--- title: Bowe Bergdahl May Return to Active Duty After Taliban Swap description: Following weeks of recovery abroad and in a Texas outpatient facility canonical: https://time.com/2981345/bowe-bergdahl-active-duty-afghanistan-taliban/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-07-14T11:43:10.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T09:07:32.261Z article:section: U.S. og:title: Bowe Bergdahl May Return to Active Duty After Taliban Swap og:description: Following weeks of recovery abroad and in a Texas outpatient facility og:url: https://time.com/2981345/bowe-bergdahl-active-duty-afghanistan-taliban/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt17877d9df844a949/6986962836176067bf90c737/495330957.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: U.S. Army, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Bowe Bergdahl May Return to Active Duty After Taliban Swap twitter:description: Following weeks of recovery abroad and in a Texas outpatient facility twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt17877d9df844a949/6986962836176067bf90c737/495330957.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Bowe Bergdahl Returns to Active Duty ## Video: Here’s What That Bergdahl Video Really Shows [Watch (HLS stream): Here’s What That Bergdahl Video Really Shows](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/PYBoRFho.m3u8) (2:58)  _Published 2014-06-04. TIME's Mark Thompson on what the video really means_ by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Jul 14, 2014 11:43 AM CUT  U.S. Army, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. U.S. Army, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.U.S. Army/Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Jul 14, 2014 11:43 AM CUT Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl is [returning](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/14/us/bergdahl-is-set-to-resume-life-on-active-duty.html?%5Fr=0 "undefined") to [active duty](http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/14/us/bowe-bergdahl-active-duty/index.html?hpt=hp%5Ft2 "undefined"), the Army said Monday, after the soldier freed in a swap for Taliban leaders spent three weeks in an outpatient facility. “Sgt. Bergdahl has completed the final phase of the reintegration process under the control of U.S. Army South and is currently being assigned to U.S. Army North, Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston (JBSA),” the Army said. “He will now return to regular duty within the command where he can contribute to the mission.” Bergdahl was released after five years in Taliban captivity in May. Many ill and wounded troops are sent back to active duty during recovery, and Army officials are still continuing their probe into the circumstances of Bergdahl’s 2009 disappearance from his base in Afghanistan. Some soldiers have labeled him a deserter for that. “The Army investigation into the facts and circumstances surrounding the disappearance and capture of Bergdahl is still ongoing,” the Army said. Bergdahl was returned to U.S. custody in exchange for the release of five Taliban leaders detained in Guantánamo Bay, provoking protests from Republicans and other critics of the deal. 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