The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal to Lieutenant General Nicholas Bernard Kehoe, III, United States Air Force, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished service in a position of great responsibility to the Government of the United States. General Kehoe distinguished himself as The Inspector General, Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, the Pentagon, Washington, District of Columbia, from 26 September 1998 to 30 September 2000. During this period, General Kehoe’s outstanding achievements and his dynamic leadership and initiative resulted in unprecedented improvements in the Air Force Inspector General function. During his tenure, the Secretary of the Air Force and Chief of Staff of the Air Force relied heavily on his expert analysis and resolution of many complex, visible and highly sensitive matters. General Kehoe unfailingly and unequivocally ensured professional, impartial investigations, which directly contributed to personnel and resource readiness of the wartime mission. He institutionalized initiatives that led to a 45 percent inspection footprint reduction and stimulated revolutionary thinking on assessing readiness under the Expeditionary Air Force concept. General Kehoe directed the complex merger of the Headquarters, Air National Guard under the aegis of the Secretary of the Air Force Inspector General and created the architecture to fully integrate and transition an Inspector General staff to support over 110,000 Air National Guard personnel in 54 states and territories. During Operation ALLIED FORCE, General Kehoe formed and implemented a far-reaching information operations strategy to protect Air Force personnel and resources from operations security threats worldwide. This was the first time that computer crime investigators were deployed during hostile operations and successfully neutralized and exploited the enemy’s information intrusion operations. Under General Kehoe’s leadership, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations refocused investigative efforts in the acquisition fraud arena and established techniques to identify systemic weaknesses in the Air Force’s acquisition process. General Kehoe was the driving force behind the first major legislation in over 50 years to address the Air Force’s relationship with the Civil Air Patrol. He negotiated a cooperative agreement between the two organizations and defined a framework for the future of the Civil Air Patrol as the Air Force Auxiliary. The singularly distinctive accomplishments of General Kehoe culminate a long and distinguished career in the service of his country and reflect the highest credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.