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Bowe Bergdahl, the US soldier held as a Taliban captive in Afghanistan for five years, has pleaded guilty to desertion and misbehaviour before the enemy.

The 31-year-old Army sergeant entered his plea on Monday before a military judge at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

The Idaho native's lawyers have argued he cannot get a fair trial following criticism from Donald Trump during last year's presidential campaign.

Mr Trump had called him "a no-good traitor who should have been executed".

When asked during a news conference on Monday whether his comments had any impact on Sgt Bergdahl's case, the president said he could not comment, but "I think people have heard my comments in the past".

"We may as well go back to kangaroo courts and lynch mobs," Sgt Bergdahl said in a 2016 interview that was obtained by the BBC and broadcast on Monday.

In the remarks to British filmmaker Sean Langan, who was himself held captive by the same Taliban group in 2008, Sgt Bergdahl denied he had left his post in order to meet Taliban militants.

What happened to captured US soldier Bowe Bergdahl?

Bergdahl appeals to Obama for pardon

"You know, it's just insulting frankly," he said. "It's very insulting, the idea that they would think I did that."

Sgt Bergdahl, who remains on active duty desk work in San Antonio, Texas, was first charged in 2015, a year after his release.

During Monday's hearing, he told the court: "I was captured by the enemy against my will."

"At the time I had no intention of causing search and recovery operations... It's very inexcusable," he added.

He is scheduled to face a pre-sentencing hearing starting on 23 October.

The maximum penalty for misbehaviour before the enemy is life in prison, and the maximum sentence for desertion is five years.

Army General Kenneth Dahl, who led the investigation into Sgt Bergdahl's disappearance, has testified that a jail sentence would be "inappropriate".

In a podcast interview last year, Sgt Bergdahl said he walked off his combat post to prove to senior officers his commanders were "unfit" for service.

Profile: Sgt Bowe Bergdahl

Upon his return to the US, an Army Sanity Board evaluation determined that he had schizotypal personality disorder "at the time of the alleged criminal conduct" and now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.

The decision to exchange five Taliban captives from Guantanamo Bay in order to secure Sgt Bergdahl's release was heavily criticised by Republican lawmakers as contrary to US policy of not negotiating with terrorists.

Several former platoon mates have alleged US soldiers were killed or wounded during the frantic 45-day search for the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment trooper.

The judge has allowed wounded servicemen to testify that they were hurt because of the search for Sgt Bergdahl.

Much of Sgt Bergdahl's captivity was spent in a "cage", he said, and he was extensively tortured by his captors, a military expert has previously testified.

During Mr Trump's presidential campaign, he called Sgt Bergdahl "garbage" and suggested he should be summarily executed.

"You know in the old days - bing, bong," Mr Trump said at a campaign rally as he imitated firing a gun. "When we were strong."

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Bowe Bergdahl pleads guilty to desertion

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Bowe Bergdahl, the US soldier held as a Taliban captive in Afghanistan for five years, has pleaded guilty to desertion and misbehaviour before the enemy. The 31-year-old Army sergeant entered his plea on Monday before a military judge at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

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The service members who testified last week painted a grim picture of the search and the battle, which subsided only after F-15 fighter jets and Apache helicopters arrived overhead. The wounded were evacuated about an hour after the fighting started.

Spec. Charles Benson, a medic, took shrapnel in the thigh. A rocket-propelled grenade that didn't explode struck Spec. Jonathan Morita in the hand, smashing his fingers and his rifle.

Only later would they learn that 150 Taliban fighters were believed to be near the village where the troops were resting when they came under fire.

The Army's investigation of the operation described faults with its planning, preparation, equipment and intelligence. Sergeant Bergdahl's defense team has also argued to the judge that the Taliban - not their client - were directly responsible for Sergeant Allen's wounds.

Prosecutors have sought to show that the attack would have played out similarly even without the problems cited. Increased risks were acceptable, they say, if the missing soldier was thought to be near.

"We needed to act on it before he got across the border" into Pakistan, Sergeant Walters testified.

But in the immediate aftermath of the attack, the investigation showed, some of Sergeant Allen's comrades were upset with the officers who ordered the operation.

"We should have never went out there in the first place, and we would not have lost three of our guys in the process," said Staff Sgt. Travis Scott Elmore, referring to the wounded. He was one of the six-member Embedded Training Team, or E.T.T. He had been told only afterward that the battalion responsible for that area believed there were 150 Taliban fighters nearby.

"We didn't have the manpower, and that was the first mission that our E.T.T. team has ever conducted" with Afghan troops, he said in a sworn statement to Army investigators.

Sergeant Walters suggested that commanders never would have sent their own men from the battalion on such a high-risk patrol.

"They treat us like a redheaded stepchild whose only purpose there is to be used at their convenience and for the missions they don't want to risk their own men on," he wrote in his statement.

Another search for Sergeant Bergdahl, this one at night, was recounted by Jimmy Hatch, who was a Senior Chief Petty Officer and member of a Navy SEAL special operations team. After helicopters dropped off his team, Chief Hatch sent his military working dog after two people he suspected were enemy fighters. One shot the dog in the head. The other sprayed his gun wildly.

The muzzle flashes allowed American troops to locate and kill the fighters - but not before one shot Chief Hatch, shattering his thighbone, he said. He would later have 18 surgical procedures, and still walks with a pronounced limp.

"I was worse than useless," Chief Hatch said, recalling his fear that noise from his screams might endanger fellow troops. "I really thought I was dead."

Anger in the ranks, especially from those who know Sergeant Allen, may help explain why the Army general who convened the court-martial sought a more severe sentence against Sergeant Bergdahl than was initially proposed.

The preliminary hearing officer had recommended no jail time, primarily because there no evidence had been presented that troops had been killed or wounded searching for Sergeant Bergdahl.

But a military judge later ruled that there had indeed been such casualties, clearing the way for limited evidence and testimony to be presented concerning Sergeant Allen and Chief Hatch.

Specialist Morita, whose finger bones shattered when the grenade struck him, has regained only limited use of his hand, even after he received a skin graft and pins were inserted into the bones.

Mr. Morita testified that he also suffers from a short temper because of his experience. He said his anger is directed "toward one person."

