The Department of Defense has identified the soldier as Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl, 23, of Ketchum, Idaho. On July 2, he walked off his base in eastern Afghanistan with three Afghanis and was subsequently captured. The Taliban has now released a video of the soldier in captivity.

I feel for the soldier’s family back home. They must be terrified and heartbroken watching this video. I can’t help but feel a little suspicious watching the soldier speak, however. Without knowing details of how he was captured, it’s hard to make much of a judgement on this. He’s making statements about wanting all of the troops to come home, and it just seemed a little odd to me. Why would a soldier voluntarily walk off of his base with three Afghanis? What were the circumstances that caused him to leave his base? How did he come to be captured? Was he even captured or was he taken voluntarily? Was he coerced in the interview? The situation is a little suspicious in my mind, but we also have to remember that we don’t know very many facts at all. So for now, there will be no judgement passed, although to me this video raises more questions than it answers. We need to continue to keep this soldier and his family in our prayers.