"Doing what I did is me saying that I am like, I dunno, Jason Bourne", he said on the podcast Serial, which released its second season on Thursday, devoted to Bergdahl's case.
Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl says he walked off his base in Afghanistan to cause a crisis that would catch the attention of military brass.
We hear from Bowe Bergdahl for the first time about what drove him to leave his Army post.
"I had this fantastic idea that I was going to prove to the world that I was the real thing", Bergdahl said in an interview with National Public Radio's "Serial" podcast.
"I was trying to prove to myself, I was trying to prove to the world, to anybody who used to know me, that I was capable of being that person", the army sergeant said.
"There's times when I'd wake up and it's just so dark, like I would wake up and not even remembering like what I was", he said. Bergdahl said he changed his plan once he left so that when he returned he'd have intelligence on the Taliban, but instead he ended up getting captured by a group affiliated with the Taliban.
"So when I got back to the FOB, I could say I also got this information... that would have been the bonus point to help me deal with the whole hurricane of... wrath that was going to hit me". However, shortly after news broke of his release, soldiers from his unit labeled him a deserter, not an American hero.
Bergdahl was the last American prisoner of war in Afghanistan when the Obama administration brokered a trade for his freedom, releasing five Taliban fighters detained at Guantánamo Bay prison in Cuba to Qatar in May 2014.
If you know anything about Bergdahl's Rorschach test of a case - capture, return via prisoner swap, a charge of desertion - you'll understand why it attracted Koenig and her crew to their concept of spinning out one narrative over a dozen or so episodes.
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Those punches ultimately resulted in one of the victims , Andrew Haught, having his eye socket broken and his jaw shattered. Hesse testified that words and pushes were exchanged before several people began throwing punches at him, including Knott.
FILE - Capt. John Billings, right, is questioned as Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, left, and lead defense counsel, Eugene Fidell, look on during a preliminary hearing to determine if Bergdahl should face a court-martial, at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, Sept. 17, 2014.
He said he was spotted by six or seven guys, armed with AK-47s and travelling on motorcycles.
"Serial" will release the next portion of Bergdahl's story on December 17.
Today, Season 2 of Serial launched. She says Bergdahl shipped his personal items home, bought local attire and pulled out $300 in US dollars and Afghanis ahead of leaving the base. You know, that breath that you're trying to breathe, that release that you're trying to get - everything is beyond that door. "What I can say is he, like everybody else, is ready for this to be over so we can move on to other things".
"I felt that I would rather be in Leavenworth than standing over the bodies of guys in my platoon", said Bergdahl, who conceded his actions were "stupid".
Koenig and the "Serial" team sent out an email Thursday morning, explaining the direction they were taking with this season of the podcast.
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Bergdahl's fate is now in the hands of Gen. Robert B. Abrams, the current FORSCOM commander, who has succeeded Milley as the convening authority in the case.
