Forgive the cynicism of this old infantry sergeant when it comes to media depictions of anyone and anything associated with the military.  But they inevitably get it wrong: ranks, unit designations, and terminology.  And most of all, what they never seem capable of comprehending is the military mindset regarding loyalty to your brothers in arms and the importance of successfully completing the mission.  Except for the minuscule few veterans among them, journalists just don’t get it.

Let us hope that in the case of this recently apprehended deserter, Bowe Bergdahl, they will resist their natural compulsion to brand another American traitor a hero.  Several liberal media outlets appear to be taking a balanced position rather than swallowing whole the Obama administration’s propaganda.

Notice that I do not use the term "POW" for the simple reason Bergdahl disgraces that description of his captivity.  He is a wartime collaborator, or more precisely, a collaborationist, the term applied to treasonous soldiers who defected to the enemy in earlier wars.  And apprehended is the correct term to apply to a deserter/defector now back under U.S. Army control in Germany.

Bergdahl deserted his platoon to fulfill what may turn out to be a family-concocted book-deal plan to undermine the mission of American troops in Afghanistan.  His recorded words and those of his father indicate their sympathies to those Islamists we are fighting.  PFC Bergdahl’s fuzzy, feel-good airs and mysterious conversations may well have been contrived to justify and camouflage his true intent to desert his post and go over to the enemy.

A truly surprising source, CNN, probably trying to compensate for its usual liberal bias, has disclosed that someone in government, presumably in the military command structure, tried to throw a blanket over Bergdahl’s defection early on:

Many of Bergdahl's fellow troops – from the seven or so who knew him best in his squad to the larger group that made up the 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division – told CNN that they signed nondisclosure agreements agreeing to never share any information about Bergdahl's disappearance and the efforts to recapture him. Some were willing to dismiss that document in hopes that the truth would come out about a soldier who they now fear is being hailed as a hero, while the men who lost their lives looking for him are ignored.

America should be particularly proud of those troopers willing to risk prosecution to get the truth out about this phony hero and our government’s attempts to sweep that truth under the rug.  Any of them who have a Republican or conservative Democrat senator or congressman should contact those officials immediately to obtain whistleblower protections.  The rest of us need to let our political representatives know that we are going to fight, and that we want them to fight as well, any efforts by the Obama administration to whitewash this issue.

PFC Bergdahl’s premeditated acts of desertion, defection, and collaboration with the enemy resulted in the deaths of several American soldiers.  For that, he must pay – if not with his life, which existing law permits, then with lifetime incarceration at Fort Leavenworth.