One of the U.S. military’s highest profile court cases in decades will open Thursday with prosecutors dissecting Army Sgt. Robert “Bowdrie” Bergdahl’s decision to walk away from his combat outpost in Afghanistan in 2009, potentially paving the way for a trial and prison time for a soldier who was held captive by insurgents for more than five years.

Bergdahl, 29, faces charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. He was recovered in Afghanistan by the United States in May 2014 in a controversial prisoner swap approved by the Obama administration in which five Taliban officials detained at the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, were transferred to supervised release in Qatar. If convicted, Bergdahl faces up to life in prison.

The proceedings at Joint Base San Antonio – Fort Sam Houston in Texas, known as an Article 32 hearing, are expected to last at least two days and lay out new evidence against the soldier. A military lawyer overseeing the hearing will then make recommendations to the senior officer overseeing the case, Gen. Robert B. Abrams, about whether to proceed to a court-martial trial in coming months.

Bergdahl’s defense team will be given time to cross-examine witnesses and challenge the government’s case.

Read the article “Court Battle Over Bowe Bergdahl about to Begin” on washingtonpost.com.