Army Sgt Berghdahl to be charged with desertion?

via The Blaze.

Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who was reportedly held captive by Taliban militants for five years, will be charged with desertion for leaving his post, according to sources of retired Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer. Bergdahl was only released after President Barack Obama negotiated with the terrorists, agreeing to release five prisoners from Guantanamo Bay.
Shaffer, senior fellow at the London Center for Policy Research, told Bill O’Reilly on Monday night that his sources have confirmed the Army has concluded its investigation and Bergdahl’s lawyer has been given a “charge sheet” informing him of the desertion charge.“This has been done, the decision has been made,” Shaffer asserted. “And let me be very clear, as a corporate entity, the Army has decided that they want to pursue Bergdahl for this violation.”
It’s important to note that Shaffer’s claims have yet to be confirmed by the U.S. Army or government officials.
He said the next step in the case will be similar to the grand jury process. If the charges stand, the Bergdahl case will proceed to a court-martial, according to Shaffer. Watch the interview via “The O’Reilly Factor” on Fox News:

My view.

The US Army had no choice.  The military is already facing a morale issue and if they had let Berghdahl skate without any consequences...especially considering the casualties his unit took trying to find him...then recruiting, retention and support for the service would crater.

I'm betting that there is still a way out for the Army on the back end though.  I don't expect any severe, realistic and justified punishment.  Probably a slight slap on the wrist, with service officials saying that his time in captivity was punishment enough and that although he's guilty of desertion he will not face time in the Brig.

The bigger issue will be ignored though.

We traded a deserter for five terrorists.  We're not talking about a serviceman that was captured while doing his duty, but a guy who left a forward operating base because he wanted to...even though he was well aware that he was in a war zone (I won't even touch on his crazy ass father).

The American people won't pay attention to this story but its telling none-the-less.  They'll focus on the elite smearing the reputation of a real hero (Chris Kyle), they'll be outraged over deflated footballs (a child's game that grown men are paid to play) but they'll ignore this.

I'd be amazed if I wasn't so ashamed.