authorities could say that he might have fallen behind on patrol, then they could just as easily declare him as MIA and leave it at that.
They may have worried that he’d be killed in an assault or go on TV and denounce the USA.
If ever there was a case for extra judicial droning…
Paul N Silas says
This happens in every war, which is why any Deserter is shot when captured. This man is not an exception in my book.
gravenimage says
I am–God knows–*no* fan of desertion, especially in a hot war.
But Bergdahl did not simply desert, out of fear of fighting or dissatisfaction with the army or some such. He was not just some f*ck-up.
He specifically left to join the Taliban, and reports are that he taught them bomb techniques.
He didn’t hope to fade into the population in somewhere like, say, Germany, and do no further harm.
Instead, he defected to the enemy, to trade them secrets. He defected to the enemy, and is a traitor in every sense of the word.
Leo O Zakharoff says
He should be executed by the Firing Squad for desertion. He was a corporal and after he was exchanged for those five Jihadist, he was promoted to Sargent. Why? We cannot forget, 5 soldiers lost their lives looking for this schmuck.
Facing a firing squad for desertion is a proper verdict….leo
mach37 says
Leo, Bergdahl was a Private First Class when he deserted; he was never a Corporal but was promoted to Specialist a year after deserting the Army. It really burns me up to see everyone refer to him as “sergeant” – a promotion he received two years after deserting the US Army. I am disgusted with the Army for giving Bergdahl two promotions after all the evidence that pointed to him being a deserter. If he had in fact been found to have been abducted from his post against his will, he could always receive promotions retroactively.
gravenimage says
Yes–this is a *reward* for treason. Just appalling, and a slap to every serviceman who has earned his or her promotion.
Stan Lee says
Bergdahl may not have been sensitive to the fact that his unauthorized departure from his unit would have weakened that unit’s effectiveness and exposed it to additional hazards in excess of those hazards expected. I understand that his military fitness record in the unit was not highly recommended by the unit commander ever prior to Bergdahl’s flight. He must have been a very conflicted soldier.
He was focused solely upon what he thought he needed, “the team” was not on his mind. as In typical infantry units, its men are known to fight for each other, as well as country. Frankly, after he was gone, his team did not have the contention of a questionable soldier among that team
Nevertheless, our military does endeavor to rescue its people, which still precipitated losses of personnel involved in a rescue mission to retrieve Bergdahl. Any thought that Bergdahl contented himself to escape his unit was not in focus. He joined the Army on his own volition, he volunteered himself to fight the hazards to which he and his unit were exposed. In any case, it was still desertion, a major crime in every military unit to my knowledge, no matter the country to which a deserter volunteered to serve. A few people, as non-military, non-combat types, may believe that desertion in a combat area is a military crime subject to more tolerant decisions, but Mr. Bergdahl has had a heavy dose of tolerance, even to the point that he was a “Private” at time of desertion, and promoted as if he deserved Sergeant stripes, which was his rank at time he was returned to American forces-Afghanistan. Whether such promotion was at the behest of then “President Obama”:I can’t say as a fact, but generally existing rank is disqualified as result of desertion, or even lesser crimes….desertion from one’s unit in a combat area being a high crime. The fact that Obama, then President Obama, interceded may have reduced a possibility of death by firing squad. That presidential order would need to be nullified, and I doubt more time would be spent on Bergdahl attempting to override the Presidential Order via all legal channels necessary to do so.
gravenimage says
Stan, reports are that Bergdahl did not just wander off base–he specifically *defected* to the Taliban. His actions were not nearly as innocent as you think.
Mark Spahn (West Seneca, NY) says
“In the days following Sergeant Bergdahl’s desertion, soldiers with knowledge of the facts were forced to sign nondisclosure agreements.”
How were they forced? What is the legal validity of an agreement that is signed under such duress? What happens if a soldier does not sign, or writes “Did Not Sign” on the signature line? Any information about this from anyone who knows U.S. military law will be welcome.
Michael says
Really? Ever heard of the Extention? Your combat tour could be extended, or your Active duty service time could be extended. When you sign the enlistment contract the ETS date is not garanteed.
