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| Freed Soldier Faces Long Struggle Back to Normalcy | Freed Soldier Faces Long Struggle Back to Normalcy |
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| WASHINGTON — For Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the journey home to Idaho began with a brief, dramatic helicopter ride from the rugged landscape of eastern Afghanistan to the Bagram Air Base north of Kabul. His return to anything close to a normal life will take much longer, the sergeant’s father said on Sunday at an emotional news conference in Boise, the capital of the family’s home state. | WASHINGTON — For Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the journey home to Idaho began with a brief, dramatic helicopter ride from the rugged landscape of eastern Afghanistan to the Bagram Air Base north of Kabul. His return to anything close to a normal life will take much longer, the sergeant’s father said on Sunday at an emotional news conference in Boise, the capital of the family’s home state. |
| “Bowe’s been gone so long that it’s going to take him a long time to come back,” the father, Robert Bergdahl, said, his voice breaking occasionally. He likened the process to a deep-sea diver’s decompressing before rising to the surface. “If you come up too quickly,” he added, “you die.” | “Bowe’s been gone so long that it’s going to take him a long time to come back,” the father, Robert Bergdahl, said, his voice breaking occasionally. He likened the process to a deep-sea diver’s decompressing before rising to the surface. “If you come up too quickly,” he added, “you die.” |
| Experts on long-term captivity agreed, saying in interviews that after nearly five years in captivity, the sergeant, the lone American prisoner of war in Afghanistan, who was held by Taliban fighters in utter isolation and unrelenting deprivation, was not only physically weakened, but also probably suffering deep psychological wounds from his ordeal. | Experts on long-term captivity agreed, saying in interviews that after nearly five years in captivity, the sergeant, the lone American prisoner of war in Afghanistan, who was held by Taliban fighters in utter isolation and unrelenting deprivation, was not only physically weakened, but also probably suffering deep psychological wounds from his ordeal. |
| His recovery, they said, will be a multi-step process, beginning with medical treatment and a psychological evaluation at an American military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, and continuing at a military medical center in Texas before he finally goes home to Hailey, Idaho. | His recovery, they said, will be a multi-step process, beginning with medical treatment and a psychological evaluation at an American military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, and continuing at a military medical center in Texas before he finally goes home to Hailey, Idaho. |
| Even then, Sergeant Bergdahl, 28, will most likely receive psychological counseling for months, if not years, to help him deal with the trauma of his years in captivity and the disorientation of sudden freedom. How fast or fully he recovers, experts said, is difficult to predict. | Even then, Sergeant Bergdahl, 28, will most likely receive psychological counseling for months, if not years, to help him deal with the trauma of his years in captivity and the disorientation of sudden freedom. How fast or fully he recovers, experts said, is difficult to predict. |
| His mother, Jani Bergdahl, also acknowledged the challenges ahead when she spoke at the news conference, on a National Guard base in the desert about eight miles from downtown Boise. Reading a letter to her son thousands of miles away, she said: “I know so many people are placed to assist you in all the aspects of your recovery to full health. Trust them. It’s ok and give yourself all of the time you need to recover and decompress. There is no hurry. You have your life ahead of you.” | |
| The Obama administration cited Sergeant Bergdahl’s deteriorating health as the reason it moved so quickly over the past several days to obtain his release, trading five battle-scarred Taliban fighters being held in the military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. | The Obama administration cited Sergeant Bergdahl’s deteriorating health as the reason it moved so quickly over the past several days to obtain his release, trading five battle-scarred Taliban fighters being held in the military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. |
| Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said the United States had intelligence indicating that Sergeant Bergdahl’s “safety and health were both in jeopardy and, in particular, his health was deteriorating.” Speaking in Afghanistan, where he arrived hours after the soldier was flown to Germany, Mr. Hagel said the administration seized an opening to arrange the prisoner exchange “essentially to save his life.” | Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said the United States had intelligence indicating that Sergeant Bergdahl’s “safety and health were both in jeopardy and, in particular, his health was deteriorating.” Speaking in Afghanistan, where he arrived hours after the soldier was flown to Germany, Mr. Hagel said the administration seized an opening to arrange the prisoner exchange “essentially to save his life.” |
| On Saturday, speaking to Sergeant Bergdahl’s parents, President Obama told them “he’d been to Landstuhl and seen firsthand that the facilities and personnel were first rate and Bowe would get the best possible care,” a senior administration official said. | On Saturday, speaking to Sergeant Bergdahl’s parents, President Obama told them “he’d been to Landstuhl and seen firsthand that the facilities and personnel were first rate and Bowe would get the best possible care,” a senior administration official said. |