Bowe Bergdahl, a US Army soldier held captive for almost
five years by Taliban forces, was the last and only American POW in Afghanistan
to bring home. But there were controversies surrounding his return, the two
main ones being his exchange for five Taliban detainees from Guantanamo Bay,
and claims that our commander in chief Obama did not have the authority to make such
an exchange. Additionally, there are those who are angry at Bergdahl for leaving
his post, going AWOL, or possibly deserting, and he may face court martial and
prison time. Rumors abound about whether other soldiers died as a direct result
of their search for Bergdahl. One former
US Army Sergeant, Josh Korder, for example, denounces Bergdahl, “He chose to
take off his gear, put down his weapon, and walk away…” and says what Bergdahl
did is “just not forgivable.”
My two older brothers came of age during the Viet Nam
war. This was a time when our country did not whole heartedly “support our
troops,” calling them, for one, “baby killers” –there is a rumor that Bergdahl
saw an American tank run over an Afghani child. Though I am against military
action before diplomacy is exhausted, I am happy that our nation does not now disparage
these young men and women upon their return home.
I additionally advocate that we not disparage troops who, for whatever
reasons, break or break faith. The older
of my two brothers joined up in the late
sixties, his best childhood friend having ‘been the first on our block to come
home in a box’ and the other brother made
his plans to relocate to Canada should his draft number come up. My parents
supported both their sons’ decisions. Looking back, this support of these two
antipodal positions now seems remarkable in this political climate where black and
white are so rigidly demarcated. Though both my brothers fare well today, we
know too well that not all our soldiers come home unscathed. Can we not find compassion for the horrific
pressures troops are placed under?
I am so proud to be a volunteer clinician for TBIPS’ Veterans
Family Initiative which provides pro bono and low fee, long term and
intensive psychotherapy services without any
significant wait time to veterans and
their families. I am so proud, too, that training at TBIPS emphasizes negotiation
of paradox where seemingly contradictory positions are, with our understanding
of multiple self states, welcomed in, each as a necessary part of the whole. We
all strive to be whole and wholly connected. No matter what Bowe Bergdahl has
done or did not do, he remains the beloved son of Jani and Bob, and I, with
them, welcome him home.
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