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So he got exactly what he volunteered for when he deserted and went looking for them and then found out it wasn't what he thought it should be. His fault, his problem...
So he got exactly what he volunteered for when he deserted and went looking for them and then found out it wasn't what he thought it should be. His fault, his problem...
I never excused his conduct. All I said is that he suffered as a result of it. He did not give aid and comfort to the enemy, nor did he have any intent to. If it comes out during a court martial that he did intend to do these things, then he can be tried (and even executed) for treason. Otherwise he is a former soldier with mental problems who has suffered enough already.
So he got exactly what he volunteered for when he deserted and went looking for them and then found out it wasn't what he thought it should be. His fault, his problem...
If you read through the details of his captivity it was severe, his choice of course.
I never excused his conduct. All I said is that he suffered as a result of it. He did not give aid and comfort to the enemy, nor did he have any intent to. If it comes out during a court martial that he did intend to do these things, then he can be tried (and even executed) for treason. Otherwise he is a former soldier with mental problems who has suffered enough already.
He hasn't served any legal penalties as of yet, what happened due to his own actions outside the legal system is fully his problem and should not be considered.
You do realize that this country persecutes and penalizes a whole bunch of people who've served a long, severe sentence or have according to the legal system "suffered enough"?
Why should he be treated any different?
Think of it this way, let's say a bank robber gets into a shootout injuring several cops and killing one of his crook buddies and loses his arm, or his spine is injured and he can no longer walk.
Should he then be sentenced to a lesser jail term or sent home on probation because he lost his arm or ability to walk solely due to his actions?
I mean, he will suffer for life after that...
I never excused his conduct. All I said is that he suffered as a result of it. He did not give aid and comfort to the enemy, nor did he have any intent to. If it comes out during a court martial that he did intend to do these things, then he can be tried (and even executed) for treason. Otherwise he is a former soldier with mental problems who has suffered enough already.
I guess the way I look at is, if I try and mug you with a knife and somehow you turn that knife on me and stab me with it while defending yourself, when the police come should they just say "oh, even stevens" since I got stabbed and I'm very sorry for trying to mug you and let me go, or should they still go ahead and arrest me for attempting to mug you in the first place?
Bergdahl's time in captivity was a direct consequence of his own decision making but it is completely separate from the legal repercussions of his actions. As a combat veteran I think I am more willing to forgive his actions than most veterans as long as they drop the hammer on him in every possible outside of actual prison time.
Loss of rank, severe financial penalties and a dishonorable discharge should be the bare minimum punishment for him.
I guess the way I look at is, if I try and mug you with a knife and somehow you turn that knife on me and stab me with it while defending yourself, when the police come should they just say "oh, even stevens" since I got stabbed and I'm very sorry for trying to mug you and let me go, or should they still go ahead and arrest me for attempting to mug you in the first place?
Bergdahl's time in captivity was a direct consequence of his own decision making but it is completely separate from the legal repercussions of his actions. As a combat veteran I think I am more willing to forgive his actions than most veterans as long as they drop the hammer on him in every possible outside of actual prison time.
Loss of rank, severe financial penalties and a dishonorable discharge should be the bare minimum punishment for him.
Bergdahl was accepted into a position he never belonged, stop making believe that this was a normal and rational person. Blame the military for not acknowledging his obvious mental issues.
Bergdahl was accepted into a position he never belonged, stop making believe that this was a normal and rational person. Blame the military for not acknowledging his obvious mental issues.
The actual psych evaluation done on him found that his existing mental conditions did not hinder him in understanding the inherent wrongness of his decisions.
Quote:
The Sanity Board evaluation states Bergdahl still understood that his actions in walking away from his unit were wrong. The board also found he does not currently suffer from psychological problems that would prevent him from standing trial. [LEFT]
Read more here: Here[/LEFT]
You can have mental health issues and still be fully able to make coherent decisions. He was coherent enough to get through Basic Infantry Training as well as Airborne School, neither of which is easy to finish and was a perfectly fine soldier until he ended up deploying and went through the same phase a lot of soldiers go through, questioning the leadership above him. The difference being that this guy actually decided that he was going to go meet up with the Taliban and see if the action was any better over on that side so he wound up walking away from his post, screwing over numerous people in the process.
Quote:
Bergdahl’s plea sets up a pre-sentence trial starting Oct. 23 at Fort Bragg that’s expected to include dramatic testimony about three troops seriously injured during search-and-rescue missions launched to find him. Two of them suffered disabling injuries: Army National Guard Sgt. 1st Class Mark Allen, who in 2009 was shot in the head searching for Bergdahl, leaving him confined to a wheelchair and unable to talk; and Navy SEAL Jimmy Hatch, who was shot in the leg on another search the next day, leaving him with a permanent limp.
He is facing judgment in our courts as should be the case. Shame on those who said the Obama administration shouldn't try to bring him back.
They should have sought to bring him back, what they shouldn't have done is to have propped him up as some sort of war hero the way Susan Rice did which angered a hell of a lot of veterans.
There was nothing honorable about Bergdahl's service. The only thing that was distinct is how he dishonored both himself and the uniform he wore. Even the Pentagon never classified Bergdahl as a POW because of the circumstances regarding his disappearance and suspicions that he had been actively aiding the Taliban to better target U.S. forces.
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His fault, his problem...
