According to Bergdahl's attorney, the 28-year-old US Army sergeant will be charged with one count of desertion with intent to skirt duty and one count of "misbehavior before the enemy." The hearing for his case will be held on April 22 in San Antonio.
Delivering a brief army statement, Colonel Daniel J.W. King said that the hearing will decide whether there is sufficient evidence to warrant a court-martial. If found guilty, Bergdahl could face a forfeiture of all allowances earned through the army, a reduction in rank to E-1, and a dishonorable discharge. In addition, a guilty verdict on the first count could bring a maximum imprisonment of five years, while a guilty verdict on the second count could result in life confinement.
"He's been charged with violations of Articles 85 and 99," Bergdahl's lawyer, Eugene Fidell, told The Hill.
Bergdahl was captured by the Taliban in 2009 after allegedly leaving his post at a US military base in Afghanistan, and was held for five years. As part of a controversial deal, President Obama traded five Taliban figures who were being held in Guantanamo in exchange for Bergdahl's freedom.
The five Taliban members —Khair Ulla Said, Wali Khairkhwa, Mullah Mohammad Fazl, Mullah Norullah Nori, Abdul Haq Wasiq, and Mohammad Nabi Omari — were released through the Qatari government on the condition that they remain unassociated with militant incitement or fundraising. But this decision upset many soldiers personally involved in the apprehension of these detainees.
"I went to extreme personal sacrifice to see some of the guys that are walking get justice," a special operations forces commander stationed in Afghanistan told ABC News after Bergdahl's release. "Should I or others involved be looking over our shoulders now?"
Many lawmakers likened the deal to negotiating with terrorists, and also complained that Congress had not been consulted before an agreement was reached.
After Bergdahl's return to US soil, the Army began an investigation into how Bergdahl was captured. Many Afghan war veterans claim the sergeant had simply walked away from his post. Bergdahl has always insisted he was captured while lagging behind his patrol.
"Bergdahl was a deserter, and soldiers from his own unit died trying to track him down," Nathan Bethea, a former soldier who served with Bergdahl, wrote for the Daily Beast. "Bergdahl was relieved from guard duty, and instead of going to sleep, he fled the outpost on foot."
The decision to press charges may prove especially challenging for the Obama administration. Critics already concerned that the sergeant's release came at too high a price will be emboldened by the fact that he may have been a deserter, disillusioned by the US military.
"Regardless of the circumstances, whatever those circumstances may turn out to be, we still get an American soldier back if he's held in captivity. Period. Full stop," President Obama said during a European trip last summer. "We don't condition that."
