PRESENT FOR DUTY

Bowe Bergdahl, an American soldier was deployed in Afghanistan in May, 2004. He decided to walk off from his post at OP Mest and started his journey towards steep, deserted terrains in the middle of the night on June, 2004. He did not carry any weapons or adequate gadgets for self defense with him. When the army found out that Bowe was missing, they were ordered to find him. Unfortunately, before the army could get a hold of him, Taliban had already put him into their motors and taken him away. Bowe was held captive for five years until he was released to special forces in June 2014. The US government had to release five Guontanamo Bay detainess to Taliban in exchange of him. The US army had sacrificed soldiers and machines during their search for him. Additionally, The USA had negotiated with terrorists to get back their soldier, who had voluntarity stepped into hostile terrotory. The media, public, officials and the world wanted to know about Bowe Bergdahl. They wanted to know what had happened in that one month after his deployment in Afghanistan that made him risk his own life as well as his country's reputation. The world wanted to know Bowe's story.I wanted to know Bowe's story.

In the podcast, The Serial season 2, Sarah Koenig explained the whole scenario related to Bowe's case. Many primary and secondary ources were used to support the story and for insights. During my listening to the podcast, from episode 1 to 10, my idea about Bowe has completely changed. In the beginning, I thought he was just a crazy, naive, immature and impulsive kid in the body of a 23 year old. A kid who eagerly wanted to a hero of his own story and fight the bad ones. However, over the time, Bowe started sounding just as human as me but more ethical. It was his principles, ethics and idea of virtue that led him to act that way. He could not understand how people could be "okay" with things around them which are immoral or not right! He was mentally rigid and had strick moral values.While growing up, he was home schooled and mostly isolated. He read books about heroes and wanted to be one some day. Therefore, he joined the army. But his dream of being a warrior in a war country had shattered after coming to Afghnaistan. He was commanded to strictly follow the rules and made to live in a small hole in the middle of a desert in absence of basic facilities. There were no restrooms, beds, food, clean water or life. However, it was not these difficult surroundings that bothered him the most. It was his command who treated his soldiers miserably. When the devastated soldiers came back after a week from a mission, instead of appreciating, their command taunted them about their unshaved beards. More than anybody else, Bowe was bothered by this and was sacred about his life in the hands of such inhumane person. A day before Bowe walked off his post, his platoon mates were joking about their miserable lives and runing away from such mess. The next day, Bowe went missing. His platoon mates felt betrayed by his action and started hating on him. For many years people in the USA viewed Bowe as a betrayer who had risked his own country. The rumours about his mental health started coming around which also delayed the trade of Bowe's life in excahnge of five prisoners. In 2010, WikiLeaks published many classified documents concerning wars in Afghanistan and Iran. These classified documents also included the conversations among the army about Bowe. After this incident, Bowe was popularly known. In June 2014, when he was finally released, a legitimate cause for his actions were demanded. His five years of silence broke down into thousands of word constituting a 300 pages story. He explained his experience of torture, devastation, his failures to run away, the consequences of attempt to run away, mental harrasement, physical torture, loneliness, and constant struggle of being alive in those five years. He decribed what he was forced to eat, dress, sleep, and speak. His truggle with darkness was real. The people who hated Bowe because they had lost a family member during his search, his platoon mates who fel betrayed, people in congress(especially Republicans) were getiing little less enraged by his name after learning his side of the story. His story seemed genuine and he had no intention of hurting anyone or his country. All he wanted to do was to cause a DUSTWUN for 24 hours until he reached FOB Sharana, so that he could bring attention to the dysfuntional leadership in his platoon. He was not wrong, butu may be his way of doing a right thing was. So, after getting aware of the hell he has already survied, the militray decided to not put him in jail for the entire life. I was happy to hear that and I am sure millions of other people were too. His pictured and videos published by Taliban during the captivity were hearbreaking. I was not very empathized when I first looked at those but after learning his story, each of those pictures and videos came out to me. He seemes numbed in those but his eyes were creaming for help. He feels relatable and most of all, a human who made a mistake to be moral and attempted to a right thing in a wrong world.

