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First time for everything, Nav.

And as was said, this is bigger than Bowe Bergdahl. Until we actually debrief him we don't really know what was going through his head when he decided to walk off post. My guess is he was a disillusioned, naive and sheltered young man who thought he was somehow going to go pull a Rory Stewart (The Places In Between) and be amongst the people and do something something. At the end of the day he deserves due process, that can't happen if he's stuck with the Taliban. Those that died searching for him and those that put themselves at risk to bring him home were supporting the American sense of justice. That is worth supporting regardless of Bergdahl's actions. At the end of the day, bad shit happens in war, sometimes due to stupidity, sometimes shitty situations, sometimes crappy training and sometimes crappy leadership but everyone one of us knows that we'll bring you home no matter what, at least you'll be answering for your actions from American soil or buried in it. As a PR guy, I'm willing to risk my life to honor that contract.

I don't think anyone's disputing our efforts to get Bergdahl back no matter what the circumstances of his departure. However, if Charles Robert Jenkins can be tried 40 years after he deserted to North Korea during that way; so can Bergdahl. In 2004, Jenkins pled guilty to charges of desertion and aiding the enemy, but denied making disloyal or seditious statements – the latter charges were dropped. He was sentenced to 30 days' confinement, received a dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and benefits and was reduced in rank to E-1 private (the lowest rank in the US Army). He was released six days early, on November 27, 2004, for good behavior. Although dishonorably discharged from military service (meaning that Jenkins is ineligible to display U.S. military awards, request replacements from the Army, or purchase them on his own), Jenkins' years of status as a deserter technically qualified him for several automatic military decorations which he displayed at the time of his court martial.During his years as a deserter, Jenkins was "carried on the rolls" of the U.S. Army in a desertion status meaning that he was not discharged but classified as an active duty soldier under "Time Lost" due to his AWOL status. When Jenkins surrendered himself as a deserter, the U.S. Army placed him back on the active duty rolls as a "deserter returned to military control". He was credited with 14,494 days time lost as a deserter and, by default, became eligible for all automatic service medals which had been created during his long period of absence. This included all automatic awards created for soldiers serving in Korea as well as active duty awards for service after the September 11 attacks in 2001. At his court martial in November 2004, Jenkins appeared wearing the following awards on his Army uniform: the Army Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Korea Defense Service Medal and the Army Service Ribbon. (Thanks Wikipedia!) It'll be interesting to see what deal they cut Bergdahl if he is found guilty of desertion. I suspect it will be something similar. What I am most interested in is when he's going to run his first marathon!

Bringing Bergdahl home isn't about Bowe Bergdahl. Dempsey wrote "“The questions about this particular soldier’s conduct are separate from our effort to recover ANY U.S. service member in enemy captivity. This was likely the last, best opportunity to free him"

4.68 once the MEO gets ahold of you for being a rapist

Now I know where Asiana Airlines gets their pilots.

Reminds me of "ooh, piece of candy." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90Ps2L46dUs

Well, gee....You think your present sense of a good deal might just not be permanent? You shot your own argument ^^^ You beat me to the post. Exactly my sentiments. I'd love what I was doing too if I got to do what I wanted. Alas, there are such things as getting buffed/tami'd/alo'd. I'm not gonna be a hypocrite and go all kool-aid and say I love my fighter and everybody oughtta love their lot in life too because I got to fly my dream airplane, today. Life is indeed a moving target. And that's alright. That's the real value of the civilian job. The option to quit when it no longer makes sense in otherwise the same sea of managerial apathy and disregard for your contributions, as an individual with an above average measure of work ethic.

Alright dude, let's call a spade a spade. It's hypocritical to state "I love serving my country" followed by "... In my previous assignment ... I would have separated." Truth be told, your enjoyment of serving your country only occurs when you enjoy what you are doing. Not that there is anything wrong with that; I'd argue that most if not all of us are the same way. But don't use the "I bleed red, white, and blue" rationale when there are clearly strings attached. I've also noticed that assignments usually get less fun with age. How long have you been a part of this new job you love? -9-

Because I truly care about the PR mission and I think I can still make an impact. I know there are plenty of Hawg guys that feel the same way; this last weptac was an epic argument that proves people's passion.

Your civilian employer will care about you less than your AF commanders have. You are nothing more than a revenue generator.

Maybe someone placed a bomb in his back pocket...

He wasn't a POW.

But they started it! Interesting Opinion Putin Did Americans a Favor: Ukraine is a wake-up call for what a post-American world would look like

I smell PYB.

Dempsey is right. Bergdahl may be a tard, but he's our tard to deal with.

I'm glad he's back. I'm very unhappy that in doing so, we just validated that we will, in fact, negotiate with terrorists, and in doing so we put a price on every American's head.

I found this interesting, in a "I just threw up in my mouth a little" way...

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