Berghdals ‘overjoyed’ at son’s return to US after five years as Taliban hostage

Bob and Jani Bergdahl do not plan to make any travel plans public and are asking for privacy as they concentrate on their son’s reintegration, according to Colonel Tim Marsano.

Sgt Bergdahl had been recovering in Germany after five years as a Taliban captive in Afghanistan.

He returned to the US early yesterday to continue his medical treatment at Brooke Army Medical Centre in Texas, and is expected to be reunited there with his family.

He was captured in Afghanistan in June 2009 and released by the Taliban on May 31 in a deal struck by the Obama administration in which five Taliban officials were released from detention.

Before his departure from Germany officials in Washington said Sgt Bergdahl will not receive the automatic army promotion that would have taken effect this month if he were still in captivity.

Officials have kept a lid on details of his condition out of concern that he not be rushed back into the public spotlight after a lengthy period in captivity and amid a public uproar over the circumstances of his capture and release. The army has yet to formally begun a review into the circumstances of Sgt Bergdahl’s capture and whether he walked away without leave.