I was a platoon leader in the same era and same type of unit with similar experiences as Bergdahl's unit -- although I have no specific knowledge about his stor

I was a platoon leader in the same era and same type of unit with similar experiences as Bergdahl's unit -- although I have no specific knowledge about his story beyond what I've read in the news. My perspective: he's lying like crazy to get an AWOL charge (intended to return) rather than a desertion charge. The first might be a dishonorable discharge, the latter prison time. There are several reasons his story doesn't add up -- the most glaring one is the assertion that this wacky plan was the only way he knew to get the attention of a general officer. All soldiers know about writing their congressman, and Bergdahl in particular seems to be pretty wordly and would have heard about this avenue. Writing your congressman would result in a huge shitstorm for the higher levels. It is a formal step that is taken seriously, believe me, I've had to write formal responses to congressional liason offices. Second, his emails to his parents (which are already public) hint at much more than loyalty for his fellow soldiers in the face of poor leadership. He had concerns about US policy, culture -- I'm not sure how talking to a general officer and blowing the whistle would have made him feel better. I'll add, as others had, it's possible that his chain of command failed in some regard -- and it's very likely that he was exposed to at least one really bad leader during his time, especially at the NCO level. I also can see how someone like him was an outcast in his unit. He was into ballet, he hung out with the Afghans more than he did his own unit -- etc. Infantry platoons aren't really models of tolerance and inclusion in some regards. It's a rough life in general. But -- and this is the important point -- there's an oath involved with military service, and it matters even in the case of bad experiences. This is really, really important when you go to sleep in the middle of a hostile desert and you trust that the person guarding you is doing his duty. I think those without military experience might be thinking that all of the veterans who react to this are just proud of the esprit de corps and have some sort of ethical blindspot -- like Nathan Jessup in "A Few Good Men." In truth, the idea of a soldier abandoning his unit like this is unforgivable because it's a matter of betraying a fundamental idea, which is that even if you personally hate the guts of one of your fellow soldiers, you risk your life for him because that's the only way you might all survive the deployment. I spent a lot of time deployed just hoping that I wouldn't mess up something important and get someone killed. The notion that there is any justification for deliberately abandoning your unit is tough to swallow. I'm going to see what his grievances were from his perspective and then make up my mind -- if he exposes a massacre of civilians, for instance, I might change my mind. I've read his emails to his parents and other articles, though, and it seems in general he thought the other soldiers were assholes, people called him bad names, and he thought that poor judgment was rewarded.