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  • #31
    FORT BRAGG, North Carolina — The latest on the case of U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who disappeared in Afghanistan in 2009 and was held by the Taliban for five years (all times local):

    10:40 a.m.

    U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl made his first appearance before a military judge to face charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy.

    Bergdahl was arraigned Tuesday during a short hearing. He deferred entering a plea and did not decide whether he wants to face a court-martial with a jury or one with just a judge.

    Bergdahl answered “yes” and “no” to questions about whether he understood his rights and the court proceedings. He wore an Army dress uniform with a dark blue jacket and pants and had closely cropped hair. He mostly sat still in his chair and walked with his head down as he left the courtroom.

    The arraignment was held at Fort Bragg. If convicted at a general court-martial, Bergdahl could get life in prison on the misbehavior charge and up to five years for desertion.

    Bergdahl, 29, of Hailey, Idaho, walked off his post in eastern Afghanistan’s Paktika province on June 30, 2009. He was released in late May 2014 as part of a prisoner swap, in exchange for five detainees in Guantanamo Bay.
    Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

    FORT BRAGG, North Carolina — The latest on the case of U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who disappeared in Afghanistan in 2009 and was held by the Taliban for five years (all times local): 10:40 a.m. U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe…
    I wear a Fez. Fez-es are cool

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    • #32
      RALEIGH, N.C. — The military's case against Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl resumes with a pretrial hearing Tuesday that could result in his court-martial being moved until after this fall's elections.

      The government has proposed delaying the start of the trial to December so classified documents can be properly reviewed and prepared.

      Given the shape of the presidential campaign, that could mean Bergdahl will face military justice after voters decide in November whether the incoming commander-in-chief will be either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump.


      FEDERAL TIMES
      Federal Times

      Bergdahl's defense is already saying the presumptive Republican presidential nominee is damaging their client's chances for a fair trial by calling him a "dirty, rotten traitor," who "should have been executed."

      The 30-year-old soldier faces charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. The latter charge is relatively rare and carries the potential of life in prison.

      Bergdahl, of Hailey, Idaho, was quickly captured after walking off his combat post in Afghanistan in 2009. He was held as a prisoner of war for five years by the Taliban and its allies until President Obama exchanged five Guantanamo Bay detainees for his safe return, saying the U.S. "does not ever leave our men and women in uniform behind."

      Obama's decision was harshly criticized. Some members of Congress said it jeopardized national security. Trump has targeted Bergdahl for scorn dozens of times on the campaign trail, saying he should have been thrown from a plane.


      ARMY TIMES
      Bergdahl lawyers: Trump attacks damage chances of fair trial

      The defense's complaints about Trump have no bearing on the case right now, according to Rachel VanLandingham, a former Air Force lawyer who teaches at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles. But if he is elected in November and keeps up his harsh comments about Bergdahl, the defense could more effectively argue that a President Trump is pressuring Army brass for a conviction, she said.

      The lack of evidence that any service members were killed or wounded searching for the missing soldier led the Army's primary investigating officer to recommend against jail time, and a preliminary hearing officer recommended against a bad-conduct discharge.

      But those recommendations were scrapped in December by the general overseeing the case. Gen. Robert Abrams, who leads the Army Forces Command at Fort Bragg, sided with an Army lawyer's recommendation for a general court-martial.


      ARMY TIMES
      Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl explains his reasoning in newly released documents

      Both sides also may address Tuesday whether that Army lawyer's advice to Abrams was so incomplete that it misled the four-star general.

      Meanwhile, law enforcement officials have been notified that threats against Bergdahl continue, his attorneys said in a February court filing.

      "Given the many incendiary comments that have been broadcast and otherwise disseminated about Sgt. Bergdahl, his immediate commander at Fort Sam Houston has taken measures to ensure his physical safety when leaving the installation," they wrote.

      A spokesman at the Texas post declined to describe these measures, citing security considerations. But as "a group of soldiers, battle buddies, we all look out for each other," Sgt. Maj. Matt Howard said.

      Bergdahl can come and go the same as any other soldier from Fort Sam Houston, where he works a desk job in a headquarters unit, handling "a lot of administrative work that needs to be done. Paperwork, moving stuff from place to place, things like that," Howard said.

