MONDAY, MARCH 1st.

For the last 295 days CPT Patti has been a company commander in a war zone. For the last 18 months she has commanded "The Gators" in Garrison, in training areas and, of course, in Kuwait and Iraq.

And today, begrudginly, she gives up the title of commander.

I think it says something about her...as it does many officers, that the worst day of their careers is the day they give up command. And it isn't for the reasons you might expect.

It isn't about giving up power. For if you were to weigh the power and authority of a company commander against the responsibility, you will find the responsibility to be orders of magnitude greater than the power.

It is said over and over again in the Army that a commander is responsible for everything her soldiers do and fail to do. Thus, commanders are held to account for every sin of commission and omission by every one of the soldiers within their command. I can't name another person of any other title who is held to that impossibly high standard. If we were to recognize the true difficulty of that task, then it would seem on would be frightened to enter into it, and glad to leave it behind.

And so why is it that a sampling of 10 departure speeches given by outgoing company commanders will yield at least nine who have a catch in their voice, a tremble in the tenor of their comments, or silent moments before the microphone as they try to blink back the tears of sadness that comes with handing over the well being of those soldiers under one's leadership?

Possibly it is because of all rewards available to us while on this earth, there is no greater reward than selfless service. And as I've written here before, true leadership is an act of selfless service - to the people one leads, and to the nation that calls.

And CPT Patti has told me as she anticipated this day, that she can't see where in the future she has the opportunity to again serve so many, so selflessly as she has these last 18 months, but especially these last 295 days.

Well, darling...I can't answer that question either right now...perhaps we can leave that for another day to answer. I know you hurt on this day...and I hurt for you. But there is a silver lining here, I hope...one that allows us to be a little more in touch as fewer folks make demands on your time. I look forward to that, just as I am counting the roughly 47 more days until you are slated to be back here with me.

Until then, though...let me tell you how proud I am of you. You have survived the crucible of command, and you have done so under the least forgiving of circumstancese in what may just be the most dangerous city in the world for one wearing a Desert Camouflage Uniform. I know that this experience has changed you...has left a permanent mark upon you. And I am eager to learn those changes for myself...to remap the connections that bind us...to retouch the spirit of the sweetest woman on the planet in days when we can speak of Baghdad in the past tense.

For today, darling...know that I am your biggest fan on very many levels. And as you attempt to salve the sting of being a former commander, let me remind you of the words of the late GEN Creighton Abrams.

What this country needs, it cannot buy. It needs dedicated soldiers who see service to their country as an affair of the heart. - Gen Creighton Abrams, former Army Chief of Staff

Darling, you have certainly been what this country, and those soldiers needed for the last 18 months. I hope you can accept and enjoy a little "down time". You have earned it.

I love you forever...for what you've done, but moreso, for what you are, and for what I am when I am with you.