The Secretary of Defense of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Defense Distinguished Service Medal to Major