Bergdahl could get 350k tax free, if cleard by Army

"Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl could have a tax-free $350,000 dropped into his bank account if the current investigation into his disappearance from his base in Afghanistan was not desertion, and if he is deemed to have been a prisoner of war for the five years he was held by Islamic militants, Fox News has learned."

Bergdahl could get 350k tax free, if cleard by Army

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!! This could be the most ridiculous thing I've read in awhile. How could the Army even clear him with people from his own platoon speaking out against him and how he was acting. I'm fully expecting the Army to clear him, since I'm sure the man in charge doesn't want this to blow up even bigger like he knows it should be...

This trial will be fascinating to watch, I hope Bergdahl is found guilty of everything plus 50 lashes at the alter.

a reply to: wutang717

Hold your horse there buddy. From your source:

Bergdahl is due approximately $200,000 in back pay for the time he was in Taliban hands. He would be eligible for another $150,000 if an ongoing probe determines he was a prisoner of war. Both sums could be tax free for Bergdahl, who was promoted from private first class to sergeant during the time he was held.

Under tax rules for military pay, enlisted personnel can exclude active-duty pay earned while serving in a combat zone. And, according to the Department of Defense’s financial management regulation, payments to former captives generally are not taxable if the captive status resulted from the deprivation of personal rights, such as terrorist activity.

So $200,000 of that $350,000 is backpay that the government OWES him for being a US soldier. You know pay he EARNED. The remaining $150,000 is the amount that he could receive and that is ONLY if he is cleared by the Sec of the Army. He could still be convicted.

This article is nice and flashy, but it is making many statements that are reliant on conditionals. He has to be CLEARED first and foremost. And not to mention, almost 2/3rds of that money he could receive, he is already owed for having served in the military. This article seems to be written in a way to get the reader to read the article title and at the most the first paragraph before sharing it on facebook or his social networking site of choice. Gotta love Faux News...

If he was a deserter the only thing he is owed a nice stay at leaven worth.

If he deserted and WILLFULY aided the Taliban he is owed a nice stay at club Gitmo.

Tax 'free' money is the last thing he is 'owed'.

a reply to: neo96

Your entire post is based on if, so let's let the investigation finish and then we can condem him

a reply to: Krazysh0t

If you leave your Job and never come back, do you still get paid? So how is he going to be paid when found as a deserter?

Hell the fact that this guy can walk around freely with someone 'just' watching is awful enough, only a matter of time until he is found out as a try-to-be Taliban, WHAT THAN???!!???


What I'm pissed about is that he'll get the money for DOING THIS ON HIS OWN, if he wins you will see tons and tons of soldiers trying to do this just to get a payday.

a reply to: Sremmos80

What do you mean IF???

The guy left his m*****f*****g post, on his own accord!!! How is that enough proof, it's called desertion look it up please.

originally posted by: Sremmos80
a reply to: neo96

Your entire post is based on if, so let's let the investigation finish and then we can condem him

Based off this:

www.cnn.com...

But I guess it is just easier for those to have selective reading issues, and just gloss of how that comment began.

IF.

a reply to: wutang717

I find it ironic, and quite distasteful, that there is such a will to see this man dragged through the muck without his guilt or innocence having been proven in a court of law.

That strikes me as the manner of thing, that people used to Taliban controlled areas might call justice, but it does not belong anywhere near this issue. To state, or even secretly believe otherwise, is to form an alliance with the very forces which some Americans believe their nation is fighting against (read: Funding).

a reply to: neo96

These soldiers were coached republican strategist helped....

BTW Bergdahl is returning to active service. CNN

originally posted by: wutang717
a reply to: Krazysh0t

If you leave your Job and never come back, do you still get paid? So how is he going to be paid when found as a deserter?

Hell the fact that this guy can walk around freely with someone 'just' watching is awful enough, only a matter of time until he is found out as a try-to-be Taliban, WHAT THAN???!!???


What I'm pissed about is that he'll get the money for DOING THIS ON HIS OWN, if he wins you will see tons and tons of soldiers trying to do this just to get a payday.

