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US soldier freed from captivity in Afghanistan

Mostly I am happy for his family. They didn't do anything wrong and I can only imagine what they have been going through.
That said really don't care about this POS one way or the other. Dude walked off a US FOB unarmed because he was unhappy with America and thought he made friends with some Afghans. Can't say he didn't earn what he got.
I am just glad that none of my brothers in arms in the SOF community had to give their lives trying to rescue him. Now we just have to hope the guys we traded him for don't kill any other Americans or I would say it's not a worthwhile trade.
We should not be welcoming him home as some kind of hero. Turd should get a dishonorable and be done with it.
 
He's not a "brave young man" or any other kind of hero. He was (apparently) the unit scumbag who got pissed off at his lieutenant and so abandoned his post and ran away from the FOB. He probably has changed a lot since, and I hope he has grown up and become a better person. But this guy doesn't deserve any medals, he deserves to be formally charged.

Could care less what he did in the military. What he did now was amazing.
 
Could care less what he did in the military. What he did now was amazing.

And what exactly is it that he did.
And the fact that you don't care what he did while serving his country is rather sad.
 
And what exactly is it that he did.
And the fact that you don't care what he did while serving his country is rather sad.

So what he got discharged after 5 months. Point being?
 
i seriously can't believe that anyone is making this political.

seriously. the guy was a POW for five years. just be happy that he's coming home.

As cpwill has pointed out, this cat is the unit dud. We exchanged 5 Tals for him. Not sure he we should be all that thrilled about his return. Maybe, we should be more excited about him being brought up on charges.
 
Could care less what he did in the military. What he did now was amazing.

He was derelict in his duty. He endangered the lives of the rest of the members of his unit. And, you could care less?
 
He was derelict in his duty. He endangered the lives of the rest of the members of his unit. And, you could care less?

He got discharged after 5 months in training. You realize this right?
 
Mostly I am happy for his family. They didn't do anything wrong and I can only imagine what they have been going through.
That said really don't care about this POS one way or the other. Dude walked off a US FOB unarmed because he was unhappy with America and thought he made friends with some Afghans. Can't say he didn't earn what he got.
I am just glad that none of my brothers in arms in the SOF community had to give their lives trying to rescue him. Now we just have to hope the guys we traded him for don't kill any other Americans or I would say it's not a worthwhile trade.
We should not be welcoming him home as some kind of hero. Turd should get a dishonorable and be done with it.

That just to PC.

At the minium this "sad sack" should be tried under Article 85 of the UCMJ.


885. ARTICLE 85. DESERTION
10. Punitive Articles

(a) Any member of the armed forces who–

(1) without authority goes or remains absent from his unit, organization, or place of duty with intent to remain away therefrom permanently;

(2) quits his unit, organization, or place of duty with intent to avoid hazardous duty or to shirk important service; or

(3) without being regularly separated from one of the armed forces enlists or accepts an appointment in the same or another on of the armed forces without fully disclosing the fact that he has not been regularly separated, or enters any foreign armed service except when authorized by the United States; is guilty of desertion.

(b) Any commissioned officer of the armed forces who, after tender of his resignation and before notice of its acceptance, quits his post or proper duties without leave and with intent to remain away therefrom permanently is guilty of desertion.

(c) Any person found guilty of desertion or attempt to desert shall be punished, if the offense is committed in time of war, by death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct, but if the desertion or attempt to desert occurs at any other time, by such punishment, other than death, as a court-martial may direct.

885. ARTICLE 85. DESERTION « UCMJ – United States Code of Military Justice
 
PFC Matthew Michael Martinek, Staff Sgt. Kurt Robert Curtiss, SSG Clayton Bowen, PFC Morris Walker, SSG Michael Murphrey, 2LT Darryn Andrews all died looking for this deserter.
Obama will probably give him a medal for pushing the VA scandal out of the headlines.
We'll call it "The Distracted Double Cross"
 
PFC Matthew Michael Martinek, Staff Sgt. Kurt Robert Curtiss, SSG Clayton Bowen, PFC Morris Walker, SSG Michael Murphrey, 2LT Darryn Andrews all died looking for this deserter.
Obama will probably give him a medal for pushing the VA scandal out of the headlines.
We'll call it "The Distracted Double Cross"

"The Distinguished Service Distracted Double Cross".
 
