Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is ready to return to active duty, military sources told NBC News on Monday. He will probably be assigned a desk job at Fort Sam Houston in Texas while the Army investigates his 2009 disappearance from an outpost in Afghanistan. Off duty, Bergdahl will be free to leave base and go where he wants without a military or medical escort. Army officials stressed that there are no plans for the military to assign media officers to him or take interview requests for him. It was not clear whether he will be under orders not to talk to the press.

For the first time, Bergdahl will be questioned by military officials. An initial investigation, now classified, determined that he walked away from the outpost. Bergdahl was held five years by the Taliban, then returned to the United States in exchange for five Taliban prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He went through a medical and psychological reintegration program after the exchange, in May. Military officials have refused to say whether Bergdahl has been in touch with his parents.

IN-DEPTH

— Jim Miklaszewski