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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.

Bergdahl Retains Lawyer For Army Investigation Into His Disappearance

File photo of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl
U.S. Army
File photo of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl

The investigation into Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s capture is ongoing. Bergdahl has retained a lawyer who will be with him during questioning by U.S. Army investigators. In the meantime, the former POW will return to regular duty at an Army base in Texas.

 Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was captured by the Taliban in 2009 while serving in eastern Afghanistan.
Credit U.S. Army
/
U.S. Army
File photo of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl

The Army says Sgt. Bergdahl, of Hailey, Idaho, has completed the final phase of his medical recovery. He’s being moved to what's expected to be largely administrative work at Fort Sam Houston.

Legal expert Geoffrey Corn, a retired Army officer who now teaches at South Texas College of Law, said Bergdahl is now in a holding pattern and cannot be discharged as long as he's the subject of an investigation into misconduct.

“Once he is discharged from the military, they can't bring him back involuntarily -- to, for example, if they wanted to court martial him. They would lose jurisdiction over him," Corn explained. "So, they've got to keep him retained in the military until they make that decision.”

The Army investigation into how Bergdahl fell into Taliban hands in 2009 is being led by Maj. Gen. Kenneth Dahl of Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma.

Copyright 2021 Northwest News Network. To see more, visit Northwest News Network.

Jessica Robinson
Jessica Robinson reported for four years from the Northwest News Network's bureau in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho as the network's Inland Northwest Correspondent. From the politics of wolves to mining regulation to small town gay rights movements, Jessica covered the economic, demographic and environmental trends that have shaped places east of the Cascades. Jessica left the Northwest News Network in 2015 for a move to Norway.
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