I’m glad Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is alive and coming home to his family, but he should not come home to a hero’s welcome. In fact, he should come home to shame and an inquiry by the Pentagon related to his desertion, or dereliction of duties, or all of the above that led to his creating a dangerous situation for his fellow soldiers then, and now.

When the news of Bergdahl’s release was made the other night, I question aloud about how he went missing. Reminding the people I was with that he had walked away from his duties and was taken. And that the search for him that followed put so many American soldiers in danger as they looked for their colleague, not knowing how or why he was missing. (It wasn’t until later we understood that he foolishly walked away – AWOL – and put so many others at great risk as they went out look for him.) And yes, I got several funny looks and one set of eyes rolled – and that’s okay, because I remember what happened and how it went down.

And now we’ve set precedent for the worst of the bad, that one US soldier alive is worth 5 bad guys from their team. Nice.

So a message to the well-meaning folks of Hailey, Idaho. Put the champagne back on ice and cancel the hero’s-welcome parade. Take down the yellow ribbons wrapped around the old oak tree and go back to your daily lives. Let’s thank God the young man is alive and will see another day with his family. And make sure the young children in town understand that what Bowe Bergdahl did five years ago as part of the United States Army was a huge mistake, and not worthy of their admiration.

#truth #proudAmerican #deserter