In the flurry of information hitting newsstands since Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s release just days ago, many of us are losing sight of some of the principles that make this nation great.

For those who don’t know, Bergdahl was a soldier in Afghanistan for about two months before going missing. His official status, until his rescue, was that he had been captured by enemy combatants of the Haqqani network in an eastern region of the embattled nation.

As an American, it was of utmost importance Bergdahl make it back home safely. 

“We believed that the information we had, the intelligence we had, was such that Sgt. Bergdahl’s safety and health were both in jeopardy, and in particular his health deteriorating,” said Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, speaking to reporters and recorded on defense.gov. “It was our judgment that if we could find an opening and move very quickly … that we needed to get him out of there, essentially to save his life.”

Leave no man, woman or child behind. It is an inalienable right of all Americans to be assured of their safety and wellbeing, to live out their days in the manner of their choosing, rather than rotting with terrorists.

Yet there are some who question whether or not Bergdahl’s release was in the best interest of this great nation, including Sen. John McCain, the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and even some who actively serve.

I can understand their frustration. Five hardened criminals and senior members of the Taliban were exchanged for a young man who put his own life in jeopardy.

The Associated Press disclosed details of a Pentagon investigation in 2010 that found Bergdahl guilty of deserting his unit. Nathan Bethea, an officer in Bergdahl’s unit, wrote that there were no patrols the night Bergdahl was captured and that he had fled the outpost on foot.

Disillusioned, he wrote home about his feelings regarding the war. In emails handed over to Rolling Stone Magazine and reported on by CBS, Bergdahl expressed unpatriotic and vitriolic sentiments regarding the war and the U.S. at large.

In one email he wrote, “The horror that is America is disgusting.” He went so far as to tell his parents he was “ashamed to even be American.”

His hurtful words ruffle my feathers. But in this country, we understand that dissent is a vital part of political participation, that all men are born equal and every vote counts.

Is it not possible that he was homesick, scared and speaking rashly because of his current occupation on the battlefield? If asked today whether or not he is still “ashamed to be an American,” as he so coldly put it, I doubt he would have the same answer.

Nobody in their right mind would willingly surrender themselves to a bunch of Taliban thugs. What Bergdahl needs right now to overcome his frightening experience is support and understanding. 

Despite what his earlier sentiments may have been, Bergdahl’s release was important and necessary. It speaks leaps and bounds to the dangers our brave men and women will put themselves in to make sure that everyone goes home together and serves as a reminder of our democratic principles.

Was his release worth the exchange? Absolutely, no questions asked. Defense.gov reported Hagel said, “I remind you that this was a prisoner-of-war exchange. (Bergdahl) was a prisoner, and as we know certainly from what we’re dealing with all over the world today with terrorist groups, they take hostages. They take innocent schoolgirls. They take business people. They will take any target that they can get to. So, again, our focus was on the return of Sgt. Bergdahl.”

It’s not as if those five will escape to cause harm—they are under house arrest in Qatar for the next year, and it would be naïve to think that tabs aren’t being kept on them with assets on the ground and signals intelligence.

The MFA reported, “No state can transfer another country’s citizen to a third country and put restrictions on their freedom.”

Try and do something about it. Protecting the lives of our servicemen and women is a high priority, and it’s foolish to think our government would willingly let those who intend to harm us again find shelter in the mountains. 

I’m 100 percent positive our leaders have a cap on the situation.

As for Bergdahl, if he must face justice for desertion, he will. I’m just happy to see him safe and back home where he belongs—in the land of the free, the home of the brave.