Soldier Held by Taliban Faces Court-Martial

Sgt. B. Bergdahl's release was in exchange for five Taliban detainees at Guantanamo Bay. Now, his attorney says that his case was referred for trial by a general court-martial. According to Attorney E Fidell, the convening authority decided not to follow the advice of the preliminary hearing officer.  The officer had recommended the case be moved to a special misdemeanor-level court. In a statement on Monday, Fidell said he hoped the case would not take this direction. Bergdahl is a native of Hailey, Idaho.  The Taliban captured and held him for nearly five years.  This was after he left his post in Afghanistan on June 30, 2009. The Army charged him with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy in March. On Monday (Dec. 14), the U.S. Army Forces Command said the commanding general referred the following charges: desertion and misbehavior before the enemy by endangering the safety of a command, unit, or place. According to a news release issued by the Army, they will hold Bergdahl’s arraignment hearing at Fort Bragg, North Carolina – one of the largest U.S. Army installations. The release did not announce the arraignment date. Bergdahl has not publicly discussed his reasons for walking off base in Afghanistan.  Nor has he discussed being a prisoner for five years.  However, his conversations with Mark Boal, a screenwriter, are playing on the new season of the podcast Serial, which began airing earlier this month. In the first episode of Serial, he said that his leaving the base had to do with warning others about severe problems within the unit’s leadership, NBC News reported.

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