He did not name a name. But as he left the witness stand and walked past the defense table, he shot Sergeant Bergdahl a withering glare.

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Looking for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, Under 'An Insane Amount of Fire'

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The service members who testified last week painted a grim picture of the search and the battle, which subsided only after F-15 fighter jets and Apache helicopters arrived overhead. The wounded were evacuated about an hour after the fighting started. Spec. Charles Benson, a medic, took shrapnel in the thigh.

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Bergdahl was charged after he disappeared from his base in Afghanistan in June 2009 and was held in captivity by the Taliban until May 2014.

The Taliban released Bergdahl in a prisoner swap for five detainees at Guantanamo Bay.

During questioning from a judge Monday, Bergdahl said, "I left my observation post on my own." He also said, "I understand leaving was against the law."

Developing story - more to come

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sgt. bowe bergdahl pleads guilty to desertion  - cnnpolitics

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Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl pleads guilty to desertion

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Bergdahl was charged after he disappeared from his base in Afghanistan in June 2009 and was held in captivity by the Taliban until May 2014. The Taliban released Bergdahl in a prisoner swap for five detainees at Guantanamo Bay. During questioning from a judge Monday, Bergdahl said, "I left my observation post on my own."

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Bowe Bergdahl’s sentencing hearing before a military judge begins today https://t.co/2cmTOJz5jF

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Bowe Bergdahl’s sentencing hearing before a military judge begins today https://t.co/2cmTOJz5jF

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Bowe Bergdahl’s sentencing hearing before a military judge begins today pic.twitter.com/2cmTOJz5jF
— FOX & Friends (@foxandfriends) October 25, 2017

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Bowe Bergdahl’s sentencing hearing before a military judge begins today https://t.co/2cmTOJz5jF

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Bowe Bergdahl’s sentencing hearing before a military judge begins today https://t.co/2cmTOJz5jF

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Bowe Bergdahl’s sentencing hearing before a military judge begins today https://t.co/2cmTOJz5jF

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"At least six soldiers were killed in subsequent searches for him, according to soldiers involved in the operations to find him."
http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/01/us/bergdahl-deserter-or-hero/index.html

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In a recent piece imploring veterans to stop using the uniform to make political points, I mentioned that I supported the recent exchange of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl for five Taliban commanders.

I meant it as an aside; proof that we don't all share the same politics. But it was all some people seemed to care about.

"I was with you until you said you supported the exchange," one commenter wrote. "How is that even possible?"

Unlike a lot of folks fast-roping in on this story, I've tracked Bergdahl's situation for a long time. A longtime admirer of the late Michael Hastings, I consider his long-form piece on Bergdahl's disappearance to be among his finest work. In my own capacity, I covered U.S. negotiations with the Taliban to release Bergdahl in a piece for Business Insider this time last year.

Leaving Bergdahl behind amid suspicions that he deserted sets a terrible precedent for the treatment of future U.S. soldiers.

I have little doubt that Bergdahl walked away from his post, but no one except him knows why. According to some reports, he grew disillusioned with the American mission in Afghanistan. He's hardly the first. But a former member of his platoon told Fox News that Bergdahl expressed a desire to have a more aggressive strategy against the Taliban. According to some sources, he sought to walk from Afghanistan, clear across Pakistan to India. According to others, he sought out the Taliban in an effort to negotiate with them directly.

Regardless of his motivation, it was stupid. Throughout human history, men have done stupid, selfish things; war is certainly no exception to that rule.

There is no asterisk assigned to the military ethos leave no man behind. If there were, what would it say? Unless it was your fault you were captured in the first place?

Does that mean we shouldn't go after a soldier who lags behind on patrol and is captured by the enemy? A man who falls asleep at his post? A pilot who stalls his aircraft due to pilot error and is forced to eject?

Ultimately, there's a reason the safe return of a U.S. soldier carries such a hefty price tag - because we are the United States of America and we go after our own.

There's a perception that the United States shouldn't have traded five Taliban operatives for Bergdahl's safe return. In an interview with an Illinois radio station, Republican Rep. Aaron Schock from Illinois said, "giving five known leaders out of Guantanamo Bay in exchange for this fella is a huge mistake."

Schock added, "Five to one? I don't care whether you're trading jelly beans for chiclets, five to one ain't a fair trade."

The congressman, who also repeatedly erroneously referred to the released operatives as members of al Qaeda, rather than the Taliban, reflects a lack of understanding on how prisoner exchanges work.

As Dan Lamothe at the Washington Post notes, history shows that they're messy, and almost never fair.

In 2011, Israel traded 1,027 Palestinian prisoners for a single soldier, the first released alive in 26 years. Previously, in 1985, Israel released 1,150 prisoners in exchange for three Israeli soldiers.

The 1973 deal that released Republican Sen. John McCain from a North Vietnamese prison camp involved trading 2,600 North Vietnamese soldiers for 591 American lives. Forty-one years later, McCain is a staunch opponent of the Bergdahl deal, after initially supporting it in principle earlier this year.

Opponents of the exchange have also said that the Taliban operatives will definitely end up back on the battlefield, but there's a couple of reasons that this is a weak argument. First of all, as a condition of the deal, they're confined to Qatar for at least one year. But more importantly, according to an extensive report in the Daily Beast by Josh Rogin and Eli Lake, the men wanted to leave the Taliban, or at least cooperate with the U.S. or Afghan government, to begin with. Of the five prisoners, two of them surrendered to Northern Alliance forces, one tried to defect from the Taliban and join the Afghan government, one was working with the CIA, and another was working with U.S. intelligence officials. Two lifelong foreign policy professionals, John Brennan, the director of the CIA, and Denis McDonough, the White House chief of staff, long advocated trading them in a deal.

Another area of controversy surrounding the deal is that under the National Defense Authorization Act, the president is compelled to give Congress 30 days of notice before detainees are released from Guantanamo Bay, and the Obama administration failed to do so. The administration has claimed that concerns about Bergdahl's health rendered this impossible, that the operation moved too quickly, and that the Taliban threatened to kill Bergdahl if news of the exchange leaked.

