President Donald Trump called the decision not to give prison time to Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl a "complete and total disgrace" in a tweet on Friday.
Bergdahl left his post in Afghanistan without permission in 2009 and was captured by the Taliban. He was held for five years before the Obama administration traded five Taliban prisoners to secure his release in 2014.
Bergdahl pleaded guilty this year to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy, which carried a possible life sentence. At his sentencing hearing, however, Army Col. Jeffrey R. Nance did not give Bergdahl any prison time.
He reduced Bergdahl's rank to private and required him to forfeit $1,000 a month of his pay for 10 months. Bergdahl was also dishonorably discharged from the military.
"The decision on Sergeant Bergdahl is a complete and total disgrace to our Country and to our Military," Trump tweeted.
The decision on Sergeant Bergdahl is a complete and total disgrace to our Country and to our Military.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 3, 2017
As a candidate, Trump said Bergdahl should have been executed and once said "30 years ago he would have been shot."
The service members who searched for Bergdahl after he left his post testified they endured risky missions and serious injuries.