Golden Globe and Emmy-winning actor and musician Gary Sinise has spoken out about Bowe Bergdahl, the American soldier who left his post in Afghanistan in 2009 and was charged with desertion this week. According to The Blaze, Sinise believes the Obama administration owes the public an explanation for releasing five Taliban militants in exchange for Bergdahl.
The actor wrote on Twitter, “Administration must explain, especially 2 families of those lost attempting 2 find him, the GITMO trade.”
In a piece in The Daily Beast, veteran infantry officer Nathan Bradley Bethea wrote that “soldiers from his (Bergdahl’s) own unit died trying to track him down.”
For this reason, Sinise believes the government needs to explain why Taliban prisoners were exchanged for an American who would later be charged with desertion; the administration owes the families of lost soldiers the greatest explanation.
The Blaze reports that Bergdahl was charged with Article 85 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice which reads “desertion with intent to shirk important or hazardous duty,” as well as Article 99 which is “misbehavior before the enemy by endangering the safety of a command, unit or place.”
Sinise is a long-time supporter of American veterans and performs on military bases around the world.
Publication date: March 27, 2015