Staff Report
Bowe Bergdahl received a dishonorable discharge from the U.S. Army and will avoid prison time for desertion and misbehavior before the enemy after abandoning his post in Afghanistan in 2009, a military judge ruled.
The judge also ruled at Friday’s hearing that Bergdahl’s rank be reduced from sergeant to private. Bergdahl is also required to pay a $1,000 fine from his salary for the next 10 months.
Bergdahl disappeared on June 30, 2009, at a U.S. base near Afghanistan’s eastern border with Pakistan.
Bergdahl, of Hailey, Idaho, is the son of Solvang natives Jani and Bob Bergdahl. His grandfather Craig Larson, was a veterinarian who founded Solvang Veterinary Hospital.
Bergdahl was released in May 2014 for five Guantanamo Bay detainees.
