Bowe Bergdahl's freedom infuriates veterans

Bowe Bergdahl should face a harsher punishment for desertion: Col. Hunt

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Bowe Bergdahl should face a harsher punishment for desertion: Col. Hunt

Retired Col. David Hunt reacts to the news that U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who abandoned his outpost in Afghanistan in 2009 and was subsequently held prisoner by the Taliban, would not face prison time for his desertion.

Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the U.S. Army soldier who made headlines for being captured by the Taliban after deserting his post in Afghanistan in 2009, will not be sent to prison, a North Carolina court ruled on Friday.

Bergdahl was sentenced to a dishonorable discharge, reduced in rank and fined after pleading guilty to endangering his comrades, but the fact that he will not face prison time infuriated some veterans.

“It’s disgraceful,” retired Col. David Hunt told FOX Business’ Neil Cavuto. “The jury is completely wrong. Of course he’s going to get a dishonorable discharge, but he has to spend time in prison.”

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Eight years after he was captured, 31-year-old Bergdahl pleaded guilty in mid-October to charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. He was the only American soldier to be captured by the Taliban, who held him for five years.  

Bergdahl’s capture, and eventual return to the U.S., ignited a controversial national debate, which included President Donald Trump, who repeatedly called him a “dirty, rotten traitor” who deserved death during the 2016 presidential campaign.


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