Remember Bowe Bergdahl, the Army sergeant who deserted from his unit, was captured by the Taliban, and was later exchanged for five terrorists?
You would think the army would have Bergdahl in the slammer, awaiting trial for desertion. But no. Bowe was recently seen at an illegal pot farm in Northern California that authorities raided.
According to the initial report from The Anderson Valley Advertiser, Bergdahl was an “unexpected visitor” at the Mendocino County farm, which is approximately 120 miles up the coast from San Francisco. He had “no connection to the dope grow,” according to that report.
Authorities from the county sheriff’s department confirmed to NBC Bay Area that Bergdahl did not face any charges and was not arrested during the raid.
The initial report from the Advertiser said that military officials were notified, quoting county sheriff Tom Allman who said that Bergdahl was not involved in the growing of marijuana and was “above politeness,” showing his military ID as others in the house were being arrested.
According to that report, he was escorted to Santa Rosa, California, by military personnel, to return to his duty station near Washington. The sheriff’s department confirmed that he was on authorized leave to visit friends.
A Rose Garden ceremony, celebrating his service as "honorable," and advancing the narrative that the five terrorists released in exchange for a deserter was a political masterstroke. This is Bergdahl's legacy, and this is why it is extremely doubtful that he will see the inside of a court-martial proceeding until after President Obama leaves office.
The narrative being advanced now about Bergdahl is that he never should have been accepted in the military, but the U.S. Army was desperate for soldiers in 2007 when he enlisted:
While many soldiers in the U.S. military’s history have served long sentences for such crimes, many are highly dubious he will serve a life sentence. There is a sense that there is no interest in handing out a long sentence to a soldier who may not have passed muster had the nation not been so desperate for troops when he joined in 2007—the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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