Major Milestone in Bob Woodruff's Recovery

March 16, 2006 — -- The following is a letter from ABC News President David Westin.

I'm delighted to say that earlier today Bob checked out of the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., and will be continuing his recovery for the next few weeks at a private facility in the New York area.

After that, we hope and expect that he'll be going home to continue further rehabilitation as an outpatient. This good news reflects Bob's continued progress in all respects. And for that, we owe a great debt of gratitude to all the fine men and women at Bethesda who have given Bob the same extraordinary care that they give to all of our service men and women who are injured in Iraq. What they do makes us all proud, as well as grateful.

Bob is up and about, regularly talking and joking with Lee, the children, other family members and -- yes -- watching the news. He continues to show just how strong and determined he is. That said, we should expect months of further recuperation. All of us need to help Bob and Lee with this process by respecting their privacy. For now, Bob will be devoting his full strength and energy to his family. Later, we will focus on getting him back to work on his schedule. If there are major developments, I know that Bob and Lee will keep us posted. But for the most part, let's leave them alone and give them the chance to be a family again. Let them tell us when they want us to reach out.

Throughout these challenging times, the staff of ["World News Tonight"] has done a superb job in maintaining a successful program of which we all are proud. Elizabeth [Vargas] and the ["World News Tonight"] team will continue to hold down the fort while Bob makes his recovery. We laid out ambitious plans for the broadcast earlier in the year, and we are working on ways to move that plan forward during this interim period. Having the best team in the business, I'm thankful we can take the time we need to do what's best for ["World News Tonight."]