WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. defense official says released captive Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is on a flight from Europe and is scheduled to arrive in San Antonio, Texas, within hours. Bergdahl was released from Taliban captivity on May 31 and has been recuperating at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany since June 1. Officials had previously said the intention was for Bergdahl to be reunited with his family at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. Bergdahl went missing on June 30, 2009, in Afghanistan's Paktika province, where he was deployed with the 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division.
– Bowe Bergdahl will be back in the US late tonight. Both AP and CNN quote defense officials as saying he will be transferred overnight from a military base in Germany to the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. The reports offer no more details on Bergdahl's recuperation after being held five years by the Taliban. The issue of his return came up publicly yesterday when defense chief Chuck Hagel testified before Congress, and Republican Jeff Miller pressed him on why Bergdahl was still in Germany, notes the Idaho Statesman. “Why hasn’t he been returned to the United States?" asked Miller, who seemed to be suggesting that the Pentagon was keeping Bergdahl overseas to shield him from questions. "We have seriously wounded soldiers that have returned to the United States almost immediately after they are stabilized. ... You’re trying to tell me that he’s being held in Landstuhl, Germany because of his medical condition?” Hagel: “Congressman, I hope you’re not implying anything other than that. The fact— Miller: "I'm just asking the question." Hagel: “I’m gonna give you an answer too. I don’t like the implication of the question. He’s being held there because our medical professionals don’t believe he’s ready ... to take the next step to rehabilitation.”