Bergdahl Refusing to See, Speak to Parents

A weird twist in the Bowe Bergdahl case: The soldier has refused to see or speak to his parents since he was freed after five years as a Taliban captive six weeks ago, an Army official tells the Wall Street Journal, which notes that the decision points to "deeper estrangement between the soldier and his parents than the military understood when he was released." Officials say they don't know the cause of the tension between the Idaho native and his parents.

During Bergdahl's years as a captive, his father Bob fought hard to make sure the case wasn't forgotten, and both parents stood alongside President Obama when he announced that Bergdahl was to be released. After weeks of "reintegration" at a Texas base, Bergdahl returned to active duty yesterday. The circumstances of his 2009 capture are still unclear and the decision to put him back on duty has angered families of service members killed in the weeks after his disappearance as the military searched for him. "This is another attempt to give credibility to a deserter to protect the decision to free five extremely dangerous Taliban," the mother of fallen 2nd Lt. Darryn Andrews tells NBC. "I just don’t think it’s right that he’s free and collecting pay."