Thorny Politics

Bowe was finally released to the special forces and taken to Germany. There were multiple people appointed to train him to behave like a normal person(especially for the optics on arrival in the USA). Bowe was a first American soldier to have survived five years of captivity after the Vietnam war. Psychologists, nutritionists, physicians etc. were some of many people who had to simultaneously aware Bowe of his expectations from media, society, and military and prepare him to face them. It seems a lot to ask from a detainee who had gone through hell in five years. However, in the back of his mind, Bowe already knew what he would have to go through on his return to the normal world. Bowe was very cooperative and helpful to the appointees. He knew his obligations towards his country and the people whose lives were endangered because of his naive moves. He was right, he had another battle to survive, a battle against his own countrymen. Bowe's own country had turned his back against him because media had portrayed him as a betrayer. Thanks to Bowe's platoon mates who felt deserted and betrayed by his decision to walk off his post five years ago, their hatred for Bowe fueled the fire of Republicans who already were enraged by opposition's actions. Democrats had supported Obama administrations in secretly enacting a trade of five Guantanamo prisoners in exchange for Bowe without notifying Congress thirty days before. On May 31, 2014, when President Obama announced Bowe Bergdahl's recovery and addressed him as a hero, the public was outraged and demanded him (Bowe) dead. Our present President of the USA,

Donald Trump wanted to shoot him and cracked jokes on him in his campaigns. All of these were too much to handle for Bowe who has forgotten to speak after five years of being silent within four walls. He could hardly put his feelings and thoughts into words and explain his intentions of righteousness to the world. His intentions were pure and actions driven by ethics. People who were helping Bowe recover in Germany felt a sense of connection with him unlike the people staring at a screen in Pentagon. However, Bowe's friends, families, and people who knew him were adamant about supporting him and would not leave his side. Even though, for a political purpose, Democrats had backed Obama's decision of getting back Bowe no matter what and constantly supported him in media. Most of all were the families and friends of martyrs were affected who had sacrificed their lives in search of Bowe. For them, Bowe was their target for hatred and losses. However, when asked by the media if there were any men who had died for Bowe, a congressman had given a disappointed response. There was apparently no record of deaths due to Bowe specifically. Or maybe there were but nowhere on news due to the pressure of politics.

Trade Secret.

So, The United States did negotiate with the terrorist for their soldier. It was for Bowe Bergdahl that five Taliban terrorists were released from Guantanamo Bay. Now the world knows about it. Everyone knows that the USA had trade terrorists and had to agree on Taliban terms for just one foolish soldier who voluntarily walked off from his post into hostile territory. For Taliban, Bowe had always been their Golden chicken who would eventually get them some golden eggs. They had preserved him for five years and were eagerly waiting for their reward. However, the USA had not shown special interest and had delayed for years in order to enact diplomacy. The Afghanistan wars within its boundaries during those five years also delayed some consumed a lot of time and created chaos. Things were tangled among themselves and created a political stir. Although, secret talks and meetings were going on among Taliban and US officials to end the war in Afghanistan and stabilize things. Afghanistan peace council was going to be held in order to discuss the disputes and carry out diplomatic solutions for long going war. However, a day before Afghanistan's ex-vice president was assassinated by Pakistan(allegedly) which led to more complications. Later, Taliban demanded an office in Daho, Qatar before they could conclude their trade for Bowe. In 2013, The Islamic Emirates office officially was established and hosted a flag with that sign. It was insulting. The US officials made sure they took the Islamic Emirates flag down and get the sign taken off from their gate. This pissed off the Taliban even more. Later that year Taliban leader was killed and Mullah Sangeen, the leader for Bowe's operation was assassinated. These conflicts among sovereign organizations and states created a lot of mess. The US has been delaying to work a deal with Taliban. Whereas, Taliban's Lobbyist, Tayed Agha was extremely eager to get the trade deal done because they were tired of Bowe and by his babysitting. All of these incidents were pretty familiar with the reporters and it's audience. Finally, when the US agreed to swap five former terrorists to Taliban in exchange for Bowe, they ensured secrecy in order to avoid any deadly interruptions. The C-17s were in charge of this long-awaited trade. On May 2014, Bowe was taken into custody by the special forces and brought back to his country. He had been crushed by all these conflicts and diplomacy enacted by countries and organizations. Noone wanted to show interest in getting what they really wanted and Bowe had no choice but to wait for his rescue when all those ended. It did not seem like ending for the longest time because the discussions of the trade for five Guantanamo prisoners had been going on since 2010. It took them 4 years to execute the deal and get Bowe back. he had suffered enough and had luckily survived, his families and friends would finally get to take him home and he would live happily ever after. Well...NO! Reality is not a Disney movie. Bowe's new struggle had just started. Now his fight was against his own country who thought he was a traitor to walk off. Good luck to Bowe...

