The U.S. Army Forces Command’s Commanding General has referred two charges in the case of United States vs. Sgt. Robert B. Bergdahl to a General Court-Martial.
The two specific charges referred under the U.S. Armed Forces’ Uniform Code Of Military Justice are the following:
(1) Article 85: "Desertion with Intent to Shirk Important or Hazardous Duty”
(2) Article 99: "Misbehavior before the Enemy by Endangering the Safety of a Command, Unit or Place."
The Army conducted a public Article 32 Preliminary Hearing September 17th and 18th at the Joint Base San Antonio in Fort Sam Houston, Texas.
Forces Command officials charged Sgt. Bergdahl on March 25th with the two alleged offenses and an arraignment hearing at Fort Bragg, North Carolina will be conducted at a later date.
Attorney Eugene Fidell says the convening authority did not follow the advice of the preliminary hearing officer who had recommended that Bergdahl's case be moved only to a special misdemeanor-level military court. Fidell said in a statement Monday that he had hoped the case would not go in this direction.
6 On Your Side is looking more into this developing story.
