Bowe Bergdahl News Update: U.S. Soldier Freed By Taliban in Prisoner Swap Charged With Desertion, Endangering Safety of Command

U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who left his post in Afghanistan in 2009 and was held captive by the Taliban for five years before he was released in a prisoner swap in May 2014, was charged Wednesday with desertion and endangering the safety of his command, the U.S. Army Forces Command said.

In a media briefing at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Col. Daniel J.W. King, the army spokesman, announced that Bergdahl could face life imprisonment and total forfeiture of his pay and allowances if convicted.

King said Bergdahl is charged with one count under Article 85 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice for "Desertion with Intent to Shirk Important or Hazardous Duty," and one count under Article 99 for "Misbehavior Before The Enemy by Endangering the Safety of a Command, Unit or Place."

He disappeared on June 30, 2009 from the Combat Outpost Mest-Lalak in Paktika Province, Afghanistan, and was later captured by militants.

He was released on May 31, 2014 under a prisoner swap deal where the U.S. government agreed to release five Taliban militants who were held at Guantanamo Bay to Qatar where they would stay for one year.

Bergdahl will undergo a preliminary hearing under military procedures to determine if there is sufficient evidence to merit a court-martial. This is required before a case can be tried by a general court-martial, which is equivalent to a grand jury inquiry, according to King.

The hearing will be held at Fort Sam Houston in Texas. The date will be announced later.

After the preliminary hearing, the report will be forwarded to a general court-martial authority which may refer the charges to a general court-martial or a special court-martial. It may also dismiss the charges or "take any other action deemed appropriate."

King said desertion carries a maximum potential punishment of dishonorable discharge, reduction to the rank of E-1, total forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and maximum confinement of five years. Endangering also has the same punishment but with life imprisonment added.

He said legal elements for desertion are when the accused quit his unit or place of duty, did it with the intent to avoid service, knowing that the duty to be performed was hazardous or important. Desertion is also slapped on a soldier who absent himself when he is required to do his duty.

King did not disclose the 2014 investigation by the U.S. Army, citing "legal actions are pending out of respect to the judicial process, the rights of the accused, and to ensure the proceeding's fairness and impartiality."

The investigation will be used in the preliminary hearing against Bergdahl.