You don't know how the military works do you? When you sign up, you sign a contract. You cannot be fired from the job and the only way to leave is to be discharged. Otherwise, you are on duty and drawing a paycheck. So while this guy was a POW, he was earning a paycheck. Also keep in mind, it hasn't been determined if he deserted or not. So to claim that he is guilty before even getting a trial isn't very fair. Instead of internet juroring, how about you let the military determine his guilt?

originally posted by: Krazysh0t

originally posted by: wutang717
a reply to: Krazysh0t

If you leave your Job and never come back, do you still get paid? So how is he going to be paid when found as a deserter?

Hell the fact that this guy can walk around freely with someone 'just' watching is awful enough, only a matter of time until he is found out as a try-to-be Taliban, WHAT THAN???!!???


What I'm pissed about is that he'll get the money for DOING THIS ON HIS OWN, if he wins you will see tons and tons of soldiers trying to do this just to get a payday.

You don't know how the military works do you? When you sign up, you sign a contract. You cannot be fired from the job and the only way to leave is to be discharged. Otherwise, you are on duty and drawing a paycheck. So while this guy was a POW, he was earning a paycheck. Also keep in mind, it hasn't been determined if he deserted or not. So to claim that he is guilty before even getting a trial isn't very fair. Instead of internet juroring, how about you let the military determine his guilt?

really? can't be fired?

allenbwest.com...

There is stupid and then there is simply absurd. The Obama administration is sending pink slips to troops while they’re serving in a war zone.
Read more at allenbwest.com...

Perhaps he is the best Spy ever...in that case he deserves a medal.

and that's the rub, burgdahl gets back to work under these circumstances and others are being let go.

it will be a stretch if he gets anything, IMO.

a reply to: wutang717

Simple - Politics.

When Obama did what he did, leaping before he looked while trying to claim a win on the military side of scandals, it blew up in his face. The only way to fix that, aside from Obama admitting he screwed up by this action (and since Obama never does any wrong, I don't see that happening anytime soon), is to clear Bergdahl.

This smacks of political interference like no other.

If we look at Obama's track record its clear he will represent foreign interests over American citizens. Obama seems to be going out of his way to appease those who threaten to destroy the US while punishing those who have been our allies for decades.

a reply to: wutang717

Politely, I'd say he deserves every penny, tax free. I would not have swapped places with him for a lot more money than that.

a reply to: MrJohnSmith

Your comment made me think of L. H. Oswald and Kennedys assassination.

Specifically how Oswald was able to renounce his citizenship, defect to the Soviet Union, work there for a few years, marry the daughter of a KGB officer, only to be loaned the money by the US government to come back to the US, with full US citizenship, with absolutely no charges brought against him for his defection / actions in the Soviet union (he told the US Embassy he was going to disclose top secret info about the abilities to the Soviet Union).

Not saying this is what's going on but I can see some parallel's.

i dont see why american people so riled up with this poor soldier's alleged behaviour. as far as i know he was a volunteer who joined US military because of patriotic reasons. Then in afghanistan he got an ephipany and like a spiritual enlightment he realized the master he is serving is truly evil and his own friends behaves unbelievably evil. So i applaud his bravery to leave it all behind because he cannot bear it in his conscience to continue serving the evil master.

no desertion here, he joined to serve AMERICA and in reality the 'AMERICA' he served is not the same america as the old days.

a reply to: milomilo

If you familiarized yourself with US military law he could have requested conscientious objector status, a moral objection to what he was being ordered to do.

As for volunteer, it undermines the above possibility. He knew what he was getting into before he signed up.

As for the rest, i will refrain until an investigation is complete and will see how it looks in comparison to what Obama and Susan Rice claims.

originally posted by: Xcathdra
a reply to: milomilo

If you familiarized yourself with US military law he could have requested conscientious objector status, a moral objection to what he was being ordered to do.

As for volunteer, it undermines the above possibility. He knew what he was getting into before he signed up.

As for the rest, i will refrain until an investigation is complete and will see how it looks in comparison to what Obama and Susan Rice claims.

i hope he got a just and fair trial , because deep inside i knew he is in the right , his conscience is clean. This is what an american soldier should act , a soldier who have a high morale standard. Not like the current killers and murdereds on payroll by corrupt goverment.

a reply to: milomilo

There has been no trial as of yet. They are still in the investigation stage.