The Injustice of Bergdahl

Many years ago, I was flying to Europe on a C5 Galaxy as a more or less newly minted Lieutenant... 34 years, now?

Seated next to me was a surprisingly ancient full bull, a US Army Colonel who, it turns out, was one of the, if not THE senior judge in USAEUR, US Army Europe.

As we flew over the Atlantic, he asked me questions about Combat Arms... I asked him questions about the UCMJ (Uniformed Code of Military Justice) the governing laws we all served under.

I talked about tracks, cannons, tactics, and life in the field.

He talked about court cases, some of which were truly bizarre... and military law.

The only specific thing he told me that I can remember... a thing that has stuck with me all these years.... was a simple observation that slammed me in the face the moment I heard the Bergdahl verdict:

"Frequently, there is a vast difference between military law and justice."

Indeed.

This miscarriage of justice is laid at the feet of one person and one person only, the judge that let him skate.

Army Col. Jeffery Nance, JAG, was the judge.  He doesn't have much of an internet presence.

What I know is that he spit in the face of the families of the 6 dead men who went out looking for this scumbag.  He spit in the face of Master Sergeant Mark Allen and his family.

This is what Bergdahl did.  This is as good as it's going to get for Allen for as long as he lives.

This is as good as it's going to get for his wife... who did nothing to deserve this... and his daughter.... who did nothing to deserve this.

This man and the other men..... the judge spit in their faces and the faces of their families as well.

Staff Sergeant Clayton Bowen, 29, of San Antonio, Texas, and Private 1st Class Morris Walker, 23, of Chapel Hill, N.C., were killed by a roadside bomb in Paktika province on Aug. 18, 2009, while trying to find Bergdahl. Like Bergdahl, they were part of the 4th BCT from Fort Richardson, Alaska.

Staff Sergeant Kurt Curtiss, 27, of Murray, Utah, died Aug. 26 in Paktika Province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when he was shot while his unit was supporting Afghan security forces during an enemy attack. Like Bergdahl, Bowen and Walker, he was part of the 4th BCT.

2nd Lieutenant Darryn Andrews, 34, of Dallas, Texas, died Sept. 4 in Paktika Province when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device and a rocket-propelled grenade. Like Bergdahl, Bowen, Walker and Curtiss, Andrews was part of the 4th BCT.

Staff Sergeant Michael Murphrey, 25, of Snyder, Texas, died Sept. 6 in Paktika province after being wounded by an IED. Like Bergdahl, Bowen, Walker, Curtiss and Andrews, Murphrey was part of the 4th BCT.

On Sept. 4, 2009, Private 1st Class Matthew Martinek, 20, of DeKalb, Ill., was seriously wounded in Paktika province when Taliban forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device, a rocket-propelled grenade and small-arms fire.

There is, indeed, a vast difference between Army law and Justice.

This Judge made the decision that none of this matters.

Leftists are gleefully blaming the president on this, for speaking his mind on this issue.  Of course, they criticize him for anything he does, regardless.

That had nothing to do with this outcome.

The purpose of the trial judge is to adjudicate guilt or innocence.

Matters of command influence can be... and should have been... handled under appeal.  If the judge was so worried about any personal impact it was going to have on him individually, he could have... and obviously should have... recused himself.  When the soldier in question PLEADS guilty... where is the issue of "command influence?"

I can't even begin to imagine what the families of those men who bled to find this scumbag are going through.

Clearly, Bergdahl is guilty.  He said so himself by pleading guilty to the charges and specifications. And so is this judge.

I know what my reaction would be if I were one of those families.  And now, the only question is: how long does Bergdahl have before justice is meted out the way it should have been by this judge?