Hindsight

"And I...you know, I really think so much of it had to do with questions of...of virtue, of what was right. More than anything, I think that's what he...that's what he was really working on and focused on all the time, was coming up with this...these values for himself" said Nick, son of Kim Harrison when asked about Bowe. Bowe was very attached to Harrison's family.

 He lived with them for months in a stretch. Bowe was not very close to his own family, they had issues. Nick and Bowe worked together in Stager. They were buddies. Kayla was close to Bowe and Kim was like his mother. They know things about Bowe. How he was, where he came from and what are his goals. They said Bowe was a protector. An ethical person, a gentleman and constantly working for improvement in himself. According to Kayla, Bowe had a rigid code of principles, he could not understand how people can be OK with things that are not morally right. "Like, his...he has the least flexible system ever," she says. Kim was always worried about Bowe and his choices. Bowe went to France, went to coast guard boot camp where he was separated due to a mental break down, and later joined the army. According to Kim all of these are not the things for Bowe because he had been homeschooled and basically lived in isolation. He had a hard time coping up with society and their way of living lives.  Kim was not happy that he had decided to join the army after being eliminated from coast guard due to anxiety and depression. The coast guard doctor had strictly mentioned in Bowe's medical document that he needed clearance before getting back in navy or military. But Bowe REALLY wanted to join the army and he was accepted. However, to everyone around him thought that it did not make sense for him to make such decision based on his past experiences with these kinds of jobs. Shortly after his deployment in Afghanistan, Bowe started making connections with locals and AGPs. It was weird for his inmates to notice him getting so friendly with them because they were on the other side of the war. They were the enemies. But for Bowe, they were humans. A night before Bowe left his post, he discussed the "disappear plan" with an inmate, they jokingly discussed foolish plans in free time about how to get rid of their situation in OP Mest. And then the next day, nobody but Bowe decided to really walk off his post and into the deserted mountains. He had enacted upon those jokes and now he was in captivity by Taliban. So, did the army screw up by recruiting Bowe Bergdahl whereas, he was restricted? Yes. Why did the coast guard medical documents of Bowe was never discovered by the military before he was deployed? That doesn't mean he cheated and sneak in the army. It was the military's fault and their small mistake has now turned out to be a big dilemma for US government. Bowe's vision was an army was nothing like the one he was put into. He applied for army recruitment thinking to serve a nation, help people, fight the bad ones and be a warrior. He was now a modern soldier in a dern military where things were shrugged out and least cared about. The reason why nobody but Bowe walked away was that this carelessness bothered him a lot and he could not ignore the facts that even modern military was led unprofessionally and the functioning was nothing like how it is supposed to be. The military is extremely influential and significant. For Bowe Berghdahl, this was serious and he could not just shrug it off. Unlike others, he REALLY REALLY cared. He cared about it more than his life and made a decision to bring attention to it. IN one of his emails to NIck, he said, "It is not the being of value who fails the system, it is the system that has failed the man. For man should not stoop to fit the system, but the system should be made and remade to fit the man who holds value as worth. I will serve no bandit nor liar, for I know John Galt and understand. This life is too short to serve those who compromise value and its ethics. I am done compromising." 

 After listening to the Hindsights, Bowe really got into my mind. I could feel what he would have felt in Afghanistan. I feel a strange connection with him. Although, his actions put many lives on a stake and a lot of material things at risk. He did the right thing. He was a moral person and had ethics and principles. That is rare in the modern world. There are very fewer people who actually care about the world and not just themselves. Especially, the military if nobody else should've understood where he came from and were the reasons behind his actions. Because the military is been trusted for millions of lives and if they seem to care the least or ignore the threats, we need a better military or none at all. In my opinion, Bowe Bergdahl only fulfilled his moral obligation towards his country and its people. And if anybody is at fault is the military that did not do its job right and recruited Bowe in the army in the first place. 

