Bowe Bergdahl’s insultingly light sentence pissed off a lot of soldiers.
“I’ve had better days,” Johnathon Morita, a serviceman who was injured searching for Bergdahl, said on sentencing day.
In 2009 Bergdahl walked off of his post in Afghanistan and headed straight for the Taliban, sparking a five-year ordeal when he was instantly captured. The Obama administration eventually negotiated his release.
The saga ended Friday. A judge ruled that Bergdahl would receive a dishonorable discharge, lose his rank, and pay a $10,000 fine. Prosecutors’ demands for a 14-year jail term were ignored. Bergdahl walked out of court as a free man.
“The dishonorable discharge means he can’t receive any of these services like I can. He’ll pay the fine like people get fined for illegal fishing. Ok, whoop-de-doo,” Morita said bitterly.
The veteran doesn’t understand how Bergdahl managed to escape jail time.
“That’s the one that’s completely unacceptable. It should have maybe not been the life sentence, but it should have been something,” Morita said.
The defense argued that the inhumane treatment Bergdahl endured while being held by the Taliban should be considered punishment enough.
“Bergdahl himself testified that he was sorry for the wounds suffered by searchers. He also described brutal beatings by his captors, illness brought on by squalid conditions and maddening periods of isolation, most of it in a cramped cage,” the Daily Mail writes.
A lot of people aren’t satisfied with that defense. His crime isn’t lessened because it had bad consequences for himself. Multiple soldiers received life-long injuries while searching for Bergdahl.
“Sgt. Bergdahl does not have a monopoly on suffering as a result of his choices… The difference is, all the suffering stems from his choice,” said prosecutor Maj. Justin Oshana.
The decision on Sergeant Bergdahl is a complete and total disgrace to our Country and to our Military.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 3, 2017
(Source: Daily Mail)