WASHINGTON (AP) – The Army has finished its investigation into how and why Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl disappeared from his base in Afghanistan and plans to brief Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel this afternoon, officials said Friday.
Details about the probe’s conclusion have been closely held. The report could include recommendations on whether Bergdahl should be charged with any criminal violations or forced to leave the Army. Potential charges could be desertion or leaving his post and being “absent without leave,” or AWOL. The final disposition will also determine whether Bergdahl gets as much as $300,000 in back pay and other benefits.
Officials said Army Secretary John McHugh could send the case back to U.S. Army North, where the commander there, Lt. Gen. Perry Wiggins, would decide if charges are appropriate and what, if any, punishment is warranted.
Bergdahl disappeared on June 30, 2009, reportedly walking away from his unit after expressing misgivings about the U.S. military’s role – as well as his own – in Afghanistan. He was captured by the Taliban and held by members of the Haqqani network, an insurgent group tied to the Taliban that operates both in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
On May 31, Bergdahl was handed over to U.S. special forces in Afghanistan as part of an exchange for five top Taliban commanders who were imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. After spending about two weeks recuperating at a U.S. military hospital in Germany, Bergdahl was sent to Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston on June 13. He is now doing administrative duties at the base, awaiting the conclusion of the case.