5 O' Clock Shadow.

Why nobody else but only Bowe decided to cause DUSTWUN? What did he see coming that nobody else did in his platoon? Was it worth risking his job and even his life? All of these questions were asked to Bowe after his arrival in the USA. The statement of approx. 380 pages long were given by Bowe Bergdahl to General Kenneth Dahl (who was investigating Bowe's case) in exchange for numerous questions that had piled up since five years. "Well, sir, in order for me to explain to you what happened, I need to go back and explain to where it began", said Bowe. Bowe has always been the quiet one; the different one. He had been the one who was looked up to. He took his job seriously and cared about the surroundings he was in.  However, Bowe was very unhappy with his deployment in Afghanistan. The OP Mest had always bothered him. Especially the leadership of General Stanley McChrystal. Gen McChrystal's attitude, efforts, and influence was Bowe's biggest concern. Unlike his platoon mates, Bowe could not deal with it. An event that took place within a month of their deployment finally required some heroic actions. A giant military vehicle was stuck at the edge of a cliff and the mission was to save it and bring it back for security purpose.They were stuck in the middle of a desert for a couple of days instead of a few hours. Exhausted when returned, their General cared least about their efforts but a beard. Bowe's platoonmates mentioned that this incident upset him(Bowe) a lot. Bowe realized that they were just stuck in the middle of this OP Mest which had no significant impact on the operation of the war in Afghanistan.
 In that scorching desert, in the midst of nowhere and poor facility for military functioning, these US soldiers were working hard to make as much of their time to do their job and make some impact. Meanwhile, a photographer from Guardian posted a picture, The Picture which had put the final nail in the coffin. This picture (below) posted by Sean Smith went viral and created a little tension in the platoon. Officials were unhappy that US soldiers were not in their proper attire in the picture. Militants were seen to be careless and unsophisticated. General Stanley got upset and expected to look proper while working in broiling weather whereas he chilled in an AC room. Bowe was the most bothered by the malfunctions and management. He decided to walk off his post and go to FOB Sharana (another US Military base) to cause DUSTWUN, bring authority attention to the issues.

All of these pieces of information was gathered by Sarah Koenig for her podcast, Serial. Most of it came directly from Bowe Bergdahl through Mark Boal. Other intimate details about the platoon, military incidents, Gen. McChrystal, issues, and Bowe Bergdahl was shared by his inmates, Josh Korder. Jason Dempsey, Austin Lanford, Darley Henson, and Daryl Henson. Additionally, Kim Harrison, Andrew, and Michelle spoke with Sarah in regards to the search conducted for Bowe. Sami Yousafsai (an afghani reporter who knew the inner operations of Taliban and Afghanistan war), as well as David Rhode(a former captive of Taliban), shared his experience with Taliban. All of these were first-hand information that helped a lot for Bowe's case. Secondary information like WikiLeaks, articles from newspapers and video uploaded by Bob Bergdahl( Bowe's father) made Bowe's story more reliable and relatable. The Serial correspondents emphasized on things related to Bowe's case. Bowe was their prominent actor and they were reviewing facts provided by different sources in this podcast. Conversations with primary sources were highlighted the most and evaluated with what Bowe had said. From Serial, I learned that research is an essential part of our lives. We are surrounded by information that is false, partially false, partially true, or true. We need to nitpick the truths from the air. Information obtained from people who have experienced them first hand is the best. They can provide minute details (mostly) and significantly add to our story. 

Meanwhile in Tampa..

People were already pissed on Bowe Bergdahl for walking off his post and into hostile territory. Many military men and machines were sacrificed for his search. After two months, nobody was really interested in bringing Bowe back. However, he was not forgotten by his family and friends who loved him dearly. Kim Harrison is the one who loved him too much to go to Pakistan or Afghanistan to bring him back herself. Unfortunately, things don't work that way. Kim Harrison had to contact Interpol, DOD, and CENTCOM to get Bowe back. FBI and CIA were also involved in his search.
Yet, nothing worked. The USA was unsuccessful in finding Bowe. The truth is, they did not know how to deal with a situation like this in Afghanistan. A soldier in captivity had never happened before. There was no handbook to direct them or assist in situations like these. Unlike in Iraq, Afghanistan had no personal recovery divisions which appointed 15-20 full-time employees just to track missing people. In Afghanistan, the military was not equipped enough to bring Bowe back before caught by the terrorists. The men were not trained to untangle a knot like that. Even though the USA has been maintaining diplomatic relations with Pakistan for multiple reasons, they could not boss around and command Pakistan to release Bowe. In 2010, Pakistan had helped the USA to track down Osama Bin Laden and have him killed. This time it was Bowe in Pakistan under Taliban and Haqqani region, Waziristan. USA rescue team could not reach him because it was tightly held by these terrorist groups. During all these, Bowe's dad, Bob Bergdahl had been preparing to deliver the right statements to Taliban through his video. He researched the relations between the two nations and the complexity of religions that played the major role. He studied their language, religion, and culture to know exactly what words would work on them. He wanted to get Bowe back and was careful of his statements because he did not want him to be killed or harassed.

