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Taco Bell and Peanut Butter
Kayla Harrison, Bowe Bergdahl’s childhood friend, on her first conversation with Bowe after his captivity.
Maps, Videos, and More
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Deconstructing Bergdahl’s Uniform
Bowe Bergdahl’s service uniform is a roadmap to his official army career—past and present—and hints at his captivity and, as with many aspects of this story, points to some controversy.
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Bergdahl’s Interview With Dahl
In August 2014, then-Major General Kenneth Dahl interviewed Bowe Bergdahl as part of an investigation into the circumstances of his capture. Here is the transcript of their discussion.
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Episode 11: Present for Duty
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Unfortunately, They Don’t Have X-Ray Vision
What is good intel? And how do army analysts help a recovered hostage remember it? Andrea and Michelle (not their real names) talk about how an intel debriefing works.
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Emails About the Bergdahl Deal
These emails between Obama administration officials give us a look behind the scenes in the months, weeks and days leading up to Bowe Bergdahl’s release.
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Obama’s Rose Garden Announcement
On May 31, 2014, President Obama stepped into the White House Rose Garden with Bob and Jani Bergdahl to announce that their son was coming home. Immediately the event hit a nerve with the public.
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“Honor and Distinction”
The day after Obama announced the release of Bowe Bergdahl, National Security Advisor Susan Rice appeared on ABC’s This Week and said this about Bowe Bergdahl.
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Soldiers React to Bergdahl’s Release
Many of the soldiers who served with Bowe Bergdahl were incensed about his homecoming and they decided to speak out.
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Episode 10: Thorny Politics
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How the Taliban See Themselves
Barney Rubin, an expert on Afghanistan and Pakistan, on the Taliban's views during the early years of the war and why the five detainees swapped for Bowe Bergdahl were important to them.
Audio Extra
The Other Side of Some Abyss
Bowe Bergdahl on what it felt like to be rescued.
Timeline
Bergdahl and the War in Afghanistan
This brief overview shows where points along Bowe Bergdahl’s timeline fall within the bigger context of the Afghan war.
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Episode 9: Trade Secrets
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Entry-Level Discharges From the Coast Guard
Bowe Bergdahl was discharged from the coast guard in 2006, a few weeks after he joined. This graph shows the number of coast guard recruits each year since 2001 and the percentage of recruits who were discharged within six months.
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Number of Waivers Given to U.S. Army Recruits
When Bowe Bergdahl went to enlist in the army in 2008, he had to explain a previous discharge from the Coast Guard and get a waiver. This graphic shows the number of waivers approved from 2001 to the present.
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Episode 8: Hindsight, Part 2
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Episode 7: Hindsight, Part 1
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The Gold Hammer
Jason Dempsey on the counterinsurgency—COIN—mission and the end game in Afghanistan. Dempsey, who was an officer at the battalion and brigade level, did tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has served as a combat advisor to the Afghans and has taught at West Point. He was in Afghanistan when Bowe Bergdahl was captured and went back again in 2012 and 2014.
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Army Org Chart
From the soldier to the brigade, here’s how the command structure typically works.
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Episode 6: 5 O'Clock Shadow
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A Desperate Plan
Sarah and Kim Harrison, Bowe Bergdahl's friend, on the Haqqanis and getting the soldier back.
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Dear Pakistan
Bob Bergdahl, Bowe's father, asks for help in returning his son.
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Episode 5: Meanwhile, in Tampa
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A World of Tweets
This map plots some of the tweets from the first week of Season Two.
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New Schedule
A note from Sarah about our every-other-week schedule.
Map
Fly Over the Tribal Areas of Pakistan
After the Taliban captured Bowe Bergdahl, they took him across the border into Waziristan, where they handed him over to the Haqqanis.
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Episode 4: The Captors
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Proof-of-Life Videos
Bowe Bergdahl said the Taliban made more than a dozen videos, but they released only a few of them publicly. Here, we’re showing those in the order that Bergdahl told Mark Boal they were made.
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Episode 3: Escaping
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Army Leaflet
After Bowe Bergdahl disappeared, the U.S. Army gave out leaflets, like this one, in Paktika.
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Episode 2: The Golden Chicken
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Episode 1: DUSTWUN
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Afghanistan: A Sense of Place
These maps give some geographic context to the central locations in the story: Afghanistan, RC East, Paktika province, OP Mest, and Waziristan.
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Captured: The Taliban's Version of Events
Sami Yousafzai interviewed members of the Taliban who were involved in Bergdahl's capture. This map shows the general route they said they took to evade the U.S. Army.
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Bergdahl's Release by the Taliban
The Taliban made this video. It shows the handover to a U.S. Special Operations team on May 31, 2014.
Map
Fly Over OP Mest and FOB Sharana
Bowe Bergdahl said he planned to cause a DUSTWUN by leaving his outpost, OP Mest, and running—or at least walking—to his base, FOB Sharana. This map (push play to fly over the area) gives a sense of the terrain he would have had to cross.