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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsLawyer for Military Deserters: Bowe Bergdahl Should Get Honorable Discharge
Democracy Now! ?@democracynow 23mBowe #Bergdahl Should Get Honorable Discharge, Says Lawyer for Military Deserters http://owl.li/xDaPw pic.twitter.com/Dmgx9oZ6D4
JAMES BRANUM (a lawyer who specializes in representing U.S. military deserters and conscientious objectors):
The most important thing we have to remember is that we do not know the facts. Yesterday in The New York Times, the headline was, the facts are murky. We really do not know, and this is really a key thing here. If the allegations are true, even then we have to say that what happened is the result of war itself. This is not uncommon, this is not unexpected. War is messy. Things get crazy . . .
I think when we have to respect the profound sincerity and depth of what he is saying there. He is speaking as someone who has seen firsthand what the American imperial machine is all about. He has seen it first hand and is responding from a very core visceral place. And one cant help but be moved by that. The challenge here was, was that there were no good options at least that he underst that he likely understood. Even if he had applied for conscientious objector status, that would not get him out of that deployment. He would still be there. The only thing the regulation says that would change his situation is that he wouldnt be required to carry a gun and that he would be given duties that conflict as little as possible with his believes. The problem here in this situation is, is that when you are in a forward operating situation like this, when youre on a deployment, not having a gun is pretty much a death sentence. You are in an incredibly vulnerable position and your entire unit is now made vulnerable by you. And so, this is is the challenge here. Even if he had exercised his rights in this situation, there were no good options. Effectively his best option may have been wait until his next leave came, go home and then apply for the status.
But, effectively, if he was struggling at that level of visceral emotion, there were no good options. I think we have to have a lot of sympathy for someone in that situation. Effectively though, if you look at it, the decision to leave and what has been alleged, that he left his unit with minimal equipment and whatnot, it certainly sounds to me like this is a guy he was struggling. This is a guy who did not know what to do, and he made the best decision he could at the moment. I think we cant judge that. One thing I would also say though, is in this scenario, Ive heard variations on this over and over again, of service members who go, who join the military wanting to help people wanting to do humanitarian service. And they get there and their deployment is nothing like that at all, and its an incredibly difficult thing. And for many of them, they struggle. The good news is, though, for those who do who are maybe not quite in that sever of a situation, there is hope. The G.I. Rights Hotline is one organization in particular that does a lot of work on the front lines. Obviously the military [Indiscernible] the National Lawyers Guild. These are groups that provide counsel to service members who are facing these crisis situations.
Unfortunately though, for a service member who is on deployment who may be away from the post, whos somewhere they dont have access to the Internet, dont have access to the phone on a regular basis, it makes it difficult to get the help they need and that is something that we have to take into. Also, when we look at this situation, even if the allegations are true, the question is, is punishment appropriate? And I would argue it is not. Even if the military deemed him to be a deserter, this, this Sergeant Bergdahl was imprisoned in a very difficult situation for five years. No U.S. military deserter in the current era has received more than 24 months in prison. Most, receive six months or less. Most of receive no jail time at all. Bergdahl has already effectively served more jail time than anyone ever has in the modern era, at least since gulf war one for desertion, in his time as an enemy P.O.W. So, given that, there is no reason to punish them. At worst, he should be receive a discharge in lieu of court-martial. Personally, I believe he should receive a full honorable discharge.
read/ watch: http://www.democracynow.org/2014/6/4/there_were_no_good_options_bowe
Purveyor
(29,876 posts)upaloopa
(11,417 posts)duty to build a fence for my last six months. Except for the Tet offensive I was out of combat yet I still carried a gun.
I became aware of the futility of war and no longer wanted to support the killing.
nadinbrzezinski
(154,021 posts)but when all is said and done (why McCaffrey is screaming). He will be given his back pay, his medal (with the privileges that come to a POW), his discharge and will be sent on his merry way.
The last thing the Army wants is a Court Martial over this. And yes, it is also a political decision.
yeoman6987
(14,449 posts)but I do see him getting a General and that is if everything said is true. He will not get a BCD (Bad Conduct Discharge) or Big Chicken Dinner as is said sometimes.
nadinbrzezinski
(154,021 posts)I can see the honorable on medical grounds.
I am betting on PTSD. I am betting on them not being able to establish the facts on the ground...
So they will just want to make this go away.