U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl will stand trial on charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy.
Do read it all. The Army is to be commended for pursuing this despite the command influence that portrayed his service as honorable.
I keep reading people arguing that Bergdahl should not be punished because he spent so much time in Taliban captivity. I disagree.
The Taliban punished Bergdahl for his stupidity in thinking it was a good idea to go hang out with the Taliban.
The United States Army has the duty of trying Bergdahl for his alleged crimes under the Uniform Code of Military Justice--and if found guilty punishing him for the crimes he committed.
And remember that the UCMJ is only tangentially interested in justice for the accused. The purpose of the UCMJ is to keep our military an effective fighting force.
If Bergdahl is judged guilty, he must be punished for the convictions lest future troops decide they too can violate their oath of service and suffer no consequences.
So no, our military personnel do not operate under the Uniform Code of Jihadi Justice.
