The Hero and the Deserter

Master Sergeant Mark Allen

     "It's a Good Day," exclaimed President Obama when after nearly five years in captivity, US Army deserter Bowe Bergdahl was on his way home. National Security Advisor Susan Rice commented on ABC’s This Week television program that Bergdahl “served the United States with honor and distinction.” 
     The US government’s price to bring this “hero” home was five once-senior Taliban figures held at Guantanamo Bay.
     Beaudry Robert "Bowe" Bergdahl (born March 28, 1986) was a United States Army soldier who was held captive from 2009 to 2014 by the Taliban-aligned Haqqani network in Afghanistan and Pakistan after he deserted. 
     Bergdahl was captured after deserting his post on June 30, 2009. He was released on May 31, 2014, as part of a prisoner exchange for five Taliban members who were being held at the detention center at Guantanamo Bay.
     Bergdahl was tried by general court-martial on charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy and on October 16, 2017, he entered a guilty plea before a military judge at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. 
     On November 3, 2017, he was sentenced to be dishonorably discharged, reduced in rank to private and fined $1,000 per month from his pay for ten months, with no prison time. 
     In June, 2019, the Army's Court of Criminal Appeals heard arguments in Bergdahl’s ongoing case in which his attorneys are contending that the case should be reconsidered or Berghdahl should be granted clemency because President Donald Trump's comments and tweets tainted the proceedings. 
     Donald Trump expressed his disdain toward the prisoner transfer of Bergdahl, calling the decision "a complete" and "total disgrace to our country and our Military.” Mr. Trump is wrong...it’s Bergdahl, himself, who is a complete and total disgrace to our country and our Military. 

Deserter Bergdahl

     Quietly and with little fanfare retired Army Master Sergeant Mark Allen died at the age of 46 a few days ago, 10 years after he was shot in the head in July 2009 while looking for Bergdahl. Master Sgt. Allen was unable to walk or speak since being shot in the head by a sniper in July 2009 while searching for Bergdahl. His wife, Shannon, wrote on Facebook that her husband’s injuries were the direct result of Bergdahl’s traitorous actions. 
     She testified during Bergdahl’s court-martial that it took 90 minutes to get her husband out of bed, showered and dressed each morning. She had to use a pulley system, which was attached to the ceiling to move him. She recently described how his young daughter enjoyed climbing into his wheelchair and sitting on his lap.
     Where is former President Obama's support for the Allen family?

The Allen family