A Timeline Of Bowe Bergdahl's 5 Years In Captivity

00000176-d8fc-dce8-adff-faff728f0003Bowe Bergdahl was born on March 28, 1986 to Bob and Jani Bergdahl in Sun Valley, Idaho. Bowe was raised in neighboring Hailey, Idaho, where his parents still live.On June 30, 2009, then 23-year-old Bowe Bergdahl is widely reported to have walked off his Army base in Afghanistan. Less than a month later, the Washington Post reports, Bergdahl appeared in the first of several Taliban-affiliated videos. In it, Bergdahl "says he was captured after lagging behind during a patrol," writes the Post.Here's a timeline of events.May 2008: Bergdahl enlists in the U.S. ArmyJune 30, 2009: Bergdahl reported missingJuly 2, 2009: CNN reports a U.S. military official says Bergdahl is being held by the clan of warlord Siraj Haqqani.July 18, 2009: The Taliban posts a video of Bergdahl.Dec. 25, 2009: Bergdahl's captor's release a second video of the solider.April 7, 2010: The Washington Post reports that the Taliban "posts a video showing Bergdahl pleading to be sent home and saying the war in Afghanistan is not worth the human cost."June 2010: The U.S. Army promotes Bergdahl to specialist.Dec. 7, 2010: CNN reports Bergdahl's captors release a 45-minute video showing a thinner soldier.Feb. 2011: Bergdahl's captors release another video.May 6, 2011: Bergdahl's father, Bob, posts a YouTube video asking for his son's release.June 16, 2011: The U.S. Army promotes Bergdahl to sergeant.May 9, 2012: Bob and Jani Bergdahl give an interview to the New York Times. The Bergdahls say the U.S. government is engaged in secret negotiations with the Taliban over a possible prisoner swap.June 6, 2013: Bergdahl’s family announces that “through the International Committee of the Red Cross, we recently received a letter we’re confident was written to us by our son.”Jan. 15, 2014: Bergdahl's captors release a proof-of-life video. Still unreleased publicly, the video reportedly shows Bergdahl in declining health.Feb. 23, 2014: The Taliban says it suspended prisoner-swap talks with the United States government.April 24, 2014: The U.S. government says prisoner-swap talks aren't disorganized. May 31, 2014: The U.S. government announces Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was released by his captors in exchange for five U.S. detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.March 25, 2015: Following a U.S. Military investigation, the Army announced Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl will be charged with desertion, avoiding military service, and misbehavior before the enemy.This information was compiled from various media reports including The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, The Associated Press, Northwest News Network.

Reports: Bergdahl Tells Medical Officials Taliban Kept Him In A Cage

By Eyder Peralta

Published June 8, 2014 at 10:05 AM MDT

In this file image taken from video obtained from Voice Of Jihad Website, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl (right) stands with a Taliban fighter in eastern Afghanistan.

The New York Times and the Associated Press are reporting details about how Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was treated by his Taliban captors.

The AP reports that Bergdahl, who was freed after almost five years when the U.S. agreed to trade five Taliban prisoners in exchange for the U.S. soldier, was tortured and beaten and held in a cage in Afghanistan.

The New York Times adds that Bergdahl is still receiving medical treatment in a military hospital in Germany. He has not been allowed to consume media coverage, so he is oblivious to the debate his release has unleashed in the United States.

The paper adds:

"He has received a letter from his sister but has not yet responded, and objects when hospital staff address him as sergeant instead of private first class, his rank when he was captured nearly five years ago after walking off a remote outpost in eastern Afghanistan, the official said.

"While medical officials are pressing him for details about his time in captivity to help begin repairing his medical and psychological wounds, these specialists have not yet focused on the critical questions about why he left his outpost and how he was captured by insurgents, the officials said — and there is no predetermined schedule for doing so.

"'Physically, he could be put on a plane to the U.S. tomorrow, but there are still a couple of mental criteria to address: the family unification piece and the media exposure piece,' said one American official who has been briefed on the sergeant's condition."

Meanwhile, NPR has confirmed that the FBI is investigating threats made against Bergdahl's parents, though the nature of those threats is still unclear. Critics have claimed that Bergdahl deserted and that other soldiers were killed in the search for him.

The Washington Post reported earlier this week that the town of Hailey, Idaho, was planning a homecoming celebration for Bergdahl but ended up canceling. City Hall, for example, received many letters criticizing the president's decision and calling Bergdahl's father a Muslim.

Secretary of State John Kerry defended the administration decision in an interview with CNN today.

He said it would be "offensive and incomprehensible to leave an American behind." Especially, Kerry said, with captors who may "torture him, cut off his head."

Kerry also said the five Guantánamo detainees released in exchange for Bergdahl are being watched by Qatar and others.

"I'm not telling you that they don't have some ability at some point to go back and get involved (in fighting)," Kerry told CNN. "But they also have an ability to get killed doing that."

Reports: Bergdahl Tells Medical Officials Taliban Kept Him In A Cage

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