The contention on that last point is that had Congress been informed, one of the members would have told the press. An unnamed source told Fox News that this claim is "ridiculous," since "notifying Congress does not make it public."

In congressional hearings with U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, Rep. Adam Smith, a Democrat from Washington, said, "There's no reason that 30-days notice couldn't have been given to congressional leadership. We can in fact keep a secret. Or I'd say we're no worse at it than the administration."

But in the radio interview where he weighed in on the Bergdahl deal, Schock said the opposite. "This was never going to remain a secret," he said when asked whether it would be leaked by members of Congress, claiming that having that information released to the public wouldn't jeopardize Bergdahl's life.

Lastly, critics of the Bergdahl deal also cite an oft-used phrase in American foreign policy: "The United States does not negotiate with terrorists." Except for when we do. There's a big asterisk on that sentence, not as a result of my personal politics or philosophies, but proven countless times in modern American history.

The 2007 surge in Iraq, orchestrated by retired Army Gen. David Petraeus, and credited with dramatically decreasing the violence of that war, was facilitated by the Anbar Awakening, where Sunni tribal leaders partnered with U.S. and coalition forces rather than continuing to ally themselves with al Qaeda. Some of the same fighters who made up the ranks of the Iraqi security forces had just months before been laying improvised explosive devices and fighting American forces. No one serious called the Anbar Awakening tantamount to negotiations with terrorists.

The U.S. has also recently been speaking with Hamas in Palestine, an organization designated as a terrorist organization, but was also democratically elected into control of the Palestinian government in 2006. That's clearly negotiating with terrorists.

In 1993, when Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Michael Durant was captured by Somali fighters during the Black Hawk Down incident, the Clinton administration sent a former career diplomat and a Marine general to negotiate with the warlord for his safe return. The Washington Post's Dan Lamothe notes significant differences in that situation, but it was nonetheless a negotiation between the United States and a violent non-state actor for the safe return of a U.S. service member.

In virtually every U.S. conflict where service members have fallen into enemy hands, the U.S. has negotiated for their safe return. As President Barack Obama said in an interview with NBC News, "By definition, you don't do prisoner exchanges with your friends, you do them with your enemies."
Brian Adam Jones is editor-in-chief of Task & Purpose. A U.S. Marine and Afghanistan veteran, Brian served as a combat journalist in the Marine Corps from 2009-2013. Follow him on Twitter @bjones.

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Here's Why I Support The Bowe Bergdahl Deal

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In a recent piece imploring veterans to stop using the uniform to make political points, I mentioned that I supported the recent exchange of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl for five Taliban commanders. I meant it as an aside; proof that we don't all share the same politics.

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Here's what I'm reading.. The statement from Fidell.. http://t.co/TlDXeRzh5u pic.twitter.com/yVA0Iujeh4
— Support Bowe (@SupportBowe) March 27, 2015

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Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl will always be defined by one historically foolish act: He walked out the gate of his base in southern Afghanistan in 2009, hoping to air grievances to a general 20 miles away, but quickly stumbled into Taliban hands and endured five years of brutal captivity.

The Army deserter's irrational decision, and the tragic impact it had on fellow soldiers, played out during the first days of Bergdahl's sentencing hearing last week at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Among the emotional witnesses, a Navy SEAL recalled an enemy shooting him in the leg during the weeks-long search for Bergdahl; the wound led to 18 surgeries and his forced medical retirement. Another soldier was shot in the head in a firefight during the manhunt, lost his ability to speak and is confined to a wheelchair.

"Everybody in Afghanistan was looking for Bergdahl," Capt. John Billings, Bergdahl's platoon leader, testified Wednesday.

No wonder national sympathy runs shallow for the 31-year-old soldier. In military communities such as ours, you won't hear a chorus calling for the judge, Army Col. Jeffrey Nance, to show mercy - not with our deep ties to JBLM special operators like the ones who tried to find Bergdahl, plus the many local veterans who lost friends in Afghanistan and other wars.

Even so, Nance should resist sentencing Bergdahl to the most serious punishment available: a life term in a military prison.

If that happens, one might suspect the courtroom gave in to the same politics plaguing this case from the beginning.

The posturing started when the Obama administration orchestrated a Taliban prisoner exchange for Bergdahl in 2014, then absurdly extolled him for serving "with honor and distinction." It swung the other way when Republican candidate Donald Trump ranted last year that Bergdahl was a "dirty, rotten traitor" and should be executed.

The reality falls somewhere between: Bergdahl was delusionally unfit for combat, a young man who never should've been issued a uniform and must never wear one again.

Ultimately, the Army is responsible for admitting Bergdahl on a waiver, despite the fact he'd washed out of Coast Guard training, at a time when the Army was hurting for rank-and-file troops to fight two wars.

Loosened standards opened the door for Bergdahl, just as lax discipline and a poor command climate contributed to other catastrophes in Afghanistan, such as JBLM's rogue Stryker "kill team" and the murderous rampage of Sgt. Robert Bales.

For his part, Bergdahl has owned up to his mistakes in decisive fashion: He pleaded guilty this month to charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. There was no plea deal with prosecutors. He trusts the judge will see the difference between reckless stupidity and treason.

Other clear-eyed military officers have already made that distinction. In 2014, Lt. Gen. Kenneth Dahl, who was based at JBLM (though Bergdahl was not), got the high-profile assignment to investigate the circumstances surrounding Bergdahl's disappearance and capture. After a two-month probe, the general concluded Bergdahl shouldn't go to prison.

Dahl described the young soldier as "unrealistically idealistic" but also "truthful." There's no evidence he gave up troop positions or other secrets to his captors.

Bergdahl is unlikely to walk away from this misadventure unscathed. Short of a life sentence, he could still get up to five years on the desertion charge. A strong case could be made for a dishonorable discharge, which would strip him of VA health care, education and other benefits.

Ironically, Trump's bravado gives the soldier his best chance at a good outcome. The judge previously said that while he found the campaign trail comments "disturbing," they wouldn't compromise Bergdahl's right to a fair proceeding.

But on Monday, when President Trump didn't back off candidate Trump's comments, the judge acknowledged the charges might be thrown out at some point due to unlawful command influence.

