WASHINGTON — Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the Army soldier who spent five years as a Taliban captive, could spend the rest of his life in a US prison for abandoning his post in Afghanistan.
Bergdahl, 28, was charged Wednesday with desertion and “misbehavior before the enemy” that endangered his comrades, the Army said Wednesday.
“The accused quit his unit or place of duty,” according to a statement issued at Fort Bragg, NC. “The accused did so with the intent to avoid or shirk certain service.”
The announcement was the culmination of a months-long investigation into Bergdahl’s disappearance in June 2009 from his unit in Paktika Province.
He was subsequently kidnapped and remained in Taliban captivity until the Obama administration negotiated his controversial release in May 2014, in exchange for five Taliban commanders held at Guantanamo Bay.
Fellow soldiers who put their lives at risk searching for Bergdahl were stunned by the prisoner swap and expressed relief that he was being charged.
“I feel that it’s finally justice being done,” former Army Sgt. Josh Korder, who served with Bergdahl in Afghanistan, told CNN.
Bergdahl’s attorney, Eugene Fidell, told The Post he was “philosophical” about the charges.
“We certainly weren’t surprised that there was a charge of desertion,” he said. “The charge of misbehavior before the enemy, I think, is piling on.”
The charges raised more questions about whether the US should have given up valuable prisoners, known as the Taliban 5, for a soldier who is now accused of desertion and putting other soldiers in peril.
“I don’t think that it’s especially worth the life of a deserter to return five high Taliban commanders back to the battlefield,” Korder said.
Bergdahl was formally charged with desertion with intent to shirk important or hazardous duty, and misbehavior before the enemy by endangering the safety of a command, unit or place.
It’s the latter charge that carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, dishonorable discharge and total forfeiture of all pay and allowances. Desertion is punishable by only a maximum five years’ imprisonment.
Bergdahl’s case now heads for an Article 32 preliminary hearing — similar to a civilian grand jury inquiry — to determine whether there’s enough evidence to merit a court-marital.
The hearing will be held at Fort Sam Houston in Texas.
When Bergdahl was released last year, President Obama made the announcement in a Rose Garden ceremony with the GI’s parents. “The United States of America does not ever leave our men and women in uniform behind,” Obama said.
National Security Adviser Susan Rice added Bergdahl served “with honor and distinction.”
But members of Congress were furious for being left in the dark about the swap, which the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office ruled was illegal because Congress was not given one month’s advance notice.
The charges against Bergdahl on Wednesday fanned the flames.
“President Obama endangered our national security and broke the law when he chose to negotiate with terrorists and release hardened enemy combatants from Guantanamo Bay in exchange for Sgt. Bergdahl, who many believed at the time was a deserter,” said Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas).