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Question of the Day: Bowe Bergdahl to the Stockade
On Monday, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl pleaded guilty to charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. He is looking at up to five years for desertion and possibly life in prison for misbehavior before the enemy.
The Question of the Day: How much time should Bergdahl face for his crimes and why?
The Ricochet Question of the Day poses a question about the news, then at the end of the day, we’ll post the best comments. Join the conversation!
Published in General
That is a tough question. Had Obama not traded Gitmo prisoners for his release, he probably could be evaluated more objectively. He plead guilty, so whatever those with more information than myself hand out, I would accept.
Let’s see.
He deserted in the face of the enemy.
His desertion led to the death of several soldiers from his unit, as they searched for him, unaware he had deserted.
Shame he cannot pay as much for his actions as his fellow soldiers did. While it is not Bergdahl’s fault Obama tried to use Bergdahl to juice Obama’s favorables, it is Bergdahl’s fault his fellow soldiers are dead.
Seawriter
So I’m not the only one that has been wondering about this?
From what has been said about his case, it seems that his peers felt he had deserted from the beginning, which makes the deaths of those searching for him even worse.
In prison as long as B. Obama lives. As a reminder.
Does the Military still hang people?
Whatever they decide I will likely be quietly grumbling that it was not enough.
This is tough to me. He was not psychologically equipped for deployment, which they should have known because he washed out of Coast Guard training before joining the Army. There’s also no question that he paid pretty heavily for his actions during his captivity. Five years for desertion and additional time for misbehavior before the enemy, but life seems too harsh to me. He’s a complete idiot who made terrible, dangerous choices, so he should do time. But I don’t understand the calls for execution. Even if people did die searching for him (which is not 100% clear to me, based on everything I’ve read on his case), his death wouldn’t fix that.
Let’s examine his own words before deserting. “. I am ashamed to be an american. And the title of US soldier is just the lie of fools. … The US army is the biggest joke the world has to laugh at.”
He planned this. He cost fellow soldiers their lives. If the Army wants to have discipline it must make examples of such a high profile horror shows.
Twenty years.
You thought I was going to say wood chipper, didn’t you.
I don’t believe this is quite correct. My understanding is that there were no fatalities on the rescue missions for Bergdahl, though there were serious injuries.
It’s all-but-certain, however, that the search for him indirectly lead to several American fatalities.
What punishment is due a Traitor? 60 years, with 2 days a week in solitary confinement, so he can ponder his crimes against his own country. No parole, ever.
Desertion is a serious, serious crime, but it is not the same as treason.
EDIT: Having re-read the charges, the desertion charge is serious, but not as serious as it sounds. The charge of misbehavior before the enemy, however, is a very crime and is closer in meaning to the everyday meaning of “desertion.”
How long? As long as it takes the firing squad to load and “discharge.”
It’s not like he left Fort Carson, Colorado, for Canada. He switched sides on the battlefield, getting several of his fellow soldiers killed. I don’t care how mentally deficient he is (that label would apply to a lot of liberals who still wouldn’t become traitors), there is such a thing as retributive justice — pour encourager les autres.
Obama’s actions surrounding this case were despicable, but that’s a whole other matter.
Not sure what can be done. POTUS Obama declared what Bergdahl done as serving with honor and distinction. Since these events happened under Obama’s watch it would seem that Bergdahl now has the Presidential seal of approval as to what merits honor and distinction under Obama’s leadership.
Again, this is not correct: Bergdahl was captured by the Taliban shortly after deserting his post. The court-martial charges that he plead guilty to were as follows:
Again, very serious stuff but not treason. I’m glad he was charged with these and will be punished for his crimes.
I’m not calling for his death. I just believe that was historically the penalty for desertion, so I’m surprised that the penalty is only 5 years now.
It is not an easy question, but I stand by the idea that the minimum penalty should include paying back funds “earned” while in captivity per his own decisions. Plus dishonorable discharge and stripping of all rank.
The rest would require more information.
Take a look at the charges above. Desertion is, essentially, leaving your station and responsibilities. As I’m reading it, it could apply to someone who leaves their post state-side.
The charge of misbehavior before the enemy seems to more closely match what we commonly mean by desertion:
Which, rightly, carries a much more severe penalty.
