Alaska News

Army: Media reports of Bergdahl desertion charges untrue

A spokesman for Army Forces Command said Tuesday that reports circulating that former Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson soldier Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl will face desertion charges are untrue.

Spokesman Paul Boyce dismissed the claims -- which first surfaced on "The O'Reilly Factor" and were attributed by guest Lt. Col. Tony Schaffer to anonymous sources -- as "speculative," speaking Tuesday to the Army Times.

Boyce said a general "is reviewing now the Army's facts and findings to determine, impartially, any appropriate next steps and possible actions," according to the Army Times report, and there is no timeline by which a decision must be made.

NBC News separately reported that desertion charges would be filed, possibly "within a week."

An Army investigation wrapped up last month.

Bergdahl was a JBER-based soldier stationed in Afghanistan when he disappeared on June 30, 2009. He was captured by the Taliban and held until May 2014, when his release was negotiated.

Several Alaska-based former soldiers who were part of Bergdahl's platoon spoke at length with Alaska Dispatch News about the aftermath of disappearance last summer.

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