>" Though Americans may be celebrating the release of the only American soldier held prisoner in Afghanistan by the Taliban, the reaction of the military community has been mixed at best.

Within an hour of the announcement that Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was handed over to U.S. special forces by the Taliban Saturday evening, Army Times’ Facebook page lit up with hundreds of comments reacting to the news.

Most centered on the circumstances surrounding Bergdahl's capture, which remain something of a mystery. There has been some speculation that he willingly walked away from his unit, raising the question of whether he could be charged with being absent without leave (AWOL) or desertion.

Many angrily called Bergdahl a traitor or a deserter. Stephen Kirouac, calling Bergdahl a “dirtbag” and “sympathizer,” was among many who seized on that speculation to criticize the rescued soldier.

“He is a dirtbag that now should spend the next 20yrs+ in Leavenworth ... his fellow soldiers were affected by his actions, he is a sympathizer and deserves to be tried for desertion," said Kirouac, whose Facebook profile identifies him as a company commander at Fort Bragg, North Carolina..."<

Military community reaction mixed to Bergdahl release | Navy Times | navytimes.com
 
As cpwill has pointed out, this cat is the unit dud. We exchanged 5 Tals for him. Not sure he we should be all that thrilled about his return. Maybe, we should be more excited about him being brought up on charges.

my full response to this post would break my resolution from a few years ago. i give exactly zero ****s about partisan nonsense. have a good one.
 
PFC Matthew Michael Martinek, Staff Sgt. Kurt Robert Curtiss, SSG Clayton Bowen, PFC Morris Walker, SSG Michael Murphrey, 2LT Darryn Andrews all died looking for this deserter.
You are justified in your outrage on this count.
Obama will probably give him a medal for pushing the VA scandal out of the headlines.
We'll call it "The Distracted Double Cross"
You'll never be justified using the VA scandal in this way to dishonor those dead soldiers who you are trying to use to always get at YOUR C-in-C..
What is it about the GOP and its posters that makes them feel they can dance on the graves of anyone KIA during a DEM President?

Besides, those hundreds of thousands of Veterans from the Iraqi war, backed up with Veterans until WW2, all happened under Obama didn't they?
Wasn't it Shenseki who made Vietnam Veterans eligible for more VA benefits with new rules on Agent Orange in 2009?
And wasn't it your GOP House who refused to pay for the Veterans' care, including for my Father ?
 
my full response to this post would break my resolution from a few years ago. i give exactly zero ****s about partisan nonsense. have a good one.

How is it, "partisan nonsense"?
 
How is it, "partisan nonsense"?

i'm not going to have a partisan fistfight about a POW's release. this will be my last response to anything you post on this subject.
 
Apparently we DO negotiate with terrorists. Of course we're glad to get this soldier back alive, but not at this cost. How many soldiers will these released Taliban kill? How many soldiers will now be hunted for ransom? What other unintended consequences will increase the threat to soldiers because we gave into terrorist demands.



State Dept:

That was what makes the thing feel uneasy.
 
You are justified in your outrage on this count.

You'll never be justified using the VA scandal in this way to dishonor those dead soldiers who you are trying to use to always get at YOUR C-in-C..
What is it about the GOP and its posters that makes them feel they can dance on the graves of anyone KIA during a DEM President?

Besides, those hundreds of thousands of Veterans from the Iraqi war, backed up with Veterans until WW2, all happened under Obama didn't they?
Wasn't it Shenseki who made Vietnam Veterans eligible for more VA benefits with new rules on Agent Orange in 2009?
And wasn't it your GOP House who refused to pay for the Veterans' care, including for my Father ?


I think this is going to blow up in Obama's face. He's already treating this deserter as some kind of a hero.

When Shrub first posted this story I had completely forgotten who Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was until cpwill reminded us that this was the scumbag who deserted his post in a combat zone. A capital offense.

It seems that those on active duty today and the Iraqi and Afghan vets didn't forget who this guy is and what he did.

I couple of Marines urinate on a dead Taliban fighter corpse and Obama ordered their court martial. This will be interesting if Obama will fulfill his oath of office as Commander in Chief and order the court martial of Bergdahl ?

Then a few hours later after this thread was first posted we are informed by members of Congress that President Obama broke the law by not first notifying Congress thirty days before any detainee being held at GITMO is removed from the facility. Not a misdemeanor by a high crime.

