Deserters, Defectors, and Traitors: The Importance of Morale in the Military.

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Judges 7:7

 The LORD told Gideon, "With these three hundred men I will rescue you and give you victory over the Midianites. Send all the others home."

NLT

In 2008, I had the privilege of visiting Israel and one of the places I visited was the Springs of Gideon.  It is at this location where God told Gideon that with the three hundred men He had selected, He would rescue Gideon and give them victory over the Midianites.  To gain full understanding of this verse of scripture, we must place it in context. 

Gideon has selected an army but God tells Gideon that the army is too large.  One of the ways God weeded out the army’s numbers was a test at what they now call, the Springs of Gideon.  The three hundred men selected were men who bent down to drink from the springs by taking water into their hand and then raising their hand to their mouth to drink.  Either the others lapped up the water like a dog or bent down on their knees to drink scooping up the water with both hands (Judges 7:5-6).  The reason God selected these 300 men is that they remained diligent watching for the enemy even while stopping to take a drink.   

With this test, God was emphasizing the importance of discipline and diligence in an army.  Today, we do not have our soldiers tested by how they drink water but instead submit them to extensive training or boot camp, which weeds out the men and women from the boys and girls.  However, even with this extensive training, some members of the military still desert their post when the going gets rough. 

The big news this week was the swap of five Taliban generals for one prisoner of war, or alleged prisoner of war, while our nation continues to be at war with the Taliban.  (1)  Many, including myself find it disturbing that the President of the United States would believe this swap is beneficial to the troops he leads as commander in chief, and the nation he also leads.  However, when revelations began to appear showing that Bowe Bergdahl might have deserted his post and was not, in essence, a prisoner of war (2) captured by the enemy, many have become outraged.  However, the Taliban’s version of the story remains that they captured Bergdahl when he became separated from a foot patrol.  (3)

Bergdahl’s commanding officer, in an interview with CNN, stated that within days after Bergdahl’s disappearance, they intercepted radio communications stating, “The American is in Yahya Khel (a village two miles away).  He's looking for someone who speaks English so he can talk to the Taliban.  ‘I heard it straight from the interpreter's lips as he heard it over the radio,’ said Buetow.  ‘There's a lot more to this story than a soldier walking away.’  (4)  If true, this evidence disproves the Taliban story of capturing Bergdhal while on a foot patrol. 

Military leaders in the region also observed that after Bergdhal’s disappearance, the Taliban changed the tactics they used to attack our troops when they used Improvised Explosive Devices (IED).  Instead of exploding IED’s in front of trucks, they began exploding them directly under the trucks causing maximum damage.  (5)  If these allegations are true, Bergdahl may nave not only deserted his post, but also may have actually defected to our enemy and provided information our enemies have used to more effectively injure, kill, and maim our troops. 

This whole incident requires a thorough investigation for there are many unanswered questions such as,

1)      Did President Obama violate the law by negotiating a prisoner transfer without notifying Congress?  The law requires the President to give 30 days-notice before the release or transfer of Guantanamo prisoners.  President Obama claims he had been notifying Congress of the possibility of a prisoner exchange in order to secure the release of Bergdhal and needed to act quickly over concerns of Bergdhal’s health.  (6)

2)      Did Bergdhal desert his post and defect to the enemy where he committed treasonous acts against his country by aiding and abetting our nation’s enemies in a time of war. 

3)      What assurances do the troops and citizens of our nation have that the released Taliban prisoners will not go back onto the battlefield and inflict harm on our troops or worse yet, mastermind additional terrorist attacks on our nation, killing innocent civilians. 

Just as God demonstrated to Gideon the importance of maintaining discipline and diligence in our military, our military also needs to maintain discipline and diligence within its ranks.  If our president traded a deserter, defector, and possible traitor for five Taliban generals, current members in the military may question the commitment of our military to win in battle and the morale of the troops may suffer.  In addition, the release of five dangerous Taliban generals may endanger innocent civilians in our nation. 

I pray our leaders in Congress do not wimp out on this issue and conduct a thorough investigation. 

1. NBC 26. POW Bowe Bergdahl freed. www.jrn.com. [Online] [Cited: June 6, 2014.] 2014. http://www.jrn.com/nbc26/galleries/now-trending/bowe-bergdahl-freed-rtr3rusp-261570461.html.

2. Tapper, Jake. Fellow soldiers call Bowe Bergdahl a deserter, not a hero. www.cnn.com. [Online] CNN U.S., June 4, 2014. [Cited: June 6, 2014.] http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/01/us/bergdahl-deserter-or-hero/.

3. Gorka, Dr. Sebastian. SGT. BERGDAHL: WHAT WE ARE NOT BEING TOLD. www.breitbart.com. [Online] Breitbart News, June 1, 2014. [Cited: June 6, 2014.] http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2014/06/01/6-Things-We-Are-Not-Being-Told-About-Sgt-Bergdahl.

4. Benson, Guy. CNN: Intercepted Radio Chatter Indicated Bergdahl Sought Contact With Taliban. townhall.com. [Online] Town Hall, June 4, 2014. [Cited: June 6, 2014.] http://townhall.com/tipsheet/guybenson/2014/06/04/cnn-radio-chatter-indicates-bergdahl-sought-contract-with-the-taliban-n1847233.

5. Sippers, Weasel. Soldiers Feared Bergdahl Was Feeding Taliban Intel: “IEDs Started Going Off Directly Under The Trucks, They Were Getting Perfect Hits Every Time”…. weaselzippers.us. [Online] CNN. [Cited: June 6, 2014.] http://weaselzippers.us/188275-soldiers-feared-bergdahl-was-feeding-taliban-intel-ieds-started-going-off-directly-under-the-trucks-they-were-getting-perfect-hits-every-time/.

6. Grier, Peter. Bowe Bergdahl swap: Did President Obama break the law? (+video). www.csmonitor.com. [Online] Christian Science Monitor, June 3, 2014. [Cited: June 6, 2014.] http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/DC-Decoder/Decoder-Buzz/2014/0603/Bowe-Bergdahl-swap-Did-President-Obama-break-the-law-video.