Reporter flanked by his attorney and military police, he afaced a judge for the first time in an arraignment that lasted about ten minutes. He described his right to be trialled before a panel or a military judge. The judge also inquired if he wished to enter any motions or plea at this time. The sergeant deferred all of these decisions to a later hearing. Reporter he held by the taliban for five years after he left his post in afghanistan is charged with desertion and misbehaviour before the enemy, a rare charge that carries a severe punishment including life in prison. He explained his actions in interviews on the pod cast serial. What i was seeing from my unit into afghanistan, all i was seeing was basically leadership failure to the point that the lives of the guys standing next to me were clearly, from what i could see, in danger of something seriously going wrong and somebody being killed. Reporter he said he planned to alert his colleagues then show up at another base days later