Pentagon: Bergdahl Free to Go Where He Pleases While Under Investigation

The Pentagon said today that Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is not under any restrictions as the Army returns him to active duty yet probes the circumstances surrounding his capture by the Taliban.

The Army said Monday that Bergdahl had completed his weeks-long reintegration process to address the effects of being held by the Taliban for five years.

“Sgt. Bergdahl has completed the final phase of the reintegration process under the control of U.S. Army South and is currently being assigned to U.S. Army North, Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston (JBSA),” the Army said. “He will now return to regular duty within the command where he can contribute to the mission.”

Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby told reporters today that he couldn’t answer questions regarding the status of the investigation or whether Bergdahl had secured outside counsel.

“As you know, he did return to full duty this week. And I do know that the investigation into his departure will, you know — will continue and that it will include an interview with him, but I don’t know if that’s occurred yet or — and as for whether he’s, you know, gotten representation, that’s really a question for him to answer,” Kirby said.

Even with the ongoing investigation, there are no restrictions on Bergdahl’s movements.

“He’s an active-duty Army soldier. And just like any active-duty Army soldier, he’s free to leave base,” Kirby said. “He’s — I mean, he’s not under any particular restrictions. And I would remind you — I mean, he’s not been charged with anything.”

“There’s allegations, but, I mean, just having allegations posed against you in the military doesn’t restrict your freedom of movement or place you in any kind of restricted status just by the nature of somebody alleging wrongdoing. There will be a fair, complete, comprehensive investigation into the circumstances surrounding his departure from that base, and then we’ll move on from there.”

When asked if they were concerned about Bergdahl being a flight risk, Kirby replied before ending the press conference, “He’s under no restrictions. There’s simply an ongoing investigation into the circumstances surrounding his departure.”