Soldier in Afghan ordeal ‘walked away from unit’

A Pentagon investigation concluded in 2010 that Army Sgt Bowe Bergdahl walked away from his unit, and after an initial flurry of searching the military decided not to exert extraordinary efforts to rescue him, according to a former senior defence official.

Instead, the US government pursued negotiations to get him back over the following five years of his captivity — a track that led to his release over the weekend.

Bergdahl was being checked and treated yesterday at a US military hospital in Germany as questions mounted over the swap that resulted in his freedom in exchange for the release of five detainees who were sent to Qatar from the US prison at Guantanamo, Cuba.