By Angelina Newsom:
There’s one name that can cause almost anyone who has ever served in the military to shake their heads: Bowe Bergdahl. After he was successfully freed in return for the release of five imprisoned members of the Taliban, Bergdahl’s name dominated the headlines. Not only were Americans outraged over former President Obama’s decision to release the terrorist suspects, it was a slap in the face to those who had lost people in the search for Bergdahl. In addition to endangering himself, Bergdahl put a number of his fellow service members in harm’s way during unsuccessful attempts at recovering him.
The entire country had some sort of reaction, and most impressions were not good. To make matters worse, Bergdahl dominated the media narrative during every step of his transition back into the military. Social media pages affiliated with service members all echoed the same sentiment—Bergdahl was a traitor who abandoned his post and should be tried as such. He also told his story via the Serial podcast, in which he claimed that he was attempting to bring attention to the what he believed was poor leadership in his unit. According to Bergdahl, the only way to have accomplished this was to walk away from his post. He has been diagnosed with mental illness, and is being charged with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy that endangered fellow soldiers. Bergdahl asked for a presidential pardon before Barack Obama left office in order to avoid being tried under the Trump administration.
Along with many others, President Donald Trump expressed his anger toward Bowe Bergdahl during his campaign, feeling that he deserved harsh punishment for his actions. After President Trump was elected to office, Bergdahl’s defense asked that the judge dismiss the charges as a result of the President’s statements, which they claimed caused enough prejudice to make a fair trial impossible. The judge rejected the argument and refused to dismiss the case. He said that while disturbing, the remarks President Trump made during his campaign wouldn’t interfere with Bergdahl’s right to a fair trial.
The defense intends to appeal the decision, citing “unlawful command influence.” According to the defense, since everyone involved now works for President Trump, this will affect their decisions and sway the outcome in favor of President Trump’s opinion. To insinuate that members of the military who are involved with the case are unable to perform their duties lawfully is insulting. The defense implies that these service members have the potential to follow unlawful orders and would be willing to do so to carry out an agenda.
I think what the team who represents Bowe Bergdahl fails to realize is that there are those within the United States Armed Forces who possess not only honor, but integrity. In fact, most service members pride themselves on their ability to put duty first. The judge himself wrote that President Trump’s comments were “disturbing and disappointing” in his ruling. That is a good indication that the court wouldn’t allow comments made by the commander-in-chief to degrade the military judicial process.
Angelina Newsom is an OpsLens Contributor and U.S. Army Veteran. She has ten years experience in the military, including a deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. She studies Criminal Justice and is still active within the military community.
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