“He could hear artillery, he could see helicopters losing altitude to land, he could hear the scream of plane engines. In fact, what he was hearing was almost certainly a Pakistani base,” said narrator of Serial 2, Sarah Koenig. By the time of his second escape Bowe Bergdahl was no longer in Afghanistan. The POW had been moved along six locations spread across the Regional Command East of Afghanistan into Pakistan.

Following the Taliban’s report, we learn that forces first moved Bergdahl East from his capture point in Mest into Ghazni, knowing US soldiers would be searching the western boarders of Afghanistan into Pakistan. It was in this region where Bergdahl would make his first escape into shallow valleys, jagged rocks, and a mud puddle roof that would all work against his attempt out. They then moved a short 225 miles across the heavily deforested Paktikah Province back towards FOB Sharana and onward into North Waziristan, Pakistan.

When Bowe was brought into the base in Pakistan the terrain had changed. As Koenig describes, “it’s high desert terrain, cold at night, hot in the day, rocky. There are bushes and trees that Bowe says look like Joshua trees and something piney.”

Bowe describes that during his captivity he wanted to retain all the information he could incase it were useful, so he paid attention. He paid attention to the time of day people woke and rose. He was attentive to family dynamics. He took mental pictures trying to make gains from the small freedoms of being able to stand and see. In one instance, a small boy that had interacted with Bowe came to him eager about his blue baseball cap. “On the baseball cap it said the name of the school, in the corner it said the name of the town, and on the other side It said North Waziristan.” said Bergdahl.