Regardless of whether this case goes the distance, Bergdahl should not spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Military justice is tethered to rules and precedents, not politics, and the harshest penalties should be reserved for competent service members who deliberately betray their country, not a hapless Walter Mitty character.

For Bowe Bergdahl, hearing the voices of damaged comrades who risked life and limb while looking for him is a life sentence all its own.

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Bergdahl neither traitor nor hero; leave politics out of court

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Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl will always be defined by one historically foolish act: He walked out the gate of his base in southern Afghanistan in 2009, hoping to air grievances to a general 20 miles away, but quickly stumbled into Taliban hands and endured five years of brutal captivity.

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.@mchooyah: "A lot of guys were killed... all this happened because [Bowe Bergdahl] walked off the base. Made a horrible decision." https://t.co/7vFgwUP9Nh

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.@mchooyah: "A lot of guys were killed... all this happened because [Bowe Bergdahl] walked off the base. Made a horrible decision." https://t.co/7vFgwUP9Nh

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.@mchooyah: "A lot of guys were killed... all this happened because [Bowe Bergdahl] walked off the base. Made a horrible decision." pic.twitter.com/7vFgwUP9Nh
— FOX Business (@FoxBusiness) October 23, 2017

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.@mchooyah: "A lot of guys were killed... all this happened because [Bowe Bergdahl] walked off the base. Made a horrible decision." https://t.co/7vFgwUP9Nh

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.@mchooyah: "A lot of guys were killed... all this happened because [Bowe Bergdahl] walked off the base. Made a horrible decision." https://t.co/7vFgwUP9Nh

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.@mchooyah: "A lot of guys were killed... all this happened because [Bowe Bergdahl] walked off the base. Made a horrible decision." https://t.co/7vFgwUP9Nh

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EXCLUSIVE: #BoweBergdahl's first on-camera interview after 5 years of imprisonment in Taliban captivity. https://t.co/d4XBOUgfz8 https://t.co/JjmoIkG4il

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EXCLUSIVE: #BoweBergdahl's first on-camera interview after 5 years of imprisonment in Taliban captivity. https://t.co/d4XBOUgfz8 https://t.co/JjmoIkG4il

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EXCLUSIVE: #BoweBergdahl's first on-camera interview after 5 years of imprisonment in Taliban captivity. https://t.co/d4XBOUgfz8 pic.twitter.com/JjmoIkG4il
— HISTORY (@HISTORY) October 21, 2017

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EXCLUSIVE: #BoweBergdahl's first on-camera interview after 5 years of imprisonment in Taliban captivity. https://t.co/d4XBOUgfz8 https://t.co/JjmoIkG4il

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EXCLUSIVE: #BoweBergdahl's first on-camera interview after 5 years of imprisonment in Taliban captivity. https://t.co/d4XBOUgfz8 https://t.co/JjmoIkG4il

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EXCLUSIVE: #BoweBergdahl's first on-camera interview after 5 years of imprisonment in Taliban captivity. https://t.co/d4XBOUgfz8 https://t.co/JjmoIkG4il

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The service members who testified last week painted a grim picture of the search and the battle, which subsided only after F-15 fighter jets and Apache helicopters arrived overhead. The wounded were evacuated about an hour after the fighting started.

Spec. Charles Benson, a medic, took shrapnel in the thigh. A rocket-propelled grenade that didn't explode struck Spec. Jonathan Morita in the hand, smashing his fingers and his rifle.

Only later would they learn that 150 Taliban fighters were believed to be near the village where the troops were resting when they came under fire.

The Army's investigation of the operation described faults with its planning, preparation, equipment and intelligence. Sergeant Bergdahl's defense team has also argued to the judge that the Taliban - not their client - were directly responsible for Sergeant Allen's wounds.

Prosecutors have sought to show that the attack would have played out similarly even without the problems cited. Increased risks were acceptable, they say, if the missing soldier was thought to be near.

"We needed to act on it before he got across the border" into Pakistan, Sergeant Walters testified.

But in the immediate aftermath of the attack, the investigation showed, some of Sergeant Allen's comrades were upset with the officers who ordered the operation.

"We should have never went out there in the first place, and we would not have lost three of our guys in the process," said Staff Sgt. Travis Scott Elmore, referring to the wounded. He was one of the six-member Embedded Training Team, or E.T.T. He had been told only afterward that the battalion responsible for that area believed there were 150 Taliban fighters nearby.

"We didn't have the manpower, and that was the first mission that our E.T.T. team has ever conducted" with Afghan troops, he said in a sworn statement to Army investigators.

Sergeant Walters suggested that commanders never would have sent their own men from the battalion on such a high-risk patrol.

"They treat us like a redheaded stepchild whose only purpose there is to be used at their convenience and for the missions they don't want to risk their own men on," he wrote in his statement.

Another search for Sergeant Bergdahl, this one at night, was recounted by Jimmy Hatch, who was a Senior Chief Petty Officer and member of a Navy SEAL special operations team. After helicopters dropped off his team, Chief Hatch sent his military working dog after two people he suspected were enemy fighters. One shot the dog in the head. The other sprayed his gun wildly.

The muzzle flashes allowed American troops to locate and kill the fighters - but not before one shot Chief Hatch, shattering his thighbone, he said. He would later have 18 surgical procedures, and still walks with a pronounced limp.

"I was worse than useless," Chief Hatch said, recalling his fear that noise from his screams might endanger fellow troops. "I really thought I was dead."

Anger in the ranks, especially from those who know Sergeant Allen, may help explain why the Army general who convened the court-martial sought a more severe sentence against Sergeant Bergdahl than was initially proposed.

The preliminary hearing officer had recommended no jail time, primarily because there no evidence had been presented that troops had been killed or wounded searching for Sergeant Bergdahl.

But a military judge later ruled that there had indeed been such casualties, clearing the way for limited evidence and testimony to be presented concerning Sergeant Allen and Chief Hatch.

Specialist Morita, whose finger bones shattered when the grenade struck him, has regained only limited use of his hand, even after he received a skin graft and pins were inserted into the bones.

Mr. Morita testified that he also suffers from a short temper because of his experience. He said his anger is directed "toward one person."

He did not name a name. But as he left the witness stand and walked past the defense table, he shot Sergeant Bergdahl a withering glare.

