Bergdahl Sentencing: No Prison Time, Dishonorable Discharge

originally posted by: intrptr
a reply to: SlapMonkey

Wake up and smell the ashes.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Wake up and answer the question.

My passive point was that you get so caught up in your holier-than-thou attitude when you comment that you don't even know what you're talking about. Nothing in his court-martial was "excused."

Yes, he got no confinement, and yes, that pisses me off because of the nature of the offense and what that does to a unit that is downrange, but if you're going to call people "jealous" and say "he got excused," at least know what the hell it is you're talking about.

No one is jealous, just frustrated at the "justice" system of the Army right now. If you don't like that we are frustrated, news flash: No one cares about your incorrect opinion on the topic. There are myriad details that the judge considered and technicalities that matter in the decision, and upon discussing it with some old Army JAG attorneys and other 27Ds, I understand the "why" behind the judge's sentencing, even though I still disagree with it. Suffice it to say that there was a burden-of-proof issue that played into it.

Regardless, what does that comment to which you linked have to do with my question to you? Answer: Absolutely not a damn thing. There are better ways to act when one grows a conscience in the military than to run to the arms of the opposition. Bergdahl acted exceptionally irresponsibly.

Hell, I'm not even saying that I disagree with ClovenSky's response to you, but like I said, there are better ways to express your conscience while still serving, and especially while you're deployed.

So, I'm glad that you think that you're all "woke," but your level of understanding of the military justice system and how one should act as a Soldier appears to be severely lacking. But, you know, subjective opinions fall under the category of "the inconveniences attending too much liberty," so I'll just accept that you have them and move on with my life.

a reply to: SlapMonkey

No one is jealous, just frustrated at the "justice" system of the Army right now. If you don't like that we are frustrated...

You said it yourself. You're peeved because you had to do your duty and he didn't.

You dress that 'excuse' anyway you like.

originally posted by: intrptr
You said it yourself. You're peeved because you had to do your duty and he didn't.

You dress that 'excuse' anyway you like.

I know, it's ridiculous for someone to hold someone to an oath that they take, or to expect that people take personal responsibility for their own actions.

Maybe, like you, I should call everything "excuses" and think that actions should have consequences (but, of course, only if they align with my ideological beliefs).

I didn't "have to do my duty"...there are myriad ways to be put out of the military other than desertion and a General Court-Martial, and I could have taken any of those. The difference is that, when I voluntarily commit to something, I follow through with it because I research what I'm getting myself into. In 2008, when he enlisted voluntarily, he should have understood what he was getting himself into--there was plenty of evidence by then that what we were doing over there wasn't exactly for the noble reasons originally propagandized to us--even many in the military were disillusioned with how we were fighting the wars and for what actual purpose.

So, no, I have no pity on Bowe Bergdahl, nor his decisions to which he must own up, nor the fact that he apparently had one of the world's most ridiculous plans that, in his mind, justified his decision:

According to Bergdahl’s own account, confirmed by an internal military investigation led by Maj. Gen. Kenneth Dahl, Bergdahl’s goal wasn’t to disappear into the Afghan wilderness or (as Trump alleged) turn traitor and defect to the Taliban.

Instead, he had a plan to blow the whistle on (apparently largely imagined) "officer incompetence" and mismanagement in his unit. He aimed to run across 20 miles of hostile territory to get to a forward operating base (FOB) called Sharana and inform the general there about what was going on.

He also planned to report and uncover new intelligence on the Taliban. “When I got back to the FOB, you know, they could say, ‘You left your position," he said in comments aired on Serial. "But I could say: ‘Well, I also got this information. So what are you going to do?’"

Vox

Again, assuming that we can take him at his own word, there are many, many better ways to go about reporting "'officer incompetence' and mismanagement." He chose the illegal way, and in doing so, it put anyone and everyone in his unit at risk in the immediate weeks and months afterward.

While I sympathize greatly with his conditions as a POW--again, assuming that we can trust his stories about what happened--the bottom line is that he abandoned his unit in a time of war, causing mass confusion and realigning of resources and efforts in order to find him.

Here's my concern about his claim about wanting to traverse the 18-20 miles, alone, in the Afghani wilderness, to get to the other operating base: Why didn't he leave an indication as to what he was doing? Some indication--any indication? A short note hidden somewhere that would take a couple days to find...anything?

But he didn't do that--instead, he just leaves on a hope and prayer into the enemy-infested wilderness to make it on-foot to another military base, and when he gets there, he expects cheers and a sit-down with a general?

He was obviously delusional, I'll give him that, but he still intentionally broke the law.

This Newsweek article, though, has softened by hatred a bit and brought it down to a strong disliking of Bergdahl, but no matter how you want to slice it, I'm not making "excuses" in order to despise a Soldier who abandons his unit and causes untold disruption to the mission, simply because he was unhappy with his leadership.

I can still pity the fella for his five years of sh*t and condemn his actions that got him there.

I don't even know why I just wasted all of this time on you--I can only imagine the single-line, thoughtless comment that you might reply with.

a reply to: SlapMonkey

I know, it's ridiculous for someone to hold someone to an oath that they take, or to expect that people take personal responsibility for their own actions.

You mean the oath to defend the constitution, you mean that 'oath'?

You can bury that next to the "Defense" department , lol.

originally posted by: intrptr
a reply to: SlapMonkey

I know, it's ridiculous for someone to hold someone to an oath that they take, or to expect that people take personal responsibility for their own actions.

You mean the oath to defend the constitution, you mean that 'oath'?

You can bury that next to the "Defense" department , lol.

Just as I suspected:

originally posted by: SlapMonkey
I don't even know why I just wasted all of this time on you--I can only imagine the single-line, thoughtless comment that you might reply with.

I guess that I should be impressed that you made it to two lines.

I doubt that you read past my first paragraph, though.

Best regards, I'm out.

a reply to: SlapMonkey

Because your 'lectures' became longer the more we go on with it. BTW, I already stated my case ad infinitum, too.

So yah, heres to trying to keep it simple...

a reply to: SlapMonkey

I have started a reply for this posting four times so far.

I guess i would be much better off to simply say, if I wrote down and published what I truly think and feel, I would be thrown off the internet.

a reply to: tinymind

Yeah--even taking into account that he may have had mental issues, it is obvious from his statements that he willingly and illegally left his unit/base without authorization and cause months of problems for the Army immediately after that decisions and directly because of his actions.

I have sympathy for his plight at the hands of the enemy, but not for his court-martial or dishonorable discharge--he earned those.