WASHINGTON (AP) — Bowe Bergdahl, the Army sergeant who has been recovering in Germany after five years as a Taliban captive, returned to the United States early Friday to continue his medical treatment.
A Pentagon spokesman, Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby, said Bergdahl flew to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio from Ramstein Air Base.
While at the Texas Army base, Bergdahl “will continue the next phase of his reintegration process,” Kirby said, adding there was no timeline for the process.
“Our focus remains on his health and well-being,” he said. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel “is confident that the Army will continue to ensure that Sgt. Bergdahl receives the care, time and space he needs to complete his recovery and reintegration,” the spokesman said in a statement.
The Idaho native was expected to be reunited with his family in San Antonio. He was captured in Afghanistan in June 2009 and released by the Taliban on May 31 in a deal struck by the Obama administration in which five senior Taliban officials were released from detention at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Before his departure from Germany on Thursday, officials in Washington said Bergdahl will not receive the automatic Army promotion that would have taken effect this month if he were still in captivity. Now that he is back in U.S. military control, any future promotions would depend on his performance and achievement of certain training and education milestones.
Officials previously had said the intention was for Bergdahl to be reunited with his family at Brooke and to spend an undetermined period there in further recuperation.
Officials have kept a lid on details of Bergdahl’s condition out of concern that he not be rushed back into the public spotlight after a lengthy period in captivity and amid a public uproar over the circumstances of his capture and release.
Officials also said Thursday that the Army has not yet formally begun a new review into the circumstances ofBergdahl’s capture and whether he walked away without leave or was deserting the Army when he was found and taken by insurgents.
The answers to those questions will be key to whether Bergdahl will receive more than $300,000 in back pay owed to him since he disappeared. If he was determined to have been a prisoner of war, he also could receive roughly another $300,000 or more, if recommended and approved by Army leaders.
Bergdahl had been at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany since June 1, the day after the prisoner exchange.
Many have criticized the Obama administration for agreeing to release five Taliban prisoners in exchange forBergdahl. Some of Bergdahl’s former Army colleagues have accused him of deserting his post.
Critics also have said the five Taliban members could return to the battlefield. Administration officials have told Congress that four of the five Taliban officials likely will rejoin the fight.
In congressional testimony Wednesday, Hagel called the former Taliban government officials “enemy belligerents” but said they hadn’t been implicated in any attacks against the United States. He said Qatar, which has agreed to keep the five inside the country for a year, promised sufficient security measures to warrant making the swap for Bergdahl.
Hagel also said Bergdahl was early in the process of recovering from the trauma of captivity. He said that process began with his arrival at Landstuhl.
“He’s being held there because our medical professionals don’t believe he’s ready. … This isn’t just about a physical situation,” Hagel said. “This guy was held for almost five years in God knows what kind of conditions. … This is not just about can he get on his feet and walk and get to a plane.”
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Okay, pick the Teahadist meme:
“Why are they keeping him away from the press? We’ll TELL you why: They’re afraid we’ll ask the REAL questions – like, Did Obama consult with you on the Benghazi attacks? And where WERE YOU that night, Sgt. Bergdahl… if that IS your real name?”
or
“Why is he in a cushy hospital in the God-fearling state of TEXAS? If he needs medical attention, there’s an infirmary in GITMO!”
The new Republican Party: We Distort, You Just Shut Up and Vote (unless you’re a woman, or a minority, or you’re too old to have the right ID)!
Smokin- you’re so generous. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if they try and subpoena him to testify before congress. they will probably ask him what he knew about Benghazi.
Sad that the teahadists cannot wait to hear Bergdahl’s side of what went down. The penchant for prejudgement I see everywhere but especially on the right (and mainly because the family appeared with Obama) deeply saddens me.
You know what I find just as saddening? The fact that so few of our military men and women have spoken up not necessarily to defend Bergdahl but to defend the idea of “no soldier left behind”. Does it not occur to any of them that this guy may have been suffering from PTSD or some other mental illness? Does it not occur to them that we don’t have all the facts, and that this could potentially be any one of them? I know we’re supposed to never, ever criticize our military men and women but the fact that so few current or former military have shown even an ounce of compassion has really bothered me.
Once the Republicans get hold of him, I’ll wager he’ll wish he was back with the friendly folks of the Taliban. I would have said “once the Republicans get done with him” but we all know that the Republicans will never “get done” with him any more than they will ever “get done” with Benghazi.