d-usa wrote:
http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/07/us/sgt-bowe-bergdahl-controversy/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

After dropping out of Louisiana Tech University after three quarters, Robertson was drafted into the United States Army during the Vietnam War.[3] During the war, his mother sent him a set of Tupperware cups, two boots, and two jars of jalapeno peppers in each boot, because he loves jalapeno peppers.[4][5] These gifts are his greatest treasures, and he is rarely seen without one of his plastic cups drinking iced tea, which he treats with equal importance.[4] Si retired from the Army in 1993 with the rank of Sergeant First Class (E-7) [6]

Si

 Jihadin wrote:
Except one of the family members:

 Ahtman wrote:

 Jihadin wrote:
Except one of the family members:

Nothing you copy/pasted there says that that person is complaining about the father's beard, or any part of this for that matter. It just says he was drafted and served in the military and likes stuff his mom sent.

 Ensis Ferrae wrote:

 Ahtman wrote:

 Jihadin wrote:
Except one of the family members:

Nothing you copy/pasted there says that that person is complaining about the father's beard, or any part of this for that matter. It just says he was drafted and served in the military and likes stuff his mom sent.

I think it was more an allusion to the "beard holding duck" thing... as Si is apparently almost never seen without his "drinking cup" as opposed to a duck

a Reuters reconstruction of his disappearance indicates that at the time when Bergdahl’s six comrades in the 1st Battalion of the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment were killed in August and September 2009, his fallen comrades were on other missions like securing the Afghan elections and, according to one U.S. military official, the period of intensive ground searches had already ended.

But several soldiers in his unit say the quest to locate him never really ended, and that it was

an element of every mission

they undertook, prompting some to blame the deaths on him.

1) August 18, 2009 -- Staff Sgt. Clayton Bowen and Pfc. Morris Walker were killed by an IED

Bowen and Morris were part of Headquarters Company, but attached to Comanche Company, which "was conducting a recon of polling sites in order to prepare for the election on August 20," recalls a former officer from the 501st, one of whom describes his politics as left of center but who asked not to be named because of the rhetoric and accusations being leveled against troops who served with Bergdahl.

In the aftermath of the initial search for Bergdahl, called DUSTWUN (for DUTY STATUS: WHEREABOUTS UNKNOWN), the officer recalls, "there were numerous polling sites that had to be closed because security was so poor. Their platoon slept overnight at a remote site, and when they started rolling again the next morning, an IED detonated.

A 501st soldier with Comanche Company recalled the device "had been located right under their right back tire."

The mission was not specifically focused on personnel recovery but the officer said he believes Bergdahl's disappearance played something of a role in the attack since this "was the absolute worst part of western Paktika Province, and it was the subject of numerous air assaults in July" that were directly focused on Bergdahl. "I believe those contributed to the worsening security situation."

Bowen, 29, was from San Antonio, Texas. Walker, 23, was from Fayetteville, North Carolina.

2) August 26, 2009 -- Staff Sgt. Kurt Curtiss is killed by small arms fire

This incident occurred after the battalion received information that the Taliban shadow sub-governor of Sar Hawza district in Paktika Province -- a man who went by the name "Muslim" -- had effectively taken a local clinic hostage as he received medical treatment for wounds he received during the election, according to the former officer from the 501st.

To the leadership of the 501st, the name "Muslim" prompted an immediate response as he was supposedly connected to Bergdahl's captors, the former officer said.

An intelligence source told CNN the incident involved a commander with the terrorist Haqqani network, working directly for Mullah Sangin Zadran, the Paktika Shadow Governor, widely believed to have Bergdahl in his custody. "He was important as part of the mission to get to Bergdahl," the source said.

The former 501st officer echoed that detail: "The relation to Bergdahl made him a priority target."

The 4th Platoon from Delaware Company was sent to seize the Taliban official. Some from the insurgent group surrendered, but "Muslim" was nowhere to be found.

