Two members of the Suffolk Sheriff’s Office will move into a new chapter of their lives in coming weeks.

Maj. James Darden, 53, will officially retire on Dec. 1, and Capt. Calvin Bowe, 55, will officially retire on Jan. 1. Darden has been with the Suffolk Sheriff’s Office for 30 years, while Bowe has 23 years on the job.

Altogether, the two have been working together in law enforcement for more than three decades, and they deserve a few words of congratulation for their long careers helping to keep the public safe.

Darden is a graduate of the 215th session of the FBI National Academy at Quantico, having been the first representative from the Suffolk Sheriff’s Office to attend. He was promoted to chief deputy of the office in 2017 and conducts office plans and policies, oversees training and technological improvements and more.

Bowe developed an expertise in the security of the courthouse building and was promoted to director of building security in 2017. He makes sure the building is safe for hundreds of people every day who have business in it, and he says this opportunity to run the courthouse every day was the highlight of his law enforcement career.

These two men have seen a lot of changes in the sheriff’s office, from three different sheriffs to changes in security measures to the office’s expanding community engagement efforts.

As Sheriff E.C. Harris pointed out last week, this will be a big change for the office, which will have to adjust to the loss of expertise. But we have every confidence it will transition well.

We hope Darden and Bowe have a great retirement. It is well-deserved.