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The Army announced聽Monday聽that it will recommend that the charges against Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl proceed to court-martial.

Sergeant Bergdahl, who was held captive by the Taliban for five years after he walked away from his combat outpost in Afghanistan in 2009, has been charged by the Army with desertion and 鈥渕isbehavior before the enemy,鈥� which could carry with it a life sentence should he be found guilty.

The chances of that happening have increased since his case was thrust into the spotlight last week, says a former United States military lawyer. The smash hit podcast 鈥淪erial鈥� picked up Bergdahl鈥檚 story as the subject of its second season, which premiered Dec. 10.

Indeed, some of the details that Bergdahl provided on a recording could have pushed the Army over the edge in seeking a court-martial, says Eric Montalvo, a former lawyer for the Marine Corps.聽

鈥淭here are certain basic rules in defense. The first and most important rule is that the client just needs to be quiet,鈥� says Mr. Montalvo, who successfully represented Guant谩namo Bay detainee Mohamed Jawad, who was ordered released after six years at Gitmo after a military commission ruled that his confession was coerced.聽

鈥淲hen [Berghdahl] says words to the effect of, 鈥業 did it because鈥� 鈥� well, you鈥檝e just said you did it,鈥� he adds. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 care why you did it, buddy 鈥� the crime is that you did it.鈥�

In the 聽podcast, Bergdahl is speaking on the telephone with Mark Boal, who wrote the screenplay for the film, 鈥淭he Hurt Locker.鈥澛� With Bergdahl鈥檚 permission, Mr. Boal shared tapes of their conversations with 鈥淪erial.鈥澛�

Bergdahl explains to Boal that in leaving his small outpost, he was hoping to create what is known as a DUSTWUN (pronounced 鈥渄ust one鈥�), or Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown, which is the Army equivalent of the Navy鈥檚 鈥渕an overboard鈥� distress call. 聽

As the podcast explains, Bergdahl was trying to create a crisis in order to call attention to what he saw as another crisis: bad leadership within his unit.聽Bergdahl's hope was that he would become such a person of interest that his leaders would have to listen to him. He could have an audience with a general and explain his plight, as the podcast puts it.

Bergdahl says he assumed he would go to jail, for a short time. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what I figured they鈥檇 do,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 figured I鈥檇 stay in there until people got the situation cleared up.鈥�

By cleared up, he meant he was 鈥渇ully confident鈥� that when the situation was investigated, 鈥減eople would understand that I was right.鈥� In other words, they, too, would become convinced that the bad leadership in his unit could have led to deaths of soldiers.聽

鈥淭he idea was, I鈥檇 rather be sitting in Leavenworth [military prison] than standing over the body鈥� of an Army buddy 鈥� a death, as he saw it, that could be caused by his failure to act.

While Army officials may urge compassion in the sentencing phase of his trial, Bergdahl will be facing a conviction based on his statements on the 鈥淪erial鈥澛爌odcast, says Montalvo.聽

鈥淚f I were the prosecutor and I heard that, I鈥檇 be in no-brainer mode. All I have to do is roll that beautiful ... footage, and we鈥檙e done. He had a plan, and he executed on that plan.鈥�

It was a decision Bergdahl came to regret quickly.

Just 20 minutes after leaving his outpost, 鈥淚鈥檓 going, 鈥楪ood grief, I鈥檓 in over my head,鈥� 鈥� he told Boal.

Part of that was the realization that he was going to be in a great deal of trouble, Bergdahl admitted. He was thinking, 鈥渢hey鈥檙e going to hit me with everything they had. I knew that was going to happen, but suddenly, it really starts to sink in that I鈥檝e really done something bad 鈥� well, not bad, but really done something serious.鈥�

He had five years in Taliban captivity to contemplate it.聽

It is still 鈥渜uite possible鈥� that the Army could decide to discharge Bergdahl before his case reaches a court-martial, says retired Maj. Gen. Charles Dunlap, who previously served as deputy judge advocate general for the US Air Force.聽

鈥淭here are aspects of the case that may be unflattering to the Army, and Bergdahl did apparently suffer in captivity,鈥� says Mr. Dunlap, now a professor at Duke Law School.聽

鈥淚 could also see the Army continuing to trial,鈥� he adds. 鈥淪oldiers need to see that justice is being done 鈥� whatever that may be here 鈥� and having as many facts as possible can help achieve that aim.鈥澛