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Looking for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, Under 'An Insane Amount of Fire'

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The service members who testified last week painted a grim picture of the search and the battle, which subsided only after F-15 fighter jets and Apache helicopters arrived overhead. The wounded were evacuated about an hour after the fighting started. Spec. Charles Benson, a medic, took shrapnel in the thigh.

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Bergdahl deserted from his outpost in Afghanistan in June 2009. Hours later, he was captured by the Taliban. He was eventually released in a controversial prisoner swap in exchange for five Guantanamo Bay detainees.

During Bergdahl's sentencing hearing Wednesday, retired Navy SEAL Chief Petty Officer James Hatch said he and his dog came under fire while searching for Bergdahl. Hatch said he was shot in a leg, and the dog was killed.

Hatch was asked why he went on a mission to look for Bergdahl.

"He is an American," Hatch said, adding, "He had a mom."

Hatch wept when testifying about the death of Remco, his dog who appeared to have spotted the enemy. The dog was shot in the face and Hatch was hit in a knee.

"I thought I was dead," Hatch recalled.

'Someone is going to get hurt'

Hatch, who walks with a heavy limp after 18 surgeries, said he had been concerned because there was little time to plan the hunt for Bergdahl, who the other soldiers knew had walked off his post.

"I said, 'Hey, man, someone is going to get hurt trying to get this kid," he told the judge deciding Bergdahl's sentence.

Army Capt. John Billings also testified for the prosecution. Billings, who was Bergdahl's platoon leader in Afghanistan, said the platoon searched for Bergdahl for 19 days. He described wearing a filthy uniform while looking for the then-private first class.

It was extremely hard on the troops, he said. They went days with no food or water and had no showers for weeks. Some of the men were sick.

"We don't leave. It's a motto, 'Leave no man behind,'" alive or not, he said.

Cols. Clint Baker and John White also testified to the trying circumstances. One platoon was out for more than a month and had to have socks airdropped.

Bergdahl was a captive for five years.

'A critical problem'

Bergdahl told the judge last week that he was trying to reach the base from where he was dispatched.

Bergdahl said he wanted to report "a critical problem in my chain of command," but did not specify what that problem was.

"I left my observation post on my own," Bergdahl told the judge last week. "I understand leaving was against the law."

Bergdahl told the judge that he made "somewhere between a dozen and 15 escape attempts" while held captive.

He previously described the torture he endured, which included months chained to a bed and years either locked in a cage or chained on all fours.

Called a traitor and a hero

The Taliban released Bergdahl in a prisoner swap for five detainees at Guantanamo Bay. At the time, President Barack Obama cited a "sacred rule" about attempting to rescue American service members -- no matter the circumstances surrounding their capture.

"We still get an American soldier back if he's held in captivity. Period. Full stop. We don't condition that," Obama said at the time.

Since then, Bergdahl has been called both a traitor and a hero.

In 2015, an Army Sanity Board evaluation said Bergdahl had schizotypal personality disorder. That information was included in the hundreds of pages of documents that Bergdahl's defense team released on a website called The Bergdahl Docket.

Former comrade: 'He's still a coward'

Retired Army Spc. Cody Full, a member of Bergdahl's platoon in Afghanistan, has called Bergdahl a "coward."

He said the military has an open-door policy for service members to voice concerns about chains of command, so Bergdahl had no reason to desert.

"He was a coward nine years ago when he deserted, and I think he showed he's still a coward," Full said. "He refuses to take responsibility for his actions."

Those actions, Full said, jeopardized the safety of other service members.

"He literally put thousands and thousands of people's lives at risk just so he could go and want to complain for whatever transgressions he thought happened or didn't happen," Full said.

But the Army general who led the investigation into Bergdahl's actions in Afghanistan testified that jail time for him would be "inappropriate."

And Terrence Russell, who debriefed Bergdahl while working for the Department of Defense's Joint Personnel Recovery Agency, said the sergeant suffered "horrific" conditions while in Taliban captivity.

"An army of one, he had to fight the enemy alone for four years 11 months," Russell testified in 2015. "You cannot overestimate how difficult that is."

On Sunday, Eugene Fidell, Bergdahl's civilian defense attorney, would not share with CNN whom the defense plans to call as a witness during the sentencing phase of the trial.

The prosecution indicated Wednesday that it will call its final witness on Monday.

Trump: Bergdahl 'should be shot'

During the 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump said Bergdahl "should be shot" for walking off his post.

"In the good old days, he would have been executed," Trump said.

After Trump took office, Bergdahl's lawyers argued the judge should dismiss the charges because of Trump's comments, claiming Trump violated Bergdahl's due-process rights and saying it would not be possible for Bergdahl to get a fair trial.

But a military judge ruled against dismissing charges. Bergdahl later chose to be tried by a military judge rather than a jury.

In an exclusive interview obtained by ABC last year, Bergdahl said he didn't think he would be able to get a fair trial after Trump's comments that he should be shot.

"We may as well go back to kangaroo courts and lynch mobs. They got what they wanted," Bergdahl said. "People who are to the point of saying, 'Yeah, just shoot him' -- you can never convince those people to change their minds."

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bowe bergdahl's former platoon leader testifies against him - cnnpolitics

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Wounded Navy SEAL and Army platoon leader testify against Bowe Bergdahl

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Bergdahl deserted from his outpost in Afghanistan in June 2009. Hours later, he was captured by the Taliban. He was eventually released in a controversial prisoner swap in exchange for five Guantanamo Bay detainees. During Bergdahl's sentencing hearing Wednesday, retired Navy SEAL Chief Petty Officer James Hatch said he and his dog came under fire while searching for Bergdahl.

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Bowe Bergdahl responds to those who called him a traitor

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In his first television interview, the soldier who pleaded guilty to desertion charges after spending five years in Taliban captivity says a fair trial would have been impossible given campaign trail comments made by Donald Trump.

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Deserter Bergdahl

I hope #BoweBergdahl gets life in prison, Monday.

🇺🇸 Martinek
🇺🇸 Curtiss
🇺🇸 Bowen
🇺🇸 Walker
🇺🇸 Murphrey
🇺🇸 Andrews https://t.co/Ozg8EXT67D

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Deserter Bergdahl

I hope #BoweBergdahl gets life in prison, Monday.

