AND GOOD LUCK TO HIM – AT 10:18 P.M. ET:  We normally don't deal with stories like this, but this one is special.   Navy Captain (and astronaut) Mark Kelly, husband of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, has announced his retirement from the Navy in order to be with his wife, who suffered a severe gunshot wound to the head earlier this year.

Commander Mark Kelly, the dashing astronaut who piloted the final mission for space shuttle Endeavour and stood by the bedside of his recovering congresswoman wife, Gabrielle Giffords, announced his retirement from the Navy and NASA over Facebook Tuesday morning.

"Today, I am humbled to announce that after 25 years of service to our country, I am retiring from the United States Navy and leaving NASA, effective Oct. 1," Kelly wrote on his official Facebook page.

Kelly's wife Giffords underwent surgery in May to repair her skull, following a shooting that almost killed her in January -- an incident that has clearly been weighing on the mind of the pilot and astronaut.

"Gabrielle is working hard every day on her mission of recovery. I want to be by her side. Stepping aside from my work in the Navy and at NASA will allow me to be with her and with my two daughters," Kelly wrote. "I love them all very much and there is no doubt that we will move forward together."

COMMENT:  These are very classy people, and both are true public servants.  They have handled their ordeal with great dignity.  It must be very painful for a Navy captain and astronaut to give up his career, but Captain Kelly has undoubtedly made this decision after great thought.  He is a role model who can teach a nation that "husband and father" are pretty important titles, too.

June 21, 2011