The Nature of Evil

Earlier today the US Army issued a statement via a press conference notifying the public that rescued Soldier SGT Bowe Bergdahl is being charged under the Armed Forces Uniformed Code of Military Justice. SGT Bergdahl was charged with 1 count of Article 85 which is desertion with intent to sherk important or hazardous duty and 1 count of Article 99, misbehavior before the enemy by endangering the safety of a command, unit or place. The Article 85 charge carries a maximum punishment of a dishonorable discharge, reduction in rank to PVT, forfeiture of all wages and confinement for 5 years. The Article 99 charge carries a maximum punishment of a dishonorable discharge, reduction in rank to PVT, forfeiture of all wages and confinement for life. 

For those unfamiliar with SGT Bergdahl, he left his patrol base while serving in Afghanistan in 2009 and ended up getting captured by the enemy and held in captivity for 5 years until the US Government negotiated his release. 

This case will undoubted bring allot of different emotions out different people because of their ethical views on the issues at hand. Some may think that him being a prisoner of war for 5 years being mistreated by the enemy is punishment enough. Others may think as a Soldier, he must be held accountable for his actions regardless of the circumstances his actions put him in. We also have to consider the people that got killed and injured in the numerous search and rescue attempts made when it was discovered that SGT Bergdahl was missing from his base. We must also consider if SGT Bergdahl became a contentious objector to what was going on in Afghanistan. All these ethical reasonings and much more will be discussed in depth in the medusa leading up to the Article 32 or grand jury hearing.