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Any chance Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl had a mental issue when he walked away? (Original Post) IADEMO2004 Jun 2014 OP
I think he had mental or emotional issues before he signed up. TwilightGardener Jun 2014 #1
Didn't one of his good mates get killed not long before arthritisR_US Jun 2014 #20
I'd have to re-read the Hastings/Rolling Stone article, but he did apparently TwilightGardener Jun 2014 #30
I am as bewildered by it all as many here are. I arthritisR_US Jun 2014 #31
Certainly possible, even likely Lee-Lee Jun 2014 #2
Has his *walking away* been confirmed? Raine1967 Jun 2014 #3
Pretty much his entire unit Lee-Lee Jun 2014 #4
But there's no eye witnesses. NOBODY saw what happened riderinthestorm Jun 2014 #5
Any other theories? Lee-Lee Jun 2014 #8
There's no eyewitnesses! None. Nobody knows what happened! riderinthestorm Jun 2014 #10
Suicide wheniwasincongress Jun 2014 #15
Yes on the note. IADEMO2004 Jun 2014 #21
From your link, thank you.. Cha Jun 2014 #23
And we know they're not CYAing... how? politicat Jun 2014 #14
+ 1 nt riderinthestorm Jun 2014 #16
Wow, now you are going way off the deep end Lee-Lee Jun 2014 #33
Not lying. There's a difference between lying and rationalization. politicat Jun 2014 #37
Message auto-removed Name removed Jun 2014 #34
Good point. So much certainty from so little information. IADEMO2004 Jun 2014 #7
I remember the story at the time. If it's the same soldier, then from all the reports back then, it sabrina 1 Jun 2014 #17
CBS News has a different story on his departure from his unit. TxVietVet Jun 2014 #18
I think he most certainly did. Texasgal Jun 2014 #6
Absolutely wheniwasincongress Jun 2014 #13
Covert ops. The only sensible reason for them to trade so many prisoners for him. McCamy Taylor Jun 2014 #9
It shocks me out how little his mental health is being talked about wheniwasincongress Jun 2014 #11
perhaps he didn't walk away. no one, including his fellow soldiers, knows what happened. spanone Jun 2014 #12
CBS News has a different story on his departure from his unit. TxVietVet Jun 2014 #19
I love how everyone seems to be ignoring your post. nt justiceischeap Jun 2014 #35
Me, too. TxVietVet Jun 2014 #38
Why is most bad behavior assumed to be a mental illness? n-t Logical Jun 2014 #22
It's easier to accept mental illness than the fact that some people choose to do bad things. JJChambers Jun 2014 #24
there's no assumption here Skittles Jun 2014 #26
that's always a possiblity Skittles Jun 2014 #25
While its being framed as anti obama I'm pretty sure the Jesus Malverde Jun 2014 #32
Does it matter? Demeter Jun 2014 #27
It doesn't matter if he was Audie Murphy GOP want Obama's head IADEMO2004 Jun 2014 #28
he wandered away to put himself at the mercy of the Taliban. geek tragedy Jun 2014 #29
It wouod be hard to prove but it is possible. hrmjustin Jun 2014 #36

TwilightGardener

(46,416 posts)
1. I think he had mental or emotional issues before he signed up.
Mon Jun 2, 2014, 08:31 PM
Jun 2014

Trying to join the French Foreign Legion (I mean...???), no career plans, just odd jobs...seems like just one of many young male drifters in life who latch on to the military for structure, a paycheck, and some excitement. Most of those turn out OK. I think he was prone to idealism and then disillusionment, may have been a poor fit for the military, emotionally or socially, and was just primed for trouble after 6 months of being in or near combat.

arthritisR_US

(7,269 posts)
20. Didn't one of his good mates get killed not long before
Mon Jun 2, 2014, 10:23 PM
Jun 2014

he went on his walk? Compounding the mental issues that were already building?

TwilightGardener

(46,416 posts)
30. I'd have to re-read the Hastings/Rolling Stone article, but he did apparently
Mon Jun 2, 2014, 11:11 PM
Jun 2014

witness some traumatic happenings. He spoke about children getting run over by armored vehicles and fellow soldiers laughing about it. Come to think of it, maybe that's why some of his fellow soldiers are eager to come out now and get a jump on defining Bergdahl as a bad guy first, and defining the whole chain of events...?

arthritisR_US

(7,269 posts)
31. I am as bewildered by it all as many here are. I
Tue Jun 3, 2014, 12:09 AM
Jun 2014

am taking a wait and see attitude, walk smile in his shoes...

