Bowe Bergdahl to be charged with desertion

[Cow Poke]

Source: NYPost

U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, who disappeared from his base in Afghanistan in 2009 but was released last year in a prisoner swap with the Taliban, will be charged with desertion, according to NBC.

The television network, citing senior defense officials, said the charges could come within a week.

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[Sparko]

so they released terrorists for no reason after all. They should court-marshall the people who put that plan into action.

[Irate Canadian]

Source: NYPost

U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, who disappeared from his base in Afghanistan in 2009 but was released last year in a prisoner swap with the Taliban, will be charged with desertion, according to NBC.

The television network, citing senior defense officials, said the charges could come within a week.

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The hell kind of logic is this?

[Bill the Cat]

The hell kind of logic is this?

Obama Llama logic

[Epoetker]

so they released terrorists for no reason after all. They should court-marshall the people who put that plan into action.

For following the lawful orders of their superiors in the chain of command? I rather highly doubt the order came from people with a uniform and a rank, though people with uniforms and ranks carried them out. Blaming prison guards for releasing criminals at the orders of the mayor and police commissioner shows a rather shocking lack of familiarity with how the world works.

Please do some research on the structure of government before reflexively attacking people who would normally be on your side.

[Joel]

Should desertion even be a crime? Isn't that a violation of the prohibition of involuntary servitude? I'm pretty sure any other employer who forcibly prevents employees from quitting would be charged with involuntary servitude.

In the U.S. the maximum penalty on the books for desertion is death.

[Darth Executor]

Should desertion even be a crime? Isn't that a violation of the prohibition of involuntary servitude?

He volunteered.

[DesertBerean]

When you're in the military you pretty much put yourself at the mercy of others, my friend. Military discipline is based on making sure everybody stays put, does whatever they're told to do, and don't change sides. Desertion can be, and often is, an act of treachery, and the military wants to discourage anyone from even thinking of it.

in short, when you sign up, the government owns you.

[KingsGambit]

The issue becomes thornier if somebody is actually drafted (which obviously isn't the case here), but it's not difficult to see how the military creates a unique situation with the access to classified information and the like.

[myth]

I'm dumbfounded at the White House's logic on this. He left his unit voluntarily, so we're going to free to terrorists to get a deserter back? Sounds rather like we freed terrorists to kidnap a deserter. Epic fail.

[Manwë Súlimo]

Well, at least we gave the terrorists back their families.

[Cow Poke]

I'm dumbfounded at the White House's logic on this. He left his unit voluntarily, so we're going to free to terrorists to get a deserter back? Sounds rather like we freed terrorists to kidnap a deserter. Epic fail.

Not only did he do it voluntarily, he PLANNED it. It wasn't just a "gee, I think I'll wander off today" situation.

[rogue06]

Should desertion even be a crime? Isn't that a violation of the prohibition of involuntary servitude? I'm pretty sure any other employer who forcibly prevents employees from quitting would be charged with involuntary servitude.

In the U.S. the maximum penalty on the books for desertion is death.

The draft ended decades ago in the early 1970s. There was nothing involuntary about it. He volunteered.

[rogue06]

Source: NYPost

U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, who disappeared from his base in Afghanistan in 2009 but was released last year in a prisoner swap with the Taliban, will be charged with desertion, according to NBC.

The television network, citing senior defense officials, said the charges could come within a week.

© Copyright Original Source

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According to the Army Times the Army has not yet reached a decision

Source: Army: Bergdahl reports are untrue, no decision made

The Army says there is no truth to media reports claiming a decision has been made to charge Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl with desertion.

The Army continues to review the case against Bergdahl, said Paul Boyce, a spokesman for Forces Command, on Tuesday morning.

"Sgt. Bergdahl has not been charged with any crime," said Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby during a press briefing Tuesday afternoon.

"No decision has been made with respect to the case of Sgt. Bergdahl," Kirby said. "None. There is no timeline to make that decision, and Gen. [Mark] Milley is being put under no pressure to make a decision."



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© Copyright Original Source

This was released 3 hours ago but talks about claims made on the O'Reilly Factor Monday night rather than by NBC and others

[Joel]

He volunteered.

As do employees in general. That doesn't justify employers shooting employees that try to quit
(or imprisoning, etc).

in short, when you sign up, the government owns you.

Yeah, that's what I'm talking about.

it's not difficult to see how the military creates a unique situation with the access to classified information and the like.

There's lots of civilian employees with access to classified information, e.g. congressmen, NSA, CIA, FBI. They can quit their jobs.


Another possible argument is that it's because defense/combat/emergency is unique. That's lessened by the fact that police also engage in defense and sometimes combat, and rely on each other. And people join and leave police forces all the time. We can also consider private security forces, firemen, etc.