🇺🇸 Martinek
🇺🇸 Curtiss
🇺🇸 Bowen
🇺🇸 Walker
🇺🇸 Murphrey
🇺🇸 Andrews https://t.co/Ozg8EXT67D

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Deserter Bergdahl

I hope #BoweBergdahl gets life in prison, Monday.

🇺🇸 Martinek
🇺🇸 Curtiss
🇺🇸 Bowen
🇺🇸 Walker
🇺🇸 Murphrey
🇺🇸 Andrews pic.twitter.com/Ozg8EXT67D
— Mike (@Fuctupmind) October 22, 2017

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Deserter Bergdahl

I hope #BoweBergdahl gets life in prison, Monday.

🇺🇸 Martinek
🇺🇸 Curtiss
🇺🇸 Bowen
🇺🇸 Walker
🇺🇸 Murphrey
🇺🇸 Andrews https://t.co/Ozg8EXT67D

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.original_text
Deserter Bergdahl

I hope #BoweBergdahl gets life in prison, Monday.

🇺🇸 Martinek
🇺🇸 Curtiss
🇺🇸 Bowen
🇺🇸 Walker
🇺🇸 Murphrey
🇺🇸 Andrews https://t.co/Ozg8EXT67D

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.text
Deserter Bergdahl

I hope #BoweBergdahl gets life in prison, Monday.

🇺🇸 Martinek
🇺🇸 Curtiss
🇺🇸 Bowen
🇺🇸 Walker
🇺🇸 Murphrey
🇺🇸 Andrews https://t.co/Ozg8EXT67D

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FORT BRAGG, N.C. - An apparent security lapse enabled a convicted murderer to access Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl's sentencing hearing last week where the individual made threatening remarks about the former Taliban prisoner, who has pleaded guilty to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy.

George Marecek, 85, was only a few feet from Bergdahl on Wednesday when he turned to another individual seated in the courtroom gallery and said: "I'll be glad when this crap is over. I got my firing squad standing by." Marecek's comment was overheard by a Washington Post reporter. Bergdahl's attorneys overheard Marecek make other threatening statements and alerted the prosecution, who in turn notified authorities.

The Army has refused to answer questions about the incident, which alarmed court officers and triggered a security alert at this sprawling military complex outside of Fayetteville, N.C., according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter. They spoke on the condition of anonymity citing the extreme sensitivity surrounding Bergdahl's legal proceedings.

Bergdhal, 31, faces life in prison, having pleaded guilty earlier this month to charges that stem from his 2009 disappearance in Afghanistan. He was captured by the Taliban and held hostage for five years, routinely enduring torture before his release was secured as part of a controversial prisoner exchange in 2014.

The sentencing hearing began Oct. 23 with a motion from Bergdahl's attorneys to dismiss the case. They argue that President Trump improperly used his position as commander in chief to interfere in the process when he referred back to inflammatory statements he made during the presidential campaign. Trump, at the time, called Bergdahl "a dirty, rotten traitor" and suggested he should be executed. The judge, Army Col. Jeffery R. Nance, is yet to rule on the motion.

[Trump's 'traitor' rhetoric looms over Bowe Bergdahl's sentencing]

Marecek, a retired Army colonel, is a highly decorated Green Beret whose bravery during the Vietnam War earned him a Distinguished Service Cross and Silver Star, prestigious valor awards that rank second and third, respectively, behind only the Medal of Honor. Decades later, in 2000, he was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 30 years in prison for killing his wife in 1991. Marecek spent three years at a state correctional facility before earning an early release in 2003.

Marecek's did not respond to a phone message seeking comment.

On Wednesday, he arrived at Fort Bragg wearing an Army combat uniform outfitted with his rank and Special Forces insignia. In the courtroom he clutched a tightly shaped green beret. It was after the court adjourned, and Marecek had departed, that prosecutors alerted security, according to a person familiar with the proceedings.

A spokesman for Fort Bragg refused to discuss the matter, confirming only there had been an unspecified "incident" during Wednesday's proceedings. Army officials at the Pentagon referred The Post to Army Forces Command, which is coordinating Bergdahl's legal proceedings. Officials there also refused to discuss the matter.

Bergdahl is escorted to and from the courthouse by at least one armed policeman, with others in the immediate area. But Marecek's threatening remarks, and his ability to access the base despite his criminal history, raise questions about the Army's security measures for the high-profile trial.

Those attending the proceedings must pass through metal detectors and face additional scans from military police via handheld metal detector wands. The media's movement also is tightly controlled.

Marecek, as a military retiree, can access the base and park his car in front of the courthouse, presenting just his ID card. While those visiting Fort Bragg should have their identification cards electronically scanned and run through a criminal records database, a former military police officer at the base told The Post that the ID scanners often don't function properly, so the gate guards simply check to ensure the ID cards have not expired.

Nance informed the court Thursday that authorities were notified after someone made troubling remarks from the gallery during the prior day's proceedings.

Fort Bragg's military police unit issued a "be on the lookout" alert, but it does not appear authorities are actively searching for Marecek. One soldier familiar with the trial's security operation said military police were instructed to question him if he returns. The Army has not asked local police or the U.S. Marshals Service for help finding Marecek, officials with those agencies said.

[For those tasked with finding Bowe Bergdahl, deep resentment remains]

Bergdahl's case has sparked a bitter debate within the military and throughout the country between those who believe he endangered the lives of fellow service members tasked with finding him and those who feel his years in captivity are sufficient punishment for his offenses.

Trump amplified the argument, saying during a 2015 campaign rally in Massachusetts, "That's right. Boom. Boom! ... Boom, he's gone. He's gone!" while he pantomimed firing a pistol.

Speaking to reporters earlier this month, the president declined to say whether his previous attacks on Bergdahl may have unfairly influenced the soldier's decision to plead guilty. "But," he added, "I think people have heard my comments in the past."

In court last week, Nance explained that his interpretation of Trump's meaning was, "I shouldn't comment on that, but I think everyone knows what I think about Bowe Bergdahl."