In his video, he looked very humble and spoke a few Urdu words to connect with the Taliban members. He also had a long beard and worn a black shirt to look like he did not hate them like other Americans. In this video, he wanted to emphasize that Bowe had not been forgotten. The video is heartbreaking. This father acknowledged that his son was in pain and in severe conditions. He wasn't killed or sacrificed while serving his country, he was a hostage in a war country which was even worse because that means he was dying every minute. Under his skin, it was mere helplessness that he could not reveal in this video. Bob Bergdahl was not able to do much so he did the least a father could do for his son in captive. If he could, he would go himself to look for his son and bring him back but he was not allowed. Negotiating with terrorist is not what American's believe in. Diplomacy is their tool when nothing else seems to work. Therefore, diplomacy it was to bring Bowe back. Now that takes a while because the USA did not want to give away too much in exchange for just one American soldier who was foolish enough to put his life in danger. Since the government was not doing something on their behalf, Bergdahl family could not even offer a ransom to Taliban to have their son released. It was a crime. The national security agencies are the only ones authorized to deal with national threats. Bowe Berghdal was now a national matter so paying ransom or negotiating with terrorists is not an option for the Berghdal family. In my opinion, they should not be allowed because it is a matter of national security and just being a family or friend does not give them any clearance or validation to compromise the whole country for their son. A penalty for any actions against national laws is overwhelming.

THE CAPTORS.

Taliban is a very secretive group that operates from North Waziristan, Pakistan. People know very little about them because they carefully communicate. However, we got some insights from David Rhode, a journalist who was held by Taliban for nine months. Unlike Bowe, David was on a loose leash. Along with David was two other Afghani journalists, Tahir Luddin and Asad Mangal who were captured. Tahir would translate to David the talks among Taliban members. David exposed interesting things about Taliban, their allies, and operations. Taliban is not alone, the Haqanni Network, a very disciplined crime organization has teamed up with them to establish Sharia Law in Afghanistan as well as Pakistan. Haqqanis is the major contributor to the Taliban military and intelligence. Due to their alliance with the Pakistani army, Taliban can function efficiently from Pakistan and have control over both Afghanistan and Pakistan.Their goals are to unable India( a rising economy and Pakistan's enemy) to establish any power in Afghanistan; target media through terror; destroy democracies around the world. They are against western ideology and education. Just like Al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, ISIS, and Al- Shabab, Taliban promotes terror in the name of Allah(Muslim god). According to the members of these terrorist group, there is only one interpretation of Quran which is radical and extremist.They call themselves Mujahideen, the fighter against non-muslim forces. Taliban erupted in Afghanistan during the late 1900s when Soviet tried to invade Afghanistan. Ever since the Soviets left the land, Taliban has been a rising power. They use this power to kill people even Muslims who follow a different or modern interpretation of Quran. David Rhode mentioned that during his captivity, he had come across an old man who carried the modern ideology of Islam, a peaceful and humane version. Old man lectured the Taliban members for treating him(David) as a dirty animal.

 According to Prophet Mohammad SWT, David was just as human as anyone else and one must be kind to all regardless of the religion, said the old man. This incident showed David Rhode a vast cultural difference practiced under the same roof.
On the other hand, Mula Sangeen, a Taliban member sounded just like Trump, radical and seeker of loyalty. On their land, there were these two citizens who had betrayed them, Tahir Luddin and Asad Mangal. They were treated worse than David because Mujahideen's saw them as traitors. To them, it did not matter if they were Afghanis or even Muslims. They(Tahir and Assad) had dared to act against them and so they were now enemies; they shall be executed. Taliban believed in killing whoever was not on their side of the war against the western world. Interestingly, there are 1.8 Billion Muslims in the whole world. If all of them had the same hatred against other humans or religions, the world had been destroyed by now. Thankfully, there are Muslims like that old man who exists and practices peace in the name of Allah and does not promote violence. Having said that, "War on Terror" launched by the USA is completely bogus. The USA had been the one training and supplying military aids to the members of Al- Qaeda, ISIS, and Taliban! Let's research and think about who manufactures these terrorists? The Quran, media or the western world itself?