      I wear a Fez. Fez-es are cool

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      • #33
        Has anyone listened to the Serial podcast on this? Guy is a fruitcake. I don't believe he had malicious intentions, but at the same time he knew the consequences. His reasoning for leaving his post is really, really stupid. Like, brain not functioning properly stupid.

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        • #34
          Originally posted by BLAKE View Post
          Has anyone listened to the Serial podcast on this? Guy is a fruitcake. I don't believe he had malicious intentions, but at the same time he knew the consequences. His reasoning for leaving his post is really, really stupid. Like, brain not functioning properly stupid.
          His brain should be disconnected from his spinal cord via rope. That would fix his brain problem.
          Originally posted by MR EDD
          U defend him who use's racial slurs like hes drinking water.

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          • #35
            I vote a bullet to the back of the head.
            I wear a Fez. Fez-es are cool

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            • #36
              Originally posted by BLAKE View Post
              Has anyone listened to the Serial podcast on this? Guy is a fruitcake. I don't believe he had malicious intentions, but at the same time he knew the consequences. His reasoning for leaving his post is really, really stupid. Like, brain not functioning properly stupid.
              No, but one of my customers told me I should listen. Season 2, right?
              Originally posted by BradM
              But, just like condoms and women's rights, I don't believe in them.
              Originally posted by Leah
              In other news: Brent's meat melts in your mouth.

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              • #37
                Originally posted by Forever_frost View Post
                I vote a bullet to the back of the head.
                If he is guilty, I gotta go with Ceyko on this. It's been a while since we had a good old fashioned hanging.
                I don't like Republicans, but I really FUCKING hate Democrats.


                Sex with an Asian woman is great, but 30 minutes later you're horny again.

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                • #38
                  life for a deserter in a military pen is worse than life in prison for a pedophile . lock his ass away .

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                  • #39
                    Originally posted by bcoop View Post
                    No, but one of my customers told me I should listen. Season 2, right?
                    Yeah, S2. S1 was about that Sayed character.

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                    • #40
                      Originally posted by lowthreeohz View Post
                      Yeah, S2. S1 was about that Sayed character.
                      Yup. Great podcast.

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                      • #41
                        Originally posted by Forever_frost View Post
                        I vote a bullet to the back of the head.
                        Originally posted by LANTIRN View Post
                        If he is guilty, I gotta go with Ceyko on this. It's been a while since we had a good old fashioned hanging.
                        Personally, I won't be let down either way. He'll probably get some soft sentence. If so that is a real problem. One thing I always liked about the military was swift punishment with pretty clear rules to follow. Desertion was always more than frowned upon.
                        Originally posted by MR EDD
                        U defend him who use's racial slurs like hes drinking water.

                        Comment


                        • #42
                          Originally posted by BLAKE View Post
                          Yup. Great podcast.
                          Just finished with the 4th episode. Interesting story.
                          Originally posted by BradM
                          But, just like condoms and women's rights, I don't believe in them.
                          Originally posted by Leah
                          In other news: Brent's meat melts in your mouth.

                          Comment


                          • #43


                            A soldier who was part of a small team tasked with searching for alleged deserter Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl in Afghanistan in 2009, testified on Monday about an aggressive fire fight during their mission that ended in a severe injury to his hand and a bullet to the head of one of his comrades.

                            Jonathan Morita, who has left the Army but was a specialist in 2009, described the intense fire fight in Paktika Province, Afghanistan, where his team was pinned down. Bullets were flying overhead and rocket-propelled grenades were within sight, he said.

                            A rocket-propelled grenade struck Morita in his right hand, which he was using to hold his rifle. The grenade didn't explode, but caused the rifle to break in four places and inflicted severe injuries to his hand.

                            The team's medic was hit with shrapnel and, even as Morita attempted first aid, was struck.

                            Sgt. 1st Class Mark Allen, part of the embedded training team, was shot in the head.

                            In his testimony, Morita said he feared he would not make it out of the fire fight.

