The odd case of Army deserter Bowe Bergdahl got even weirder during his Article 32 hearing conducted by Army officials Thursday and Friday last week.  The Article 32 procedure is the military equivalent of a civilian grand jury, except that the accused has quite a few more rights.  Unlike a typical grand jury, the Article 32 is presented before a single hearing officer, not held in secret, allows defense counsel to be present and to cross-examine witnesses, and to call their own.  All of this occurred at Bergdahl’s hearing.  Army prosecutors called Bergdahl’s immediate chain of command to testify.  They established that Bergdahl left his post without orders, but also that Bergdahl had been “great” soldier until his desertion.  Bergdahl’s former platoon leader testified that while he led exhausting patrols to find the soldier following his disappearance, this did not result in the loss of any other troops.  ...(Read Full Article)