"Curtiss took his squad to search an empty building adjacent to the clinic that the Afghan National Police had supposedly cleared," the officer recalled. "It was empty, but a storage room door was wedged shut. He and his squad kicked in the door, and Curtiss was the first guy in."

Troops there that day say "Muslim" had been in the room hiding with three bodyguards, who shot Curtiss.

Additionally, 501st sources say, the insurgents threw Curtiss' grenades at the squad, after which a two-hour firefight ensued -- one that ended with Apache helicopters strafing the building. The building caught fire and killed all the insurgents except for one bodyguard, who was severely wounded. Curtiss' body was recovered before the fire.

Curtiss, 27, was from Salt Lake City, and had already done two deployments in Iraq. He left behind a wife, son and daughter.

3) September 4, 2009 -- 2nd Lt. Darryn Andrews and Pfc. Matthew Michael Martinek are attacked by an IED and a rocket-propelled grenade

Andrews and Martinek were in Bergdahl's company, Blackfoot, and were in the village of Palau, just outside of Yaya Kayhl, one of the last places where Bergdahl was believed to have gone. After Bergdahl disappeared, local Afghans and intercepted Internet chatter placed him in that area, according to multiple sources with the 501st.

Andrews and Martinek were there to conduct atmospherics -- basically check anything and everything around Palau.

According to several sources in Blackfoot Company, among the many questions those soldiers wanted answered was: where is Bergdahl? Where are the guys who have him? Was Palau connected with the insurgents -- who by then it was believed -- had transported Bergdahl to Pakistan?

But the platoon hit an IED. In the aftermath, a cluster of soldiers tried to hook the vehicle up to chains for the wrecker and were stuck out there for hours on end. In the midst of the effort, an RPG hit them and an insurgent ambush began, according to multiple soldiers with Blackfoot company.

Andrews yelled that the RPG was coming and knocked a bunch of guys out of the way. "Jason watch out," were said to have been his last words, soldiers told Andrews' father. He was killed instantly.

The ambush brought relentless amounts of RPG and heavy artillery fire on the platoon. Martinek was trying to call for air support when he took a severely debilitating artillery round. He lived long enough to get to Landstuhl in Germany where he was taken off life support and died on September 11.

Other members of the platoon faced severe wounds, from a jaw blown off, to deafness, to severe psychological issues from that day, according to sources in Blackfoot company and the 501st. It wasn't a formal DUSTWUN mission, but it wasn't unrelated, the former 501st officer said.

Moreover, says Buetow, Blackfoot Company's mission tasking was about to change.

"We were told we were moving south to start focusing on another area of the province," Buetow says. "Our four-day mission to Observation Post Mest was going to be our last trip out there before moving south. Bowe Bergdahl left, so we then stayed in that area for several more months. We stayed in the area because Bergdahl was last known to be in that area. If he has never deserted, Andrews and Martinek would not have been on patrol in that area."

Andrews, 34, was from Dallas. He and his wife had a 2-year-old son and were expecting their second child when he was killed. Martinek, 20, was from Dekalb, Illinois.

Andrews' heroism eats at former Spc. Jose Baggett, a member of Blackfoot Company. "He pushed a sergeant out of the way" of the RPG, "and now I'm stuck watching" Bergdahl get attention from politicians, the military and the media "and they're dead and he's alive."

4) September 5, 2009 -- Staff Sgt. Michael Murphrey is hit by an IED

Da Dila Panegir village was part of an area that had been subject to searches during the DUSTWUN, and Comanche Company was charged with trying to win the locals back. That day they conducted a foot patrol to hand out supplies and meet with the leaders. In the course of the mission, Murphrey stepped on a pressurized plate that unleashed an IED and was severely wounded; he died at Forward Operating Base Sharana's hospital the next day.

That mission "wasn't an exact search, it was a 'Keep your eyes out for Bowe Bergdahl while you're there,'" said former Spc. Joseph Cox of Comanche Company, who calls Murphrey his best friend and squad leader.

