Desertion is a serious offense. Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl stayed under captivity with the Taliban for five years and during that time endangered and deserted other troops when he walked away from his combat outpost in 2009 in eastern Afghanistan. Although most news articles do not mention the complete details, Bergdahl faces possible life in prison for his actions if convicted. How he was able to escape the Taliban came from a strategic handover and exchange by the U.S. forces for five Taliban prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
At first Bergdahl faced the possibility of no jail time for his actions and facing trial in a lower level court, the U.S. forces decided to make an example of him and now faces more serious charges and a potentially devastating conviction. Desertion is a serious offense and people who desert their posts need to understand the gravity of their actions. Even with support from officials of the Obama administration saying Bergdahl suffered enough in captivity, they cracked down on deserters making Bergdahl the shining example of what not to do when faced with the decision to desert post or not.
In my opinion, I think the charges are drastic. It is one thing if he faces jail time, maybe 5-10 years, but a lifetime in prison is excessive, especially since the man already stayed with the...
It was wrong what he did and he risked the lives of several as there were numerous search parties looking for him. However, he did not leave a battle, he left a post. He abandoned his duties, but he did not abandon his duties while actively engaged with the enemy.
This does not excuse his actions, but it does provide enough to suggest a less harsh sentence. The conditions he suffered when he was a prisoner of the Taliban also provide some explanation for a desire to give him a better conviction. He was tortured, kept in solitary confinement, and endured some of the worst treatment any U.S. soldier in captivity endured. All of this happened because he left his post. That should be enough of a punishment, at least lessen the sentencing to a short-term versus a maximum life sentence.
One of the reasons Bergdahl even left his post was due to what he believed was 'leadership failure'. He saw something wrong with the leadership there and felt he had no voice in order to express his thoughts and feelings. So instead of talking to them, he deserted his post to catch their attention. Obviously this was the wrong thing to do, but this is just some brief context into why he did what he did.
Another reason he should not receive a harsh punishment…
