Bowe Bergdahl receives dishonorable discharge, avoids prison time - CNN

Fort Bragg, North Carolina (CNN) - Bowe Bergdahl received a dishonorable discharge from the US Army but will avoid prison time for desertion and misbehavior before the enemy after abandoning his outpost in Afghanistan in 2009, a military judge ruled Friday.

The judge also ruled that Bergdahl's rank be reduced from sergeant to private. Additionally, he will be required to pay a $1,000 fine from his salary for the next 10 months. "Sgt. Bergdahl has looked forward to today for a long time," Eugene Fidell, Bergdahl's civilian attorney, said at a press conference after the sentence's announcement.  "As everyone knows he was a captive of the Taliban for nearly five years, and three more years have elapsed while the legal process unfolded. He has lost nearly a decade of his life." The sentence is effective immediately, except for the dishonorable discharge, which Bergdahl is appealing, according to Fidell. More HERE.