#3 ESCAPING...

A soldier is in captivity under one of the most popular terrorist group, Taliban. What must he be thinking since the minute he was caught by them? A chance to ESCAPE. Seeing through the mind while blindfolded and listening at all times to keep a track and record of his locations. Even though Bowe could not understand their language, he kept a keen attention on every word and noise around him. Right after he was caught, Taliban constantly kept changing their locations. According to the interviews taken by reporter Sami Yousafsai with Taliban, Bowe was first taken to a mosque near OP Mest. Later, he was taken to the commander of Taliban in Yusof Khel District near FOB Sharana. There they decided that Bergdahl was their golden chicken and was worth a lot because he was alive. They did not want to kill him.

They predicted that US military might assume that Bowe would be taken to Pakistan and therefore, Taliban planned to take him in the opposite direction until things get clam and they could move him in Pakistan peacefully. So, Bowe was taken to Ghazni where he was kept for a couple of weeks. Subsequently, they moved him east towards Pakistan, almost near FOB Sharana (US military post). Taliban was smart yet over confident regarding their moves with Bowe, they picked locations around US military posts knowing that US soldiers still kept an eye around for him. But the search for Bowe had slowed down after two months and that gave Taliban a chance to take Bowe to Pakistan where they could finally not worry as much about him being found or able to escape. Taliban drove him to Angoor Shaba, a city near the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan. He was later moved to North Waziristan, South Waziristan, Miran Shah, Shawal, and Wana. During his five years in war captivity by Taliban, he was most moved among these cities near Afghan-Pakistan Border. They changed eight locations and was constantly on move. All of this information was given by Taliban members to Sami Yousafsai(Afghani reporter who later shared them to Sarah Koenig, host of Serial, a podcast).
      During these times, Bowe tried to escape twice. Early in the beginning he was caught immediately and a year after he went missing for nine days before he was caught again. Bowe explained his experience throughout his captivity as brutal and filthy. After his initial try to escape, he was severely beaten for a while and taken to another place where they tied him to a bed and blindfolded him for three months. Bowe had been constantly beaten and was sick for the most times he was held by Taliban. They did not intend to force information out of him because they did not trust him rather they asked him foolish questions like the type of alcohol and drugs Americans consume and if the women had sex with animals.  One night Bowe had made use of the key thrown by a kid towards his room to unlock himself and escape. He had prepared himself for this time and gathered a blanket, water bottle, nail, a key, a PVC pipe, sandals, and a wooden stake before he left. Now, in the middle of the night, it was just him and a high desert terrain with bushes and slit ground. He starts walking towards the south east where most of his journey included steep mountains and pine trees. Before Bowe could run away enough, he stepped off a cliff and hurt himself badly. His left arm and feet were injured and he couldn't move anymore. However, he digs himself a small hole beneath a tree and had stayed there for almost nine days without food and water. He ate grasses and enjoyed his last sunset before he was caught again by Taliban. Bowe Bergdahl had been through a lot and survived through severe hostile times. He does not deserve to be labeled as a traitor, does he?

#2 The Golden Chicken

Mission DUSTWUN successfully executed. Bowe Bergdahl wanted to create DUSTWUN to get attention from the higher authorities regarding the necessary amendments needed in their company as well as the platoon. But how did the company know that Bowe was missing and what was his mission? The answer is- they did not know. They only knew that Bowe was missing and they had to find him. The soldiers were furious and adamant about finding him. They communicated in codes to spread the awareness to surrounding platoons that one of the soldiers (Bowe) was missing. Well, what happened then? How did the USA military, one with the most advanced technology, intelligence and weapons be not able to find him? How did he get caught? How did he end up in Taliban captivity? How do we ever know that Berghdal's side of the story is true? How do we cross-check the information from the Blackfoot Company( Bowe worked for) is legitimate? How do we(public) know if everything the media say's is true? The answer to all of these questions is- WIKILEAKS.