No partisan bull crap here. A soldier desert in violation of Article 85 of the UCMJ during war time, a capital offense and a President breaks the law again. When it becomes partisan is when Nancy Pelosi isn't writing up articles of impeachment.
 
You are justified in your outrage on this count.
I really don't need your permission
You'll never be justified using the VA scandal in this way to dishonor those dead soldiers who you are trying to use to always get at YOUR C-in-C..
He isn't mine I take no responsibility for his occupation in that office
And wasn't it your GOP House who refused to pay for the Veterans' care, including for my Father ?
You'll have to explain that one. I certainly hope you aren't referencing that distraction the dems put up recently that had no funding and violated the agreed upon limits Congress put on itself last year.
 
PFC Matthew Michael Martinek, Staff Sgt. Kurt Robert Curtiss, SSG Clayton Bowen, PFC Morris Walker, SSG Michael Murphrey, 2LT Darryn Andrews all died looking for this deserter.
Obama will probably give him a medal for pushing the VA scandal out of the headlines.
We'll call it "The Distracted Double Cross"



So many different stories.....any links on what he actually did?
 
I think this is wonderful news, especially of course for himself and also his family/parents. They must be over the moon and incredibly happy.

I think he will need serious mental health support in the near future because he will have suffered physically but he will also have suffered mentally, 5 years of captivity is not easy for anyone
.




No doubt that he'll need a lot of help.

Let's hope that he has better luck with the VA than many have had.
 
So many different stories.....any links on what he actually did?

Thomas Owens Forwarded from Jeff Howard.

"We were at OP Mest, Paktika Province, Afghanistan. It was a small outpost where B Co 1-501st INF (Airbone) ran operations out of, just an Infantry platoon and ANA counterparts there. The place was an Afghan graveyard. Bergdahl had been acting a little strange, telling people he wanted to "walk the earth" and kept a little journal talking about how he was meant for better things. No one thought anything about it. He was a little “out there”. Next morning he's gone. We search everywhere, and can't find him. He left his weapon, his kit, and other sensitive items. He only took some water, a compass and a knife. We find some afghan kids shortly after who saw an american walking north asking about where the taliban are. We get hits on our voice intercepter that Taliban has him, and we were close. We come to realize that the kid deserted his post, snuck out of camp and sought out Taliban… to join them. We were in a defensive position at OP Mest, where your focus is to keep people out. He knew where the blind spots were to slip out and that's what he did. It was supposed to be a 4-day mission but turned into several months of active searching. Everyone was spun up to find this guy. News outlets all over the country were putting out false information. It was hard to see, especially when we knew the truth about what happened and we lost good men trying to find him. PFC Matthew Michael Martinek, Staff Sgt. Kurt Robert Curtiss, SSG Clayton Bowen, PFC Morris Walker, SSG Michael Murphrey, 2LT Darryn Andrews, were all KIA from our unit who died looking for Bergdahl. Many others from various units were wounded or killed while actively looking for Bergdahl. Fighting Increased. IEDs and enemy ambushes increased. The Taliban knew that we were looking for him in high numbers and our movements were predictable. Because of Bergdahl, more men were out in danger, and more attacks on friendly camps and positions were conducted while we were out looking for him. His actions impacted the region more than anyone wants to admit. There is also no way to know what he told the Taliban: Our movements, locations, tactics, weak points on vehicles and other things for the enemy to exploit are just a few possibilities. The Government knows full well that he deserted. It looks bad and is a good propaganda piece for the Taliban. They refuse to acknowledge it. Hell they even promoted him to Sergeant which makes me sick. I feel for his family who only want their son/brother back. They don’t know the truth, or refuse to acknowledge it as well. What he did affected his family and his whole town back home, who don’t know the truth. Either way what matters is that good men died because of him. He has been lying on all those Taliban videos about everything since his “capture”. If he ever returns, he should be tried under the UCMJ for being a deserter and judged for what he did. Bergdahl is not a hero, he is not a soldier or an Infantryman. He failed his brothers. Now, sons and daughters are growing up without their fathers who died for him and he will have to face that truth someday."


From the comments -> US Soldier Freed from Captivity in Afghanistan | Military.com
 
No doubt that he'll need a lot of help.

Let's hope that he has better luck with the VA than many have had.

Sadly all US governments lately have been failing the brave men and women they have been sending into battle.
 
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