Bowe Bergdahl, the solider who deserted his post in Afghanistan in 2009 and was subsequently captured by a Taliban affiliate, will not have to serve jail time for the crime.
In a stunning announcement on Friday, the judge deciding the case ordered Bergdahl to pay $1,000 from his salary for the next 10 months. He will be demoted to the rank of E-1 during that time and after paying his fine he will be dishonorably discharged.
Prosecutors asked the judge to sentence Bergdahl, who pleaded guilty to the charges, to 14 years in prison.
Bergdahl has previously claimed that he abandoned his post on June 30, 2009 to report his 'unfit' platoon commander to senior officers.
Bergdahl didn't make it far before he was captured by the Taliban-linked Haqqani network, leading some to suspect that Bergdahl had actually fled the Army on purpose to betray his country.
But Bergdahl has always denied claims of treason, and he was never charged with aiding the enemy.
Bergdahl spent nearly five years as a prisoner of the Haqqani network, before President Obama secured his release in exchange for five Guantanamo Bay prisoners.
Friday marked the second day of deliberations in the high-profile case.
Before the judge read his decision, Bergdahl appeared tense, clenching his teeth and grimacing at the floor as he walked into the court room for the morning session.
In closing arguments, defense attorneys argued that Bergdahl already had suffered enough confinement during five years of brutal captivity by Taliban allies. They asked the judge for a dishonorable discharge and no prison time. Their argument for leniency also cited harsh campaign-trail criticism by Donald Trump and Bergdahl's mental disorders.
Capt. Nina Banks, a defense attorney, said it wouldn't be justice to rescue Bergdahl from the Taliban 'only to place him in a cell' now.
'Sgt. Bergdahl has been punished enough,' Banks added. 'Sgt. Bergdahl paid a bitter price for the choices that he made.'
During the multiday sentencing hearing, Bergdahl himself testified that he was sorry for the wounds suffered by searchers. He also described brutal beatings by his captors, illness brought on by squalid conditions and maddening periods of isolation, most of it in a cramped cage.
A psychiatrist testified that Bergdahl's decision to leave his post was influenced by a schizophrenia-like condition called schizotypal personality disorder that made it hard to understand consequences of his actions, as well as post-traumatic stress disorder brought on partly by a difficult childhood.
Prosecutors asked for a sentence of 14 years in prison, citing serious wounds to service members who looked for Bergdahl.
'Sgt. Bergdahl does not have a monopoly on suffering as a result of his choices,' said Maj. Justin Oshana, a prosecutor. Contrasting Bergdahl to the wounded searchers, he added, 'The difference is, all the suffering stems from his choice.'
Oshana also cited Bergdahl's own words to argue against the idea that his thinking was clouded. On a courtroom monitor he displayed quotes from an initial investigation after Bergdahl returned to the U.S. Bergdahl, who has said he walked off to draw attention to problems with his unit, described to an investigating officer how he envisioned the missing-soldier alert unfolding.
Bergdahl had said that the call goes 'all the way up to Army command, it goes to Air Force, it goes to Marines. ... It goes to every high point and everybody finds out about it.'
Bergdahl pleaded guilty October 16. The judge had wide discretion on sentencing because he didn't strike a deal with prosecutors to limit his punishment. A dishonorable discharge will deprive Bergdahl of most or all his veterans' benefits.
The 31-year-old soldier from Hailey, Idaho, was brought home by President Barack Obama in 2014 in a swap for five Taliban prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. Obama said at the time that the U.S. does not leave its service members on the battlefield. Republicans roundly criticized Obama, and Trump went further while campaigning for president, repeatedly calling Bergdahl a traitor who deserved death.
Bergdahl didn't make it far before he was captured by the Taliban-linked Haqqani network, leading some to suspect that Bergdahl had actually fled the Army on purpose to betray his country.
But Bergdahl has always denied claims of treason, and he was never charged with aiding the enemy.
Bergdahl spent nearly five years as a prisoner of the Haqqani network, before President Obama secured his release in exchange for five Guantanamo Bay prisoners.
Friday marked the second day of deliberations in the high-profile case.
Before the judge read his decision, Bergdahl appeared tense, clenching his teeth and grimacing at the floor as he walked into the court room for the morning session.
In closing arguments, defense attorneys argued that Bergdahl already had suffered enough confinement during five years of brutal captivity by Taliban allies. They asked the judge for a dishonorable discharge and no prison time. Their argument for leniency also cited harsh campaign-trail criticism by Donald Trump and Bergdahl's mental disorders.
Capt. Nina Banks, a defense attorney, said it wouldn't be justice to rescue Bergdahl from the Taliban 'only to place him in a cell' now.
'Sgt. Bergdahl has been punished enough,' Banks added. 'Sgt. Bergdahl paid a bitter price for the choices that he made.'
During the multiday sentencing hearing, Bergdahl himself testified that he was sorry for the wounds suffered by searchers. He also described brutal beatings by his captors, illness brought on by squalid conditions and maddening periods of isolation, most of it in a cramped cage.
A psychiatrist testified that Bergdahl's decision to leave his post was influenced by a schizophrenia-like condition called schizotypal personality disorder that made it hard to understand consequences of his actions, as well as post-traumatic stress disorder brought on partly by a difficult childhood.
Prosecutors asked for a sentence of 14 years in prison, citing serious wounds to service members who looked for Bergdahl.
'Sgt. Bergdahl does not have a monopoly on suffering as a result of his choices,' said Maj. Justin Oshana, a prosecutor. Contrasting Bergdahl to the wounded searchers, he added, 'The difference is, all the suffering stems from his choice.'
Oshana also cited Bergdahl's own words to argue against the idea that his thinking was clouded. On a courtroom monitor he displayed quotes from an initial investigation after Bergdahl returned to the U.S. Bergdahl, who has said he walked off to draw attention to problems with his unit, described to an investigating officer how he envisioned the missing-soldier alert unfolding.
Bergdahl had said that the call goes 'all the way up to Army command, it goes to Air Force, it goes to Marines. ... It goes to every high point and everybody finds out about it.'
Bergdahl pleaded guilty October 16. The judge had wide discretion on sentencing because he didn't strike a deal with prosecutors to limit his punishment. A dishonorable discharge will deprive Bergdahl of most or all his veterans' benefits.
The 31-year-old soldier from Hailey, Idaho, was brought home by President Barack Obama in 2014 in a swap for five Taliban prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. Obama said at the time that the U.S. does not leave its service members on the battlefield. Republicans roundly criticized Obama, and Trump went further while campaigning for president, repeatedly calling Bergdahl a traitor who deserved death.