 

Lee-Lee

(6,324 posts)
2. Certainly possible, even likely
Mon Jun 2, 2014, 08:41 PM
Jun 2014

Anyone, at least anyone not from the region, in their right mind doesn't go wandering around in Afghanistan alone without a weapon.

Maybe not PTSD, but there was certainly some issue that caused him to not have a firm grasp of reality and what he was doing. Could have just been poor judgement, could have a deeper underlying issue, who knows. His life before the Army seems to have been aimless, shiftless and full of impulsive moves that were not well thought out as well.

Unless his intent was to actually join with the Taliban. If it was that certainly wouldn't reflect sound judgement and I am sure was something he regretted quickly.

I am certain if it goes to a court martial that will be the defense in one way or another.

Raine1967

(11,589 posts)
3. Has his *walking away* been confirmed?
Mon Jun 2, 2014, 08:41 PM
Jun 2014

I am finding this all very uncomfortable. It seems as tho this is a given, as opposed to speculation. Who has confirmed that he walked away, and if he did, why was he never declared AWOL?

 

Lee-Lee

(6,324 posts)
4. Pretty much his entire unit
Mon Jun 2, 2014, 09:37 PM
Jun 2014

It was never disputed that he walked away, people were just ordered not to talk about it.

Since they knew he was subsequently in Taliban hands, the classed him as MIA/POW. Can't be that and AWOL at the same time.

 

riderinthestorm

(23,272 posts)
5. But there's no eye witnesses. NOBODY saw what happened
Mon Jun 2, 2014, 09:39 PM
Jun 2014

This "assumption" from his unit makes me very uncomfortable...

Its pretty standard fare that a soldier who isn't as "gung-ho" as the rest will be vilified and ostracized. Bergdahl certainly fit that category. Bergdahl hasn't had a chance to tell his side of the story.

Absent eye-witness testimony about what happened, its incredibly right-wing-ish to assume imo.





 

Lee-Lee

(6,324 posts)
8. Any other theories?
Mon Jun 2, 2014, 09:52 PM
Jun 2014

His gear was found neatly piled up, Taliban would have taken his weapon, night vision and and gear as trophies and if it was dropped in a struggle wouldn't have been neatly piled up. Also in the initial search after they found local civilians who report he was walking alone.


This link lays out a pretty decent overview of it:

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Military/2014/0601/Did-Bowe-Bergdahl-go-AWOL-in-Afghanistan

 

riderinthestorm

(23,272 posts)
10. There's no eyewitnesses! None. Nobody knows what happened!
Mon Jun 2, 2014, 10:06 PM
Jun 2014

Obviously he was disgruntled and I'm sure that would generate some ill-will amongst his comrades.

Do you trust them? I don't.

Cha

(295,899 posts)
23. From your link, thank you..
Mon Jun 2, 2014, 10:27 PM
Jun 2014
"But another post summed up the situation this way:

“This guy may have made a tremendously bad decision, but I'm willing to bet that what he's endured since then has been far worse than anything the US or military judicial system would have imposed. Have some heart.”

politicat

(9,808 posts)
14. And we know they're not CYAing... how?
Mon Jun 2, 2014, 10:11 PM
Jun 2014

I mean, after all, blame the "likely to be dead before anyone can question him" guy isn't an actual tactic or anything.

It's been long enough that they might even believe their rationalizations. We do know that some of them have admitted to thinking him "weird", "a loner", and "not part of the team". Which sounds a heckuva lot like a prime opportunity for hazing and a very good motive for someone to take a walk away.

To me, it sounds most like a failed suicide by enemy action attempt and the unit attempting to cover their own contributions to that situation by making it not about them. The unit's individual stories sound... a little too consistent. Not rehearsed, but just like they repeated the company line to themselves until it became the truth for them.

 

Lee-Lee

(6,324 posts)
33. Wow, now you are going way off the deep end
Tue Jun 3, 2014, 06:54 AM
Jun 2014

Claiming every vet that was there is a liar about the events?

Based only on what- that you don't like what they have to say because it doesn't for your ideal political narrative.