Bergdahal's lawyers have seized on Trump's remarks to argue that the case should be dismissed.
More from Checkpoint: The war in Afghanistan messed with my head. Here's how I found peace - and hope. Now is a terrible time for Trump's VA secretary to abandon his post Standing for the national anthem does not make you a patriot. Here's what does.

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bowe bergdahl; bergdahl trial; donald trump bowe bergdahl; george marecek; george marecek green beret;

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A convicted murderer attended the Bergdahl trial and said 'I got my firing squad standing by'

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FORT BRAGG, N.C. - An apparent security lapse enabled a convicted murderer to access Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl's sentencing hearing last week where the individual made threatening remarks about the former Taliban prisoner, who has pleaded guilty to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy.

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FORT BRAGG, N.C. - Emotional testimony is expected Monday when the wife of a seriously wounded soldier takes the stand during the sentencing hearing for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.

Prosecutors told a judge that they intend to call Shannon Allen to the stand to discuss a traumatic brain injury suffered by her husband when he was shot during a search mission for Bergdahl after he walked off his post in Afghanistan in 2009.

Bergdahl has pleaded guilty to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. He faces up to life in prison. Prosecutors are using wounds to several service members who searched for Bergdahl as evidence to convince the judge that he deserves a stiff punishment. The sentencing hearing started last week.

National Guard Master Sgt. Mark Allen was on a mission with other U.S and Afghan troops to gather information in two villages in July 2009 when they were ambushed by insurgents using small arms, machine guns and rocket propelled grenades.

Allen was attempting to make a radio call when he was shot near the temple. He suffered a traumatic brain injury that left him unable to speak, in need of a wheelchair and dependent on assistance for such everyday tasks as getting out of bed.

Shannon Allen has declined interview requests, but the toll on her was evident the day Bergdahl pleaded guilty, as she sat weeping in the courtroom. She is one of the final prosecution witnesses before the defense presents their own.

While Bergdahl acknowledged at his plea hearing that his actions triggered the search missions that resulted in the wounds, his lawyers argue there's a limit to his responsibility for a lengthy chain of events that includes decisions by the U.S. military commanders who led the searches as well as enemy attacks.

Bergdahl, who suffered five years as captive of Taliban allies after abandoning his remote post in 2009, made no deal with prosecutors to limit his punishment, so the judge has wide leeway to determine his sentence.

The 31-year-old soldier from Hailey, Idaho, has said he was caged by his captors, kept in darkness and beaten. He said he tried to escape more than a dozen times before President Barack Obama brought him home in 2014 in a swap for five Taliban prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.

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Prosecutors want wounded soldier's wife to testify against Bergdahl

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FORT BRAGG, N.C. - Emotional testimony is expected Monday when the wife of a seriously wounded soldier takes the stand during the sentencing hearing for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.

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RALEIGH, N.C. - Lawyers for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl will try Monday to convince a judge that he cannot get a fair trial on charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy because of highly charged statements made by President Donald Trump.

The pretrial hearing before a military judge at Fort Bragg is expected to focus on statements that Trump made during the presidential campaign.

Bergdahl is scheduled for trial in April and could face a life sentence if convicted of misbehavior before the enemy. He is accused of endangering the lives of soldiers who searched for him after he walked off his post in Afghanistan in 2009.

Defense attorneys argue that Trump violated Bergdahl's due process rights by repeatedly calling him a "traitor" and making other harsh statements about the soldier. The defense motion, filed shortly after Trump was sworn in as president, cites more than 40 instances of Trump's criticism at public appearances and media interviews through August 2016.

Bergdahl's attorneys argue that potential jurors may feel obligated to agree with the new president and would have a hard time ignoring what he said.

Although Trump repeatedly said Bergdahl should face stiff punishment, even suggesting he be thrown out of a plane, prosecutors contend that any reasonable observer would understand that Trump's comments amounted to campaign rhetoric and should not be taken literally.

They argue that Trump's use of the term "traitor" was not meant in the legal sense, but in a conversational way.

Bergdahl, who is from Idaho, has said he walked off his post to cause alarm and draw attention to what he saw as problems with his unit.

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How President Trump is influencing the Bowe Bergdahl trial

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RALEIGH, N.C. - Lawyers for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl will try Monday to convince a judge that he cannot get a fair trial on charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy because of highly charged statements made by President Donald Trump.

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The wife of a seriously wounded soldier is expected to take the stand as the sentencing hearing for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl resumes.

Prosecutors told a judge they intend to call Shannon Allen to the stand Monday to discuss a traumatic brain injury her husband suffered. National Guard Master Sgt. Mark Allen was shot in the temple during a search for Bergdahl, who walked off his post in Afghanistan in 2009.

Bergdahl has pleaded guilty to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. He faces up to life in prison. Prosecutors are using wounds to several service members who searched for Bergdahl as evidence to convince the judge that he deserves a stiff punishment.

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Wounded soldier's wife expected to testify against Bergdahl

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The wife of a seriously wounded soldier is expected to take the stand as the sentencing hearing for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl resumes. Prosecutors told a judge they intend to call Shannon Allen to the stand Monday to discuss a traumatic brain injury her husband suffered. National Guard Master Sgt.

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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 Sgt. 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 on 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.

A senior Defense official said Bergdahl's "reintegration process" will include "time for him to tell his story, decompress, and to reconnect with his family through telephone calls and video conferences."

Greg Leatherman was a sergeant in Bergdahl's platoon who supervised him but wasn't there the night he disappeared. He said, "I'm pleased to see him returned safely. From experience, I hope that he receives adequate reintegration counseling. I believe that an investigation should take place as soon as health care professionals deem him fit to endure one."

Another senior Defense official said Bergdahl will not likely face any punishment. "Five years is enough," he told CNN on condition of anonymity.

Questions surround the circumstances of Bergdahl's disappearance, and conflicting details have since emerged about how the militants managed to capture him. Published accounts have varied widely, from charges that he walked off the post to claims that he was grabbed from a latrine.

"We really don't know why he left the base and under what circumstances," Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby said Monday. Details of that will come out, he said, adding that the Army has never classified Bergdahl as a deserter and has scheduled the soldier for a promotion next month. But the details around a soldier being taken captive "don't matter," he said, when it comes to the military's response.

