Well before Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl walked away from his Army post in Afghanistan, he washed out of the Coast Guard during boot camp when he suffered a panic attack.
Two years later, though, he joined the Army, obtaining a waiver from rules that bar the enlistment of those with psychological problems.
The details about his mental health — including the Army’s later diagnosis of Bergdahl as suffering from “schizotypal personality disorder” — are contained in newly released documents that offer a glimpse of the legal strategy his lawyers may use in the desertion case against him.
Bergdahl’s military trial is set to begin over the summer.
His lawyers would not comment on how his psychiatric history figures in their strategy. But they argued at a hearing in late 2015 that his diagnosis is a mitigating factor.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
What a crock of crap. It has taken a lot of time for them to come up with a mental disorder. One panic attack does not a mental case make. Prove that he had other panic attacks in addition to the Coast Guard boot camp incident.
IF THIS COWARD WAS UNFIT WHY WASNT HE WEEDED OUT, BEFORE SENDING ALL HIS FELLOW SOLDIERS TO LOOK FOR HIM. AND THEN HAVING SUM GET KILLED OR WOUNDED, MAYBE HIS NAME WAS TRAYVON AN HE COULD BE OBUMBAS LONG LOST SON.
This is another of this administrations pile of bull shit , hang this pussy and be done he is a deserter simple as that
Grandma was slow but she was 90. Who do they think they are fooling letting this criminal escape justice? From the eyewitness testimony of people in his unit to the people killed while searching for him, no way is he innocent. To use the mental disorder defense is a little thin at this point. If I were a soldier, there is no way I would want him sharing a foxhole with me.
I have a mental factor for him! It’s called a 357 between the eyes!
If this is true the Army may need to stop giving waivers to those who fail to meet its standards. This man’s actions cost the life of six Americans as they searched for him. While some will rush to make Bergdahl into a hero or try to dismiss his actions, the end result is that six families will always have an empty spot in them thanks to Bowe’s desertion and the army’s attempt to rescue him.
This is true but anxiety disorders are a real emotional illness and panic attacks are worse then being hit with a baseball bat.If this guy was dropped by one branch because of it and was waved while still having the mental illness than it would come into play.I have seen this illness in action and it is real and debilitating.
That deserter should have been found guilty already.Someone is trying to cover this up and it has to be obummer.Now all of a sudden he has a mental problem which we never heard of months ago.Fry this deserter
Of course Obama is behind the cover-up. He will get him off and Hilliary’s email troubles will just go away too. Just like Holder being held in contempt by Congress. Haahaahaa, what happened with that joke? How about Lois Learner? Nancy Peloski?
This ‘Congress’ is as corrupt as the arse in the White House. They ALL must be given their walking papers if anything is to change.
What they are trying to do is to cover Obama S !
Yet another Government F.U., similarr to the San Bernadino Muslim Masssacre. Had the government used ‘due diligence’ in vetting Obama’s ‘Muslim Immigrants’, they would not have been allowed into this country, and 14 American lives would not have been lost to terrorism.
If Birgdog was not qualified or mentally fit to serve in the military, he should NEVER have been allowed to enlist in the military, and 6 American servicemen’s lives would not have been lost to stupidity.
He deserted, He should be court martialed like any other deserter. Left his post. Obama is trying to wipe the eggs off his face,when he invited this deserter to the white house. Desertion, Court Martial, appropriate punishment. Uniform Code of Military Justice should prevail, not Obama’s cover ups.
I AGREE 100% WITH YOU ON THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Obammy’s gonna whitwash this just like he’s got planned for that scum bag Clinton !!
It’s too bad that Pvt Bergdahl’s senior commanders weren’t paying more attention. Bergdahl’s did not belong in that Army unit. (He probably wasn’t qualified to clean toilets!!) There had been many complaints from his fellow soldiers, and Bergdahl had done some complaining, too. The guys I’m most sympathetic with are the soldiers who died looking for him! And their families! What a tragic waste. Recruiters need to do a better job of screening. Being one soldier low on your quota isn’t the end of the world.
BERGDAHL IS GUILTY! THERE ISN’T A DAM THING WRONG WITH HIM! HE SHOULD BE PROSECUTED!
Does anyone believe this “hogwash?” I certainly don’t. He deserted and should receive the ultimate punishment. The very fact that he has to live with his conscience and the damage he caused will haunt him until the Almighty gets his hands on him.
Bergdahl is a little chicken hearted pussy. If he escapes justice his fellow platoon members will need to take care of it via a sniper !!
I’ve got a diagnosis for Bergdahl — it’s called traitorosis!!!!
Didn’t this guy get some one killed looking for him, or hurt? There are people in military jails for less then what he did. The military is like a nation onto its self, being as they have their own legal system, and code of conduct. It’s like a well oiled machine, until one of it’s cogs get out place. We’ll see how this plays out. I don’t think I’ve ever known a person that didn’t have panic attacks occasionally. Where was this piece of information hidden, all of this time. A panic attack in a situation like this usually causes the person who suffers from it, to stay in the pan, instead leaping into the fire. He left a place of protection, and ran out to where he shouldn’t have been, where the enemy roams freely. He endangered his own people, by making them look for him…
His father seems to have had a mental disorder since he was born.
But what has ME puzzled is why D’OweBama would free 5 terrorists from Gitmo in order to get a traitor back. Something just doesn’t pass the smell test, here. There couldn’t be much worse of a punishment than to be with ISIS/ISIL anyway; i’m certain their prisons are far worse than anything the US has.
And can you imagine the look on Bergdahl’s face when he was told he was being traded? OMG. Wonder if he wanted to go back by then.