Defense Department Secretary Chuck Hagel has tapped acting Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Michael Lumpkin to lead the effort to bring home prisoner of war Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, according to Army Times.
Bergdahl, 27, was discovered missing from his duty station in eastern Afghanistan on June 30, 2009. He was declared missing/captured three days later.
The U.S. government believes he is being held in Pakistan.
The Washington Times reports Hagel's appointment of Lumpkin...
...comes just days after plans to free five Taliban prisoners from Guantanamo Bay in exchange for Mr. Bergdahl fell through. CNN reported Sunday that the Taliban suspended trade talks "due to the current complex political situation in the country [Pakistan]."
Rep. Duncan Hunter of San Diego County, reports Army Times, wrote to Hagel urging him to put one person in charge of the effort to negotiate Bergdahl's release:
“It is absolutely critical that efforts to free Bergdahl are not overcome by bureaucracy."
As Home Post previously reported, the Department of Defense obtained a "proof of life" video of Bergdahl in January. The video is believed to have been shot in December of 2013:
