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Soldier who claims to have served with Bergdahl says calling him a hero is out of the question
Jun 3, 2014, 12:45 PM | Updated: 3:09 pm
This undated file image provided by the U.S. Army shows Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. A Pentagon investigation concluded in 2010 that Bergdahl walked away from his unit, and after an initial flurry of searching, the military decided not to exert extraordinary efforts to rescue him, according to a former senior defense official who was involved in the matter. Instead, the U.S. government pursued negotiations to get him back over the following five years of his captivity -- a track that led to his release over the weekend. (AP Photo/U.S. Army, File)
(AP Photo/U.S. Army, File)
Questions loom over the swap of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl for five high-level members of Taliban. Opposite sides of a national debate are arguing about whether Bergdahl should be hailed as a hero or tried in court as a deserter, or worse.
A soldier who says he served in Bergdahl’s unit in Afghanistan reached out to The Dori Monson Show and tells Dori that calling Bergdahl a hero is just out of the question.
“Not only did he not do anything heroic,” said the listener who identified himself as Damon, “he directly and indirectly caused the deaths of some real heroes.”
Bergdahl disappeared on June 30, 2009. A Pentagon investigation concluded in 2010 that the evidence was “incontrovertible” that he walked away from his unit, said a former Pentagon official.
After an initial flurry of searching, the military curbed any high-risk rescue plans. But the U.S. government kept tabs on Bergdahl’s whereabouts with spies, drones and satellites, even as it pursued off-and-on negotiations to get him back over the five years of captivity that ended on Saturday.
The military never formally accused Bergdahl of desertion, but Damon isn’t afraid to use that word, and says Bergdahl leaving caused a lot of issues.
“Not only because we had to find him, but because resources were being diverted to that effort.”
In interviews as part of the probe, members of his unit portrayed Bergdahl as a naive, “delusional” person who thought he could help the Afghan people by leaving his Army post, said one official, who was present for the interviews.
From what Damon’s heard, he says there could be even more to it. “It appears that he intentionally, at least wanted to, desert in combat, but perhaps even wanted to defect to the Taliban.”
Damon thinks it’s a mistake to be lauding Bergdahl as a hero. He’d like to see Bergdahl court-martialed and also doesn’t think he’s deserving of his military pay since he walked away from his unit.
“If he had been collecting his Army pay this entire time, that should be taken away from him. He would have about $150,000 in his account, and he wasn’t serving the Army during that time, so he shouldn’t have it.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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