Mark Spahn (West Seneca, NY) says
Thank you, Michael, for this information. No, I have never heard of “the Extention”. Are you saying that unless a soldier signs a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), his tour of duty will be extended? Does this not constitute duress, which invalidates the NDA? Has this been tested in court? (And what does “ETS” stand for?)
mccode says
ETS means Ending Time (in / of) Service
gravenimage says
All true, Michael. Soldiers are also at risk of other types of coercion–bad or even dangerous assignments, lack of promotion, all sorts of things. I don’t think this is common in the US Army–but it can and sometimes does happen.
DVult says
That picture makes Birddog look amazingly like a batchi boy and the way the bearded bozo is holding his hand seems to confirm that. So they were treating him better than the American army did if by better treatment means regularly having ugly bearded lunatics doing to you what they normally reserve for their goats.
Rick says
I have a summer home where my neighbors are from the same small town in Idaho that Bergdahl is from, Hailey. I spoke to my neighbor about the whole Bergdahl mess and his opinion was that Bowe brought upon himself whatever punishment was fitting but my neighbor expressed extreme sympathy for what the parents went through. I guess that’s reasonable considering he was talking about a neighbor whom he had contact with but the whole weird beard and Rose Garden thing really put me off on the parents too.
gravenimage says
Agreed. I am generally very sympathetic to parents under these circumstances–even to the point of praising kidnappers if they think it might help their child–I understand this.
But dear old dad seemed to take to Islam rather too enthusiastically. Concerning, at the least.
tgusa says
Forced to sign nondisclosure agreements? I would have told them to go suck an egg. Well, perhaps using stronger wording.
Have you noticed that the more time the army spends in these hellholes the more muslims we end up with here at home. So much for the fighting them over there bologna. I am sure that this is not what the citizens of the USA signed on for.
gravenimage says
To be fair, this is not the fault of the US military. They do not set American immigration policy.
tgusa says
True.
They do however enforce what I have come to understand as the deep deep creep state policy and they track mud back in to our home. Very UN-American. I know,this would have been unheard of 30 years ago but here we are.
We seem to track in people who in their home country everyone wants dead. We should at least ask, how come?And oftentimes, they hate us too.
JOHN FORBES says
I CANNOT SEE HOW ANYONE CAN BE AT ALL SUPRIZED IF THERE IS A GUY IN OFFICE WHO IS TOTALLY SYMPATHETIC TO THE MUSLIM CAUSE !
WHY WOULD THIS BE AT ALL A MYSTERY ????
gravenimage says
Yes, John–we don’t know how high up these orders came from. Certainly, Obama openly fawned over this traitor at the White House.
blitz2b says
Look up “bacha bazi” in Afghanistan… A real life phenomenon where older men unabashedly engage with boys and young men in sexual activity.
In this picture Bergdhal looks as submissive as a “bacha” in the arms of the Afghani Taliban.
gravenimage says
US servicemen have actually been disciplined for objecting to these crimes against children:
“U.S. soldiers ordered to ignore Afghan allies’ abuse of boys”
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2015/09/u-s-soldiers-ordered-to-ignore-afghan-allies-abuse-of-boys
Michael Moon says
I would like to know where the orders for the nondisclosure agreements came from. And, as commenter Mark Spahn pointed out, how can such “agreements” be considered valid and enforceable when they are signed under duress?
gravenimage says
I think they were intended to shut people up, and there was little concern over whether they were legal or not.
meturaf says
I cant believe that our fighting boys had not one spine among them to refuse to go along with this charade. Among rotten apples their is always a good one, and I believe our men in uniform are usually the victims of their superiors as much as the enemy sometime and that overall they have as good a character as us civilians and often better.. Somebody threaten their pension? This stinks. Like when the Athelete got killed by friendly fire, remember. They didnt own up to it for months.
gravenimage says
Someone is speaking out here–or else we never would have learned of this at all.
Carolyne says
Too bad Samantha Powers did not serve our country with “Honor and distinction.” She was a member of the most corrupt administration in the history of the world. Or maybe second with the Clintons being first.
gravenimage says
Army knew Bergdahl had deserted, but forced soldiers who knew truth to sign nondisclosure agreements
………………………
*Just appalling*. Kudos to this man for speaking out–even anonymously.