I don't know you, but I hope you are better than that.

politicat

(9,808 posts)
37. Not lying. There's a difference between lying and rationalization.
Tue Jun 3, 2014, 09:01 AM
Jun 2014

Group dynamics are tricky, especially in high stress situations. I'm not saying they're lying, just that their perception of the event may differ from Bergdahl's, that they have had several years and access to reach a group consensus and he can't present the other side.

Like everyone else, service members present information in the way that puts themselves in the best light. They have careers, promotions and benefits riding on not getting busted for something that is fundamentally uncertain. Growing up in my base commander father's household, I saw a lot of the internal mechanisms of after action and after incident reports. There was a pattern to them -- if someone died in training, more often than not, the majority of the blame ended up on the dead guy, because that let the survivors grieve and move on without carrying excess guilt. Same with incidents that didn't end with deaths -- whoever had left the service got the blame, because that was the person who could carry it (metaphorically) without it being a black mark on zir record.

This situation has a high degree of grey area, so yes, everyone involved will try to focus the light on the things they did right and edit out what went wrong. That's human nature. It's not even conscious most of the time. It's not lying. Objectivity is tough for those in the situation, and why we tend to leave it to UMCJ and its officers.

Mythologizing service members into perfect paragons isn't helpful.

Response to politicat (Reply #14)

sabrina 1

(62,325 posts)
17. I remember the story at the time. If it's the same soldier, then from all the reports back then, it
Mon Jun 2, 2014, 10:15 PM
Jun 2014

is true, that he left with no weapons or anything. It was a mystery that was not solved and they did try to find him.

I'm glad they found him and hope there is a good explanation for why he left. Seems like very bad judgement. Maybe he had a panic attack and wasn't thinking straight. Whatever the reason, I doubt we'll ever know.

Texasgal

(17,029 posts)
6. I think he most certainly did.
Mon Jun 2, 2014, 09:41 PM
Jun 2014

Who in their right mind would desert without a weapon in Taliban country?

I think this kid had something mentally going on. I am really disturbed by people that want to shit on him.

wheniwasincongress

(1,307 posts)
13. Absolutely
Mon Jun 2, 2014, 10:09 PM
Jun 2014

and no doubt the piles of shit will get bigger (think public booing and altercations when Bowe returns to the US.) All because Obama had something to do with his return. just rabid.

wheniwasincongress

(1,307 posts)
11. It shocks me out how little his mental health is being talked about
Mon Jun 2, 2014, 10:07 PM
Jun 2014

He was reported as behaving very strangely before he walked away; his last email to his parents sounded like a suicide note. I think it's highly likely he walked away while not in any sort of right mind and/or to go kill himself. People do walk away and do a bit of travel and sightseeing before committing suicide...

I search and search in these recent comments and articles and TV shows for discussion about it but I see almost none. This isn't some guy who heard there was a fun sexy party plane heading to Miami.

I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!

spanone

(135,632 posts)
12. perhaps he didn't walk away. no one, including his fellow soldiers, knows what happened.
Mon Jun 2, 2014, 10:09 PM
Jun 2014

only sgt bergdahl knows.

TxVietVet

(1,905 posts)
19. CBS News has a different story on his departure from his unit.
Mon Jun 2, 2014, 10:20 PM
Jun 2014
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/is-sgt-bowe-bergdahl-a-hero-or-a-deserter/

Quote from article:


transcript of radio intercepts, publicly released through Wikileaks, indicates that Bergdahl, then 23, was captured while sitting in a makeshift latrine.

"We were attacking the post he was sitting," according to a radio intercept of a conversation among insurgents. "He had no gun with him. ... They have all (the) Americans, ANA (Afghan National Army), helicopters, the planes are looking for him. Can you guys make a video of him and announce it all over Afghanistan that we have one of the Americans?"

Skittles

(152,964 posts)
26. there's no assumption here
Mon Jun 2, 2014, 10:39 PM
Jun 2014

but it is glaringly obvious that a possible mental health issue is not being considered

Jesus Malverde

(10,274 posts)
32. While its being framed as anti obama I'm pretty sure the
Tue Jun 3, 2014, 02:10 AM
Jun 2014

Walked away theory hasn't changed much over the last five years. What's new is the dynamic of having traded Taliban for a detainee.

 

hrmjustin

(71,265 posts)
36. It wouod be hard to prove but it is possible.
Tue Jun 3, 2014, 08:44 AM
Jun 2014

If he was sane and walked off then he is going to jail if they can prove it.

I hope he didn't.

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