WikiLeaks is a non-profit organisation that publishes secret information,  news leaks and classified media provided by the anonymous source(wikipedia.com). This organisation published the war diaries of Afghanistan from 2004-2010, which also included the chats between military officials working under Bowe Berghdal's case and from locals who exchanged information about the white skin guy with blue eyes( Bowe's). The WikiLeaks gather these data secretly without our knowledge and permission. It makes us feel that there is no room for privacy in this world. The people working in this organisation is extremely smart and know exactly what they want to accomplish through this intel. When the chats were published in 2010 that consisted truth with concrete details, everyone was shocked. The conversations between soldiers, officials, Sargent, agents, locals, reporters were provided with descriptions and timings that one cannot ignore.

The information published by Wikileaks consisted details about the methods of investigation used by officials to find Bowe Berghdal like checking roads, cars, houses and even women closets. A local described how the officials were extremely close to the house where Bowe was kept under a Burkha. Someone mentioning about Bowe looking for someone who spoke English and then was captured in the middle of the street by motor riders with weapons and forcefully put him on a motorbike. These details were mostly aligned with the truth. Bowe said almost the same things with vague details because he was blindfolded but some soldiers who were looking for Bowe agreed that it is right. Although, some information recorded from locals were not entirely true because their goal was to mislead officials and other people who were looking for Bowe. However, I would say most of it was true because nobody rejected it.

#1 DUSTWUN- Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown

Bowe Berghdal was posted in Afghanistan in May 2009, to ensure the local's safety from the Taliban. He intended to play a real life hero in a country at war where he could save people and fight the bad ones. Bowe's expectations about his job and goals did not correspond to the reality he was put into. It was all desert and slit landscape around him. It was OP mest. OP mest is a large barren land and miles away from basic hygiene facilities. The Platoon was poorly led, lacked appropriate functioning and leadership. Bowe was neither comfortable nor satisfied with what he was seeing, feeling and going through. He tried to report his concerns many times. That were not only harmful for him but his inmates. His concerns were ignored. He was ignored. Now he could only think of one way to be heard, by being silent. On June 2009, he decided to cause DUSTWUN- Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown. He left his duty and walked towards FOB Sharana (another base) that was 25miles away. Without any back up plan or defense weapons. He took each steps towards his own catastrophe. In a small town of Afghanistan, among locals who did not look him(an American), Bowe assumed he could walk through and not be recognized or caught by Taliban. Realistically, he subconsciously knew he was putting his hand into Lion's mouth. And that's where he ended up, in captivity. The journey of 24 hours lasted for 5 years.
His decision of risking his life as well as his country was neither logical nor practical. Such naive determination was not worth the amount of loss he suffered. Bowe had a history of serving in the military, he knew the protocols and was aware of the consequence of disobedience. Yet, he abandoned his job. That sounds undoubtedly gutsy but unwise. Bowe Berghdale did not act like a normal person. He did not think like a normal person. So what happened in that platoon that did not cause others to act that way but only him? Bowe could have been tortured or mentally ill or bullied or sexually assaulted or what not that left him with no other choice but to make such a deadly decision. If I had been in his position, I could have never dared to endanger my own country due to my inconvenience. I would have got my inmates to support me, contact the authorities and much more before I even think about crossing a slit and barren terrain with almost no idea of what awaits a thousand meters ahead.

An Overview

                   Bowe Bergdahl, a 23-year-old American soldier was deployed in Afghanistan in May 2009. On the night of 30th June 2009, Bowe decides to walk off from his platoon and into dark deserts which resulted in his 5 years captivity by Taliban. Bowe was released to American Special Force on 13th June 2014. After returning to his homeland, instead of being welcomed, he was accused of being a traitor. Bowe remained silent, he was unheard of. Nobody knew his side of the story and the reason behind his actions were unknown. Mark Boal, a filmmaker who was interested in making a movie about the life of Bowe, was the only person Bowe talked to and opened up about the vivid details associated with his experience about that 5-year captivity. Bowe explained that he was bothered by the functioning of his company and had tried to make a change but when nothing worked he caused Dustwun to get quick results. He did not want to be a part of unprofessional and bad leadership mission which was dangerous to not only him but other members of the company.  However, he said he regretted walking off his post. He did not want to go back empty handed that would undoubtedly put him at consequences so he decided to get some Intel before caught or returned. He did not realize that another threat was just down the road and he would be forced into a jeep and put in a dark room for almost 5 years. He realized that he had made an impulsive decision without any backup plan. But was it really an impulsive move or a well-planned plot?