How Bowe Bergdahl's military 'healing' process could land him in trouble

Bowe Bergdahl will be asked, repeatedly to share his story in great detail with the US military team handling his reintegration. This sharing could ultimately incriminate him, however.

|
AP video/File
Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl (r.) stands with a Taliban fighter in eastern Afghanistan. Bergdahl was freed in a swap in which the US freed five Taliban detainees, a diplomatic victory for the insurgent group.

As Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl works through the process of reintegration after five years in captivity, he will, again and again, be asked to share his story in great detail with US military psychologists and intelligence analysts. 

This sharing could ultimately incriminate him, however, if it turns out that he deserted his post. In the political turmoil surrounding the prisoner of war’s release, US military officials duly promised to bring Sergeant Bergdahl to justice if he is found to have violated tenets of the US military code of justice.

So what is the protocol in a situation like this? Was Bergdahl read his rights, for example? In short, should he get a lawyer? The question is especially pertinent given that the US military's plan for handling Bergdahl’s treatment may conflict with his rights as a soldier suspected of deserting his post, warns one expert on military justice.

Reintegration is typically conducted in phases, says a Department of Defense personnel recovery expert, briefing reporters at the Pentagon on condition of anonymity. These phases involve a number of medical assessments and lots of “time-sensitive” debriefings. 

“We know, psychologically, that part of this process of healing is having these people tell their story repeatedly. And so we’re going to give them an opportunity to repeatedly go over and tell their story,” said a Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) psychologist, who also briefed the reporters.

Bergdahl, who has already begun the process of reintegration while in Germany, will be told that sharing this story repeatedly is critical if he is interested in helping his fellow soldiers stay safe.

“This is critical. DOD personnel generally have this brotherhood or sisterhood where they hang together. They know that we’re going to put people in harm’s way, and they want their story to somehow benefit their brothers in arms,” the military psychologist said. “And so they have this need to tell their story so we can learn lessons ... so that somehow somebody else doesn’t have to go through that same experience that they went through.” 

During this process, Bergdahl could potentially share with the reintegration team – which includes psychologists, intelligence specialists, a chaplain, a public affairs official, a military lawyer, and others – information that could be used against him. So, will this information be used against him?

A DOD personnel recovery expert, who spoke on the same conditions at the same briefing, said he was no expert on legalities. “What I can tell you, though, is that the team is there to build trust and rapport with him.” There is “an offer of confidentiality made” when he is speaking about his survival, evasion and escape.

Does this mean, then, a reporter asked, that Bergdahl is protected by some sort of confidentiality agreement? “Are you suggesting that what he says during his recovery period is just between those people in the room?”

On this point, the personnel recovery official stepped back. “I mean, time with the chaplain if he wants to have just, you know, discussions with the chaplain. With individual teams, it’s also, like we said, situation-dependent.” 

If during the course of telling the story of his experience “that brings a legal question to bear, then that’s when we’re going to consult with the legal person who’s going to give us guidance,” the official added. “And then, if they decide at that point to switch gears, then the reintegration will stop and then an investigation will begin.” 

The problem is that if officials conducting the reintegration proceedings suspect that Bergdahl has committed an offense under the Uniformed Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) – such as, say, desertion – then they are “required to advise him of his legal rights” before the proceedings begin, says a former senior judge advocate general (JAG) and colonel in the US military, who spoke on condition of anonymity. 

This must be done before the proceedings begin, not in the middle of them, the senior JAG adds. “If they don’t do it, then anything he says cannot be used against him.”  

It may be the case that the reintegration specialists are not asking Bergdahl questions intended to incriminate him. Instead of asking “Why did you leave your post?” for example, they might ask, “What were you feeling the day you disappeared?”

However, if in the course of answering this question, Bergdahl says something like, “I felt really bad so I deserted my post,” there will be some question as to whether this spontaneous confession is admissible that would likely be argued in military court, says the JAG. 

“In my judgment, there’s a high probability” that defense counsel for Bergdahl could argue that the “spontaneous confession” should not be admitted if he was not read his rights, because there could be a reasonable expectation that Bergdahl might incriminate himself, the JAG says.

There is also a large difference under the UCMJ between deserting one’s post and being absent without leave (AWOL). In order to charge desertion, US military officials must prove that Bergdahl “intended to stay away permanently” from his post. 

Desertion in a time of war is punishable by death, while in peace time, it is a dishonorable discharge and five years in prison. An AWOL charge tends to depend on how long a soldier has been away. If he is found to be AWOL, Bergdahl’s time in captivity, the JAG hastened to add, would not be held against him.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to How Bowe Bergdahl's military 'healing' process could land him in trouble
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Military/2014/0611/How-Bowe-Bergdahl-s-military-healing-process-could-land-him-in-trouble
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe