Under the provisions of Executive Order 11545, July 9, 1970, the Secretary of Defense of the United States of America take pleasure in awarding the Defense Distinguished Service Medal to Major General Thomas G. Darling, United States Air Force, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished service contributing to national security and defense, in a position of great responsibility to the Government of the United States, as Commandant, Armed Forces Staff College, National Defense University, from August 1981 through July 1984. As Commandant, General Darling was the architect of major new programs which greatly increased the value of the Armed Forces Staff College as a national defense asset in the effective preparation of mid-career officers for joint and combined staff duty in a changing international environment increasingly fraught with danger for the United States and other nations of the Free World. Major General Darling guided the College into a new role as a key institution within the National Defense University. He obtained the computer and communications technology needed to bring the curriculum and the professional teaching staff of the College toward the leading edge of current Department of Defense planning doctrine, research and thought. Major General Darling established the College as the recognized repository of thought and expertise in the teaching of the Joint Operations Planning System. He guided the revision of the College’s basic textbook, the “Joint Staff Officers Guide,” to its current status as the official textbook and reference source on joint staff procedures for all the war colleges and staff colleges of the armed forces, several United States Government agencies, and the Organization of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Major General Darling provided the impetus for establishment of a new and dynamic series of special courses in the important field of electronic warfare, and for the expansion and improvement of the command, control and communications course for joint staff officers. The distinctive accomplishments of Major General Darling reflect great credit upon himself, the United States Air Force, and the Department of Defense.