                            "I accepted the fact that I'm going to die in Afghanistan," he said. "I took out a Bible, read a quick verse and, again, covered my sector."

                            After his testimony, Morita glared at Bergdahl as he walked through the courtroom.

                            Morita, who was awarded the Purple Heart, was among five witnesses called by prosecutors to testify during the pretrial hearing Monday. The pretrial hearing is scheduled to continue today with at least one witness called by defense lawyers.

                            Bergdahl walked off a remote post in Afghanistan in 2009. He was subsequently held by the Taliban for nearly five years.

                            Bergdahl is charged with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy by endangering the safety of a command, unit or place. He could face life imprisonment if convicted of misbehavior before the enemy.

                            He is assigned to U.S. Army North at Joint Base San Antonio, Fort Sam Houston, Texas. He is not in pretrial confinement or any form of arrest, according to U.S. Army Forces Command.

                            Witnesses called by prosecutors described their experiences during search efforts for Bergdahl. Those witnesses were Col. Robert Campbell, former commander of 25th Infantry Division's 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry, 4th Brigade at Fort Wainwright, Alaska; Air Force Maj. John Marx, leader for the embedded training team; Col. Peter Minalga; Staff Sgt. Jason Walters; and Morita.

                            The testimony will be considered by Col. Jeffery Nance, the presiding military judge, as he decides whether to admit evidence that soldiers were injured while searching for Bergdahl.

                            In the cross examination, the defense lawyers asked questions regarding planning for the search mission, training for deployment and the unusual nature of an Air Force officer commanding Army personnel.

                            In testimony from another witness, Air Force Maj. John Marx described the fire fight in which Morita's hand was injured and Allen was shot in the head.

                            There were six Americans and 48 Afghan National Army on the mission, Marx said.

                            The team moved at night and hunkered down in a place that Marx said he believed had adequate cover. Marx said he dozed off for about 30 minutes and awoke to the sound of a motorcycle with a Taliban flag on it.

                            The team was conducting security and that's when the fire fight began, Marx said.

                            The motorcycle driver was shot and the passenger fled on foot. A medic was called to assist the injured driver, who eventually died.

                            Marx said Allen was next to him during the fire fight.

                            "I looked at him and saw a trickle of blood coming down from his forehead," Marx said.

                            The medical evacuation helicopter was not able to land until after the fire fight, which lasted about 30 to 45 minutes.

                            "But it felt like eternity," Marx said.

                            Dehydrated, tired and under stress, Marx said he picked up Allen's limp body to move to the helicopter.

                            "It was probably the hardest thing I've done in my entire life," he said.

                            Allen suffered a traumatic brain injury stroke. He is confined to a wheelchair and unable to communicate.

                            Staff Sgt. Jason Walters also testified to Allen's injuries during the fire fight.

                            Walters, with a buzz haircut and wearing his Army dress uniform and blue infantry cord, said the team took about 71/2 hours to plan their mission to search the village for Bergdahl.

                            Around 6 a.m., just hours after the team had arrived in locations near the village, Walters said he awoke to gunfire and Marx calling out for help.

                            Walters said he saw Marx and Allen jump the berm during the fire fight.

                            "I saw Allen got shot in the head," Walters said. "He kind of just slid the rest of the way down the berm."

                            Walters said he dove on Marx and started rendering medical care. He said he got on the radio and made requests for medical evacuation helicopters and close-air support.

                            Walters said his first sergeant put in for Walters to receive a Bronze Star, but was told the paperwork got lost.

                            In a separate motion, Nance approved a government request to push back the start date for the court-martial to May 15. It was originally scheduled to begin in February.

                            The pretrial hearing is scheduled to continue today at 9 a.m.

                            Staff writer Amanda Dolasinski can be reached at dolasinskia@fayobserver.com or 486-3528
                            I wear a Fez. Fez-es are cool

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                            • #44
                              I so hope that prick gets to spend the rest of his life making big rocks into little ones.

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                              • #45
                                I am saying this again to be sure that no one forgets it. Obama also paid $5,000,000,000 to Yemen as part of the deal to get Bergdahl freed.
                                Magnus, I am your father. You need to ask your mother about a man named Calvin Klein.

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