And yet, the intensity of the DUSTWUN search had also enraged Afghans, soldiers said.

"Our platoon alone conducted more than 20 inserted missions operations within three days. There were massive insertions to find him," Cox said.

"This mission was probably the least related to Bergdahl" of the four missions, the former officer said, "but it was definitely in an area previously targeted -- an area where they already hated us before, but hated us more because of the search."

Murphrey, 25, left behind a wife, son, and daughter.

US authorities are investigating emailed death threats to the father of Bowe Bergdahl, the soldier released by the Afghan Taliban last week after five years in captivity.

Four threatening emails were being investigated, police told Reuters.

Meanwhile he is reported to have said that his captors locked him in a cage in total darkness for weeks at a time.

US opinion is divided as to whether he is a hero or a soldier who endangered his comrades by deserting his post.

On Thursday a welcoming party in the hometown of Sgt Bergdahl was cancelled.

The first of the four death threats was sent to Bob Bergdahl - Sgt Bergdahl's father - at his home near Hailey, Idaho, the town's police chief Jeff Gunter told Reuters.

He said that Mr Bergdahl received the first threat on Wednesday, the same day as a rally in Hailey celebrating Sgt Bergdahl's release was cancelled amid controversy over the circumstances of his release.

Mr Gunter said that the threatening emails were now being investigated by the FBI.

The authorities are reported to be providing security to Bob Bergdahl and his wife, Jani.

'Deteriorating health'
The details of Sgt Bergdahl's capture in 2009 remain unclear.

Some of the soldier's former comrades say that he fell into Taliban hands after deserting his post in Paktika Province.

Critics of the deal - in which five Taliban prisoners in Guantanamo Bay were released in exchange - have alleged that six US soldiers were killed in the initial efforts to locate the missing man.

They say that 30 days' notice needs to be given to Congress before Guantanamo prisoners can be transferred.

President Barack Obama has defended his decision to go ahead with the prisoner swap.

Speaking in Brussels last week at the G7 summit he said that Sgt Bergdahl's deteriorating health was a "deep concern" and "we saw an opportunity and we seized it".

Details of Sgt Bergdahl's treatment at the hands of the Taliban have meanwhile been reported by the New York Times.

He is quoted as telling medical officials that his captors imprisoned him in a metal cage in total darkness for weeks at a time as punishment for trying to escape.

It also quoted doctors as saying that while he is physically able to travel from Germany he is not yet emotionally prepared for the rigours of being reunited with his family.

 skyth wrote:
I got the duck thing from the Daily Show. And really the complaining about the release are people that will complain no matter what Obama did as to them Obama is wrong by definition. The shear number of people that went from complaining that Obama wasn't doing enough to free him to complaining that he got freed is astounding.

 Jihadin wrote:

Those two issues is what irked a few politicians

 Ahtman wrote:

 Jihadin wrote:

Those two issues is what irked a few politicians

Mostly the same politicians that would be irked by anything and everything Obama does, so I could care less about them at this point. They cry wolf all the time it is hard to get worked up over it after awhile. It is certainly problematic, and I think discussing it is good, but I couldn't give two gaks about politicians in this instance.

 whembly wrote:
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)

 Ahtman wrote:

 whembly wrote:
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)

Outside her district no one likes or listens to her either.

I didn't say there weren't others worth listening to, I just don't put much stock in the ones that always complain no matter what happens. It wasn't my intention to make it seem as if they were the only ones complaining, just the only ones I could care less about, and jokes like Feinstein.

 Jihadin wrote:
Think the reason for the low media attention now is the possible influence they might have on UCMJ trial.

 whembly wrote:

 Jihadin wrote:
Think the reason for the low media attention now is the possible influence they might have on UCMJ trial.

This... and I've already said my piece.

Also, hoping we can get that dude in Mexico home too...