A U.S. military investigation of Bowe Bergdahl's capture by the Taliban found the army sergeant had slipped away from his unit on several known occasions but had always returned, raising questions about whether or not he was deserting when he disappeared in 2009, people familiar with the findings said on Thursday.
Bergdahl, 28, was freed after five years as an Afghanistan war prisoner on Saturday, when the Obama administration agreed to release five Taliban leaders from the Guantanamo detention facility in exchange. The deal touched off a firestorm of criticism.
Some soldiers who served in Afghanistan have accused Bergdahl of deserting from his remote outpost in the eastern region of the country on June 30, 2009, but the Pentagon says the circumstances were unclear.