Military: Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl to Be Arraigned Tuesday at Fort Bragg

Dec. 17, 2015, 9:29 PM UTC / Updated Dec. 17, 2015, 9:29 PM UTC

By Halimah Abdullah

Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl will be arraigned Tuesday at Fort Bragg, N.C., U.S. military officials said Thursday.

Bergdahl, who is facing a court-martial, was captured by the Taliban after he left his post in Afghanistan in June 2009. He was released in May in a prisoner swap for five Taliban commanders held at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The Army began its investigation after Bergdahl was returned to Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, where he's been working a desk job. He was charged in March with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy — charges that carry a potential life sentence.

Under the military justice system, an arraignment is generally the accused's first appearance before a military judge, officials said.

Halimah Abdullah

Halimah Abdullah is a digital editor and writer for NBC News and is responsible for reporting, writing, editing and web producing federal policy news for NBCNews.com. Prior to joining the site in April 2015, Abdullah worked at CNN.com, where she reported, edited and web produced stories on federal politics and policy. In that role, Abdullah was responsible for helping cover Congress, the White House, federal agencies, and national political races.

A veteran politics and policy reporter and editor, Abdullah has worked for Bloomberg Government, McClatchy Newspapers' Washington Bureau, the Memphis Commercial Appeal, Newsday, and the Dallas Morning News. Her work has also appeared in the New York Times and TODAY.com, among other publications. Her journalism and creative writing have won awards, been published in several anthologies, and earned her invitations to attend several writing colonies. Abdullah is also a writing professor who has taught at the University of Maryland and the University of the District of Columbia and John Jay College and Brooklyn College in New York.

Abdullah lives in the Washington D.C. metro area.