WASHINGTON (AP) — After a week and a half at a hospital in Germany, U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl (boh BURG’-dahl) is coming home. An official says Bergdahl will leave Germany overnight for Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas.
Meanwhile, there’s word that Bergdahl won’t be receiving the promotion that would have been automatic if he’d still been held prisoner by the Taliban in Afghanistan. An official says the promotion list that would have included a boost to staff sergeant is expected to be released this week, and he won’t be on it.
Officials are also saying that the Army hasn’t yet formally started a new review of the circumstances of Bergdahl’s capture, and whether he walked away without leave or was deserting the Army when he was found and taken by insurgents.
The answers to those questions will be key to whether Bergdahl will receive more than $300,000 in back pay that is owed to him since he disappeared in June 2009 from his post in eastern Afghanistan.
According to a U.S. official, if Bergdahl is determined to have been a prisoner of war, he also could receive roughly another $300,000 or more, if recommended and approved by Army leaders.
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APPHOTO WX108: In this image taken from video obtained from Voice Of Jihad Website, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, sits in a vehicle guarded by the Taliban in eastern Afghanistan. A U.S. defense official says released captive Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is scheduled to arrive at a military medical center in Texas on Friday. The official, who spoke Thursday on condition of anonymity because the plan has not been publicly announced, declined to provide details. Officials had previously said the intention was for Bergdahl to be reunited with his family at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Voice Of Jihad Website via AP video) (4 Jun 2014)
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