And he seems to have been promoted to sergeant while in captivity? Is that correct?

I wondered about that.

SOP. Maybe they should revert him back to his proper rank.

I haven't read a whole lot about it. Just a couple articles yesterday. But I did immediately begin to wonder...

Who appear to be stuck in the 60's. Extraordinarily idealistic and naive about what war really is. Doubt the CIA would be interested at all.

He was on some sort of personal romanticized quest or adventure when he left, not understanding the enormity of the consequences to himself and others.

A screwed up young man who will be lucky to escape "friendly fire" upon his return to Idaho.

However, it was correct to get him back to reinforce that we do not leave soldiers behind. Ever.

I suspect his treatment during recovery will not be entirely pleasant for him.

if not for those screwed up hippies we'd have won the Vietnam War.














For the impaired

suspect of being a spy.

I know because I was there.

And still live the way their parents did, raising another generation in that tradition.

The father grew a beard in reaction to his son's capture and mom looks, well, like a well kept pretty mom.

more than likely, if he was military intelligence; he was working with the DIA (Defense Intelligence Agency) or the ASA (Army Security Agency). Both agencies work with, as opposed to for the CIA.

His promotions were not out of the ordinary however, just SOP.

insistence by Susan Rice that he is a hero.

I doubt we will ever know, but it is a possibility.

(It's a long article...only had time for first page. I've bookmarked for later read. But, that might have more clues as to what he was about, or not.)

America's Last Prisoner of War
Three years ago, a 23-year-old soldier walked off his base in Afghanistan and into the hands of the Taliban. Now he’s a crucial pawn in negotiations to end the war. Will the Pentagon leave a man behind?

Michael Hastings

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/americas-last-prisoner-of-war-20120607

this when he stated he was working on 'something big'? I guess we'll never know as those who do, are probably too afraid to tell us.

Again, thanks for the link.

Doesn't really say anything other than he grew distant from others in his unit. Happens in nearly every unit because of stress, troubles at home, or difficulty fitting in with the rest.



Any number of reasons for that. Could be he had an interest in the language, and took advantage of Rosetta Stone being free for servicemembers. Could be he wanted FLP pay (Foreign Language Proficiency), which is a few hundred dollars more in the paycheck every month. I banked nearly 350 extra a month on that with Arabic and French.



Could've been kidnapped, could've been drunk, could've been disillusioned.



Prisoner of war exchange that happens at the end of every major modern war since the Geneva Conventions.



Not the first time Qatar's acted as an intermediary between the coalition and the Taliban. They're a major diplomatic player in the Middle East.

So no, best explanation is that this was a POW exchange; trading someone captured by the Taliban for some others captured by the coalition.

His increase in rank is quite standard and spelled out by DOD regulations.

Soldiers also get extra pay for language proficiency, and as to the rest, you would be more accurate if you though military intel, in a few flavors. And the competition between the CIA and military intel is quite legendary.

I expect this story to quietly die actually

1 the White House accidentally revealed the head of CIA operations in Afghanistan,

2 The Secretary of Defense, Chuck Hagel, said that the administration had to move quickly to save Bergdahl’s life but why would Bergdahl be in danger now more than ever during his previous five years of captivity?


3 Pashto one of the most difficult languages for an English-speaker to learn