Dramatic testimony at Ft. Bragg North Carolina today as a former Navy SEAL told a military judge about the horrific wounds he suffered, and the heartbreaking death of his service dog, while he was leading a mission to search for Bowe Bergdahl, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
Chief Petty Officer James Hatch suffered career ending wounds when he and his squad were peppered with AK-47 fire by Taliban units while searching for Bergdahl, who claimed he left his forward operating post in 2009 in hopes of going to another post and reporting what he saw as mismanagement in his unit. By the time CPO Hatch and his team began searching, Bergdahl had already been captured and was held in torturous captivity for five years.
Army prosecutors are hoping to get a staffer sentence for Bergdahl by showing the human cost of his escapade. A National Guardsman who suffered disabling wounds is also expected to testify.
Bergdahl could get between no time and life in prison after pleading guilty to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy
Conversely, Bergdahl's legal team is expected to call as witnesses physicians who can testify to the torture he suffered at the hands of the Taliban, in hopes of winning a lighter sentence.
Military legal experts tell 1200 WOAI news they expect a dishonorable discharge and between 3 and 5 years in prison for Bergdahl, who remains stationed with Army North at Ft. Sam Houston.