Many of you are hearing that Bowe Bergdahl has returned to active duty at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. No doubt, you and are wondering why he has not already been placed in confinement for abandoning his post in Afghanistan. Dont jump to the conclusion--yet--that he is not going to be charged for his misconduct under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). One positive sign is that he has hired legal counsel. If the Article 32 investigation, UCMJ, finds that disciplinary proceedings against Bergdahl are warranted, it will be up to the chain of command to charge him. Note that UCMJ authority falls to the commander under the Code. It is also important to understand that command authority under UCMJ is a delegated authority from higher commanders to lower commanders. Any commander can restrict authority to punish service members under the UCMJ to their own level. Bottom line? The President is the senior commander (Commander-in-Chief). We wont necessarily know if he has restricted command authority in the Bergdahl case--unless he tells us. If he does not want to proceed against Bergdahl he can restrict command authority to the highest level (CIC) and refuse to charge the soldier; or, he may simply try to drag it out indefinitely. One tip-off to what he may be planning is that not one of the soldiers from Bergdahls unit have been interviewed. I cant say that Obama is going to prevent him from being tried by Courts-Martial; but until we see some real reason to believe otherwise, my money (if I were a betting man) is that Bergdahl will be protected by Obama. Dont blame the Army if Bergdahl walks! This is on President Obama!
Posted on: Wed, 16 Jul 2014 19:43:16 +0000
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