Ex-POW Bergdahl stable after return to US

Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl is undergoing medical treatment and speaking to psychologists after his return to the US.

Army sergeant who was held captive by the Taliban arrives in the US

US military officials say army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl looked good after arriving back in the US. (AAP)

The US soldier freed in a swap with the Afghan Taliban is in stable condition after five years in captivity but has not yet reunited with his parents, military officers say.

Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, who returned to the US in an overnight flight, was undergoing medical treatment and speaking to psychologists at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas.

The 28-year-old "looked good" upon arrival, Major-General Joseph DiSalvo told a media conference.

He joked that Bergdahl appeared "a little bit nervous" before a two-star general like himself, "just like any sergeant would".

Officials said Bergdahl's reintegration process involved slowly increasing his chances to make choices and have control, something he was denied during his time in the Taliban's hands.

Bergdahl was able to walk into the hospital without problems, and doctors were encouraged by his stable condition, said Colonel Ronald Wool, a physician at the medical centre.

"Overall, we're pleased with his physical state," he said.

"We allowed him to get settled in to the hospital and into his room and his environment, and we are going to be planning more comprehensive testing and consultation."

The only American in uniform to be held by insurgents in the Afghanistan war, Bergdahl will eventually face questions from investigators about the circumstances of his disappearance and whether he deserted his post.

But first, he will receive more medical attention, as specialists gradually try to help him shift from a prisoner's survival mode to more "normal" behaviour, officers said.

Under the military's "reintegration" rules for freed prisoners of war, the soldier can decide when to meet family, but officials declined to specify a date for his parents' first visit, to safeguard their privacy.

Amid a media frenzy over his case, Bergdahl's parents, who live in Idaho, appealed to be left alone while they try to help their son.

His father, Bob Bergdahl, has said his family now faced a long road to aid their son's recovery.

"It isn't over for us," he said last week. "In many ways, it's just beginning for Jani and I and our family. There's a long process here."

Bergdahl's 2009 disappearance from a base in eastern Afghanistan fuelled speculation that the soldier abandoned his post before he was captured and that he may face prosecution by military authorities.

The US Army said that once Bergdahl's "reintegration" was complete, "the army will continue its comprehensive review into the circumstances of his disappearance and captivity".

The soldier was handed over to US special forces in Afghanistan on May 31 in return for five senior Taliban detainees who were sent to Qatar from the US military-run prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The exchange has triggered outrage among some US lawmakers who have accused President Barack Obama of capitulating to "terrorists" and failing to fulfil his obligations to give Congress advance notice about transfers of Guantanamo detainees.


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