Again, it’s one thing to leave your post when stationed at home. It’s another to leave it in enemy territory. That the Taliban found him more useful as a bargaining chip than a jihadist is of no credit to him.*
It also didn’t help that his father showed up in the Rose Garden for the presser in full jihadi beard. Makes one wonder where their sympathies lie, doesn’t it?
And that the Obama administration didn’t advise a trim before going on camera? Just inexcusable. A slap in the face to America and her soldiers. Disgusting.
Let him meet his Maker and explain it to Him. There’s nothing God can’t forgive — the rest of us? We’re not God.
*I realize the USM Code of Justice may not allow for what I’m suggesting. But, I thought the question was simply, what do we think should happen.
Which is why he’s rightly been charged with “Misbehavior Before The Enemy by Endangering the Safety of a Command, Unit or Place.”
I’m with @westernchauvinist on this one and while this may mark me as one of the “simplisme”s John ______ Kerry used to sneer at, I am not just a little surprised at various comments expressing “how tough” a call this is. As a lawyer, I am painfully aware that there are nuances to this issue and its interpretation, but this man (?) switched sides, got several fine young Americans killed in the process of trying to find him, was hailed as a hero by The Single Worst President in the History of our Beloved Nation (dare I say “stupidly” as he characterized the actions of the Cambridge Police Officer?) and although I know this is purely wishful thinking-also not permitted by the applicable law– he should be executed by a firing squad, the old fashioned way! Way harsh, maybe, but ask the families of the soldiers who gave their lives to save this _______; they might well agree with me.
Sincerely, Jim
I’m sure there are sentencing guidelines and precedents, and I’ll accept that. As much contempt as I feel for Mr. Bergdahl, it would be a breach of justice to punish him as a proxy for an ex-president whom I hold in even lower esteem.
Well, I think it’s a tough call in that we don’t have all the facts, right? I’ve heard people who are more sympathetic to the BLM movement than I am say that a lot of cases shouldn’t be a “tough call” per how they’ve interpreted certain events.
I don’t think there’s any question that the guy deserted, but I don’t know enough to call up the firing squad. The penalty phase should be tough since none of us are in the courtroom, right???
No guidelines. The UCMJ defines the maximum punishment allowed for each offense. Not saying that military judges might not research punishments in similar cases. Plus, judges are required to consider the circumstances, i.e. the context, when determining sentencing.
My guess, busted to E1, maximum fine, bad conduct discharge (not dishonorable, though effectively there is no longer a difference) and 10 years in Leavenworth, with all his time in captivity offset against his sentence.
As a former soldier, I understand perfectly why the firing squad is a valid tool. Too bad we’ve devolved into such chickens about Bergdahl’s perfidious and deadly crime. I’ll bet Jane Fonda admires him.
Too bad he can’t be returned to Afghanistan to live in a cave.
899. ARTICLE 99. MISBEHAVIOR BEFORE THE ENEMY
10. Punitive Articles
Any person subject to this chapter who before or in the presence of the enemy–
shall be punished by death or such punishment as a court- martial may direct.
The sentence should be shockingly long – 40 years. It probably won’t be and he’ll get less.
Indeed. And, let’s not forget, the bargain Obama cut for him was the release of five of the worst of the worst jihadists. I think it highly likely more innocents have died than just those killed while searching for him as a result, and, possibly, even more American soldiers.
He should pay the ultimate price for the bloods of his betrayed brothers. He’s already been way more trouble than he’s worth. Let God decide how to dispense with him eternally.
Every soldier or military man or woman is thoroughly schooled in the Uniform Code of Military Justice, UCMJ, when it comes to certain specific acts, among them desertion. What happened to him after he deserted is of no concern to a courts martial board. That he was held in captivity by the enemy does not in any way exonerate or ameliorate his behavior. Nor do the deaths and injuries incurred by those who went looking for him. He should receive the maximum penalty for the act as prescribed by the UCMJ, no more, no less. The only effect that the consequences of his actions had on his unit are that they should prevent an unearned and unjust pardon or reduced sentence. The prescribed sanctions for specific acts are based on a presumed effect that that particular action will have on a soldier’s unit and comrades.
I guess I’d calling that a guideline.