SGT Bergdahl faces little-known, rarely used misbehavior charge

It’s my view that both the Republicans (Trump being just one more) and Democrats are both deficient as regards actual military experience /veteran representation in the U.S. House of Representaives and U.S. Senate.

Re: By the numbers: Veterans in Congress
“Over the past 25 years nearly every congressional delegation has had fewer veterans than the previous group. Sixteen percent of senators and 18 percent of representatives in the new class will be military veterans or are currently serving."

"Jump back to 1971, when member military service was at its peak, veterans made up 72 percent of members in the House and 78 percent in the Senate. In 1981, that number dipped to 64 percent of members, but veterans still made up a majority of Congress.”

 

Does that mean I can take a page from the outlaw biker gangs and go get a 7%'er patch? (Based on population) :biglaugh:

 

Joke. It was a joke. Really. See the example of Allen West.

 

Again, a joke. Just a silly joke about Trump equating his military school experience as being like serving in the military. Just.a.little.joke.

As for the 'deficiency' you decry, it's a function of the elimination of the draft. Not so hard to see.

 

There is a correlation re the elimination of the draft; I understand that. My point being that our Congress is a collection of too many ideologues who: 1) have never been in the military, 2) would never be in the military, or 3) currently have any family members in the military … yet this same elected crowd makes those decisions to send U.S. troops in harm’s way into places like Iraq and Afghanistan for 3, 4, even 5 tours of duty without fully considering or understanding either the short-/longer-term consequences of those decisions. IMO Rich, our Nation is too much led by a Congress of attorneys, corporate and financial combatants—too very few with any tangible military experience. Perhaps a larger number /percentage with such familiarity might alter Congressional perspectives and decision making…

PS I got the Trump joke. Please don’t get me started on The Donald.



Our Trump views are likely quite similar. Isn't that a scary thought... :cool2:

 

Okay, my bad… :tapedshut:

 

Here's a Bergdahl update

General: Jail "inappropriate" for Bowe Bergdahl - CNNPolitics.com

 

Here's another update. A recommendation of no jail time.

Attorney: Army officer recommends no jail time for Bergdahl

 

A little different than the 'hang 'em high' crowd thinks.

 

I couldn't add any more than what is already included in the article's comment section...
Attorney: Army officer recommends no jail time for Bergdahl

 

There's a reason why the website is called "Yahoo," it seems.

The comments are filled with anger over someone none of the posters even knows or is affected by. Additionally none of them has complete information. (Nor do we.)

If the Article 32 hearing officer recommends no jail, that is interesting, but not the point of the hearing, which is to decide whether or not to proceed to Court-Martial. Given the incredible biases of military justice against the accused, an outcome in his favor would be astounding. But we don't know that, yet. So, rather than commenting on an outcome that has not yet occurred, perhaps a wait-and-see approach would be best....

NAW! Let's convict him in the court of public opinion and hang him now! Jurisprudence is un-American anyway, right? Geez, you'd think none of those kinds of posters had ever even HEARD of the U.S. Constitution.

I'll wait and see.

 

Your particular remarks, along with a lot of other opinions /views, were over and above covered within the comments (5677 and counting) section to the article.

Accordingly, the reasoning for my response:

E.g., “I couldn't add any more than what is already included in the article's comment section...”

Gen. Robert Abrams, CG U.S. Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) will be the responsible authority to make the decision whether or not this case proceeds to court-martial, as well as, the level of (if decided for): e.g., General, Special or Summary court-martial. Although a General court-martial would more likely provide the transparency Bergdahl’s defense team claims it wants. This was also already covered in the article comments section as well...

Gen. Robert B. Abrams
Commanding General, U.S. Army Forces Command

 

At least six good men got killed in search of him.

What are their names?

 

Re: 6 soldiers killed searching for ‘deserter’ POW, fueling backlash | New York Post

The six (1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division) U.S. Army soldiers who purportedly died while searching for Bergdahl:
Re: The 6 U.S. Soldiers Who Died Searching for Bowe Bergdahl - TIME

On Sept. 4, 2009, Private 1st Class Matthew Martinek, 20, of DeKalb, Ill., was seriously wounded in Paktika province when Taliban forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device, a rocket-propelled grenade and small-arms fire.

Staff Sergeant Kurt Curtiss, 27, of Murray, Utah, died Aug. 26 in Paktika Province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when he was shot while his unit was supporting Afghan security forces during an enemy attack. Like Bergdahl, Bowen and Walker, he was part of the 4th BCT.

Staff Sergeant Clayton Bowen, 29, of San Antonio, Texas, and Private 1st Class Morris Walker, 23, of Chapel Hill, N.C., were killed by a roadside bomb in Paktika province on Aug. 18, 2009, while trying to find Bergdahl. Like Bergdahl, they were part of the 4th BCT from Fort Richardson, Alaska.

Private First Class Morris Walker, 23, of Chapel Hill, N.C.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Airborne Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska; died Aug. 18 in Dila, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. Also killed was Staff Sgt. Clayton P. Bowen.

Staff Sergeant Michael Murphrey, 25, of Snyder, Texas, died Sept. 6 in Paktika province after being wounded by an IED. Like Bergdahl, Bowen, Walker, Curtiss and Andrews, Murphrey was part of the 4th BCT.

2nd Lieutenant Darryn Andrews, 34, of Dallas, Texas, died Sept. 4 in Paktika Province when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device and a rocket-propelled grenade. Like Bergdahl, Bowen, Walker and Curtiss, Andrews was part of the 4th BCT.

Note: Although direct evidence to link /support the allegation would unlikely be attainable, therefore unprovable in a court-martial proceeding …