Looking for Sgt Bowe Bergdahl carried a heavy price

[TexasMommaWithAHat]

Looking for Sgt. Bowe Berdahl carried a heavy price, troops testify at his sentencing

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-bergdahl-sentencing-hearing-20171025-story.html

"Taking the witness stand, he veered between stoicism and tears as he described a mission in Afghanistan that had resulted in 18 surgeries and left him permanently injured.

The helicopters carrying his men took heavy shrapnel fire before landing in the remote province of Paktika. The first victim that day was a military canine named Remco, who was shot in the head while leading the men through a poppy field.

Then enemy fire struck Hatch, shattering his right femur. He screamed in pain as a comrade applied a tourniquet."


I remember it was debated whether anyone was actually injured looking for Bergdahl. Well, they were. And this poor soldier cried on the stand as he described his military dog, Remco, getting shot.

Can you imagine the disgust these men felt when Bergdahl received a hero's welcome? The men who searched for him are the real heroes and their voices deserve to be heard.

I'm glad Bergdahl is home, since he suffered immensely for his stupidity, but still...he knew the military's "no man left behind" policy, and knew he would put his fellow soldiers at risk. What a sick fuck he is. I hope he can someday find peace.

[bigtree]

1. you seem to attribute malice to the man

...there should be some allowance for his mental state.

These men aren't warriors, they're irrevocably human. I believe the entire military escapade was a tragedy, all the way through, for our troops and everyone else tasked or compelled to war against each other.

[TexasMommaWithAHat]

3. There's been no evidence that

Last edited Thu Oct 26, 2017, 09:50 AM - Edit history (2)

There's been no evidence that Bergdahl was incapable of understanding what he was doing. I don't believe he ever had diminished capacity.

Btw, my "malice" does not extend to a long sentence for him, but I do believe the truth should be told, which is why I posted this. Frankly, part of me would like to see him serve out some kind of sentence, but due to the nature of his captivity, I truly do not want to see him behind bars. He's endured worse than that already.

[shanny]

5. The fact that he washed out

Of basic training with the Coast Guard prior to being allowed to join the Army (an army in desperate need of recruits and with lowered standards) raises a big red flag for me.
He was set up to fail and he did. As such I think he is not solely to blame.

[TexasMommaWithAHat]

6. I can agree with you, and do

That doesn't change the fact that he did not have diminished capacity and knew that his fellow soldiers (and many others) would go looking for him. He was miserably, miserably unhappy, and left camp knowing that he was risking the lives of others.

Even the uninformed citizen on the street understands the term "no man left behind." That's why desertion is treated as the worst possible behavior any soldier can engage in.

He knowingly put others at risk. And that's why he will be held accountable.

[shanny]

7. Disagree

with your characterization of "miserably unhappy". He was psychologically unfit from the gitgo.

[TexasMommaWithAHat]

8. He was miserably unhappy because

he was psychologically unfit for military service. The military bears some responsibility for that very obviously!

However, he wasn't and did not suffer from diminished capacity.

[shanny]

9. He was discharged from the coast guard

after boot camp for psych reasons, not because he was miserably unhappy. That should have been enough to keep him out of the army but somehow it wasn't.

You and the prosecution can assert "no diminished capacity" all day long but it doesn't alter the fact that Bergdahl should never have been there in the first place.

Come to that, none of them should have been there.

[cwydro]

10. I agree with you.

And I do wish for some sentence for him.

[Not Ruth]

2. Hopefully this makes people think twice before joining the military based on some unrealistic image

[TexasMommaWithAHat]

4. I agree.

nt