"We're going to do all we can to get you back," he said. "That's an obligation that we have, all the people that put on this uniform."

According to firsthand accounts from soldiers in his platoon, Bergdahl, while on guard duty, shed his weapons and walked off the observation post with nothing more than a compass, a knife, water, a digital camera and a diary.

At least six soldiers were killed in subsequent searches for him, according to soldiers involved in the operations to find him. The Pentagon was not able to provide details on specific operations in which any soldiers killed during that time were involved.

Also, many soldiers in Bergdahl's platoon said attacks seemed to increase against the United States in Paktika province in the days and weeks following his disappearance.

"Any of us would have died for him while he was with us, and then for him to just leave us like that, it was a very big betrayal," said former U.S. Army Sgt. Josh Korder, who has the name of three soldiers who died while searching for Bergdahl tatooed on his back.

Many of Bergdahl's fellow troops -- from the seven or so who knew him best in his squad to the larger group that made up the 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division -- told CNN that they signed nondisclosure agreements agreeing to never share any information about Bergdahl's disappearance and the efforts to recapture him. Some were willing to dismiss that document in hopes that the truth would come out about a soldier who they now fear is being hailed as a hero, while the men who lost their lives looking for him are ignored.

"I don't think I could have continued to go on without being able to share with you and the people the true things that happened in this situation," Korder said Monday. "Because if you guys aren't made aware of it, it will just go on, and he'll be a hero, and nobody will be able to know the truth."
Traitor or hometown hero?
Many are flocking to social media, such as the Facebook page "Bowe Bergdahl is NOT a hero," where they share stories detailing their resentment. A number of comments on his battalion's Facebook page prompted the moderator to ask for more respect to be shown.

"I challenge any one of you who label him a traitor to spend 5 years in captivity with the Taliban or Haqqani, then come back and accuse him again. Whatever his intent when he walked away or was captured, he has more than paid for it."

As the chorus of criticism from some in Bergdahl's platoon grows louder, residents in his hometown of Hailey, Idaho, say their support of the soldier hasn't been shaken.

City officials released a statement saying they were being inundated with calls with concerns about Bergdahl's case and calling for people not to judge without knowing all the details.

"We're leaving the politics to everybody else. We're just glad to welcome Bowe back to us," family friend Stefanie O'Neill said. "We're going to let things play out when Bowe is able to tell his story."

E-mails reported by the late Michael Hastings in Rolling Stone in 2012 reveal what Bergdahl's fellow infantrymen learned within days of his disappearance: He told people that he no longer supported the U.S. effort in Afghanistan.

"The future is too good to waste on lies," he wrote to his parents. "And life is way too short to care for the damnation of others, as well as to spend it helping fools with their ideas that are wrong. I have seen their ideas and I am ashamed to even be American. The horror of the self-righteous arrogance that they thrive in. It is all revolting."

Bergdahl wrote to them, "I am sorry for everything. The horror that is America is disgusting."

CNN has not independently verified the authenticity of the e-mails.

Spc. Cody Full, a former member of Bergdahl's squad, tweeted this weekend that before he disappeared, Bergdahl once told him, "If deployment is lame, I'm going to get lost in the Mountains and make my way to China."

Leatherman told CNN that Bergdahl "always looked at the mountains in the distance and talked of 'seeing what's on the other side.' "

Full noted in his Twitter recollections a story that others from Blackfoot Company relay. While soldiers were searching for Bergdahl, a platoon "came upon some children, they asked him have they seen an American. The children said 'yes, he was crawling on his belly through weeds and acting funny a while ago,' " according to Full.

The platoon went to the village where the children said the American had gone. "Villagers said an American did come through the area and was wanting water and someone who spoke English," Full shared.

Korder says he believes Bergdahl was looking for an adventure "without having anybody to answer to" when he left his post.

"He wanted to go see Afghanistan for himself without the Army stopping him or having to tell him what to do," Korder said.
Soldiers died during search
Former Pfc. Jose Baggett, 27, of Chicago, was also in Blackfoot Company and said he was close to two men "killed because of his (Bergdahl's) actions."

"He walked off," Baggett told CNN. "He left his guard post. Nobody knows if he defected or he's a traitor or he was kidnapped. What I do know is, he was there to protect us, and instead he decided to defer from America and go and do his own thing. I don't know why he decided to do that, but we spent so much of our resources, and some of those resources were soldiers' lives."

Many soldiers on the ground at the time said insurgents were able to take advantage of the intense search for Bergdahl.

"A huge thing in-country is not building patterns. Well when you are looking for a person every day that creates a pattern. While searching for him, ambushes and IEDs picked up tremendously. Enemy knew we would be coming. IEDs started being placed more effectively in the coming weeks. Ambushes were more calculated, cover and concealment was used," Full tweeted.

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.

Moreover, other operations were put on hold while the search for Bergdahl was made a top priority, according to officers who served in Afghanistan during that time. Manpower and assets -- such as scarce surveillance drones and helicopters -- were redirected to the hunt. The lack of assets is one reason the closure of a dangerous combat outpost, COP Keating, was delayed. Eight soldiers were killed at COP Keating before it was ultimately closed.

One soldier with the 509th Regiment, a sister unit of the 501st, told CNN that after Bergdahl disappeared, the U.S. Army essentially was told to lock down the entire province of Paktika. He described sitting in the middle of a field with his platoon, vulnerable, with capabilities and personnel mismanaged throughout the region. Different platoons ran out of water, food and ammunition.

Two mortarmen -- Pvt. Aaron Fairbairn and Pfc. Justin Casillas -- were killed in a July 4, 2009, attack.

"It was unbelievable," the soldier said. "All because of the selfish act of one person. The amount of animosity (toward him) is nothing like you've ever seen before."

That Bergdahl was freed in an exchange for five detainees at Guantanamo Bay is a further source of consternation.

"I don't understand why we're trading prisoners at Gitmo for somebody who deserted during a time of war, which is an act of treason," Vierkant said.

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fellow soldiers call bowe bergdahl a deserter

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Fellow soldiers call Bowe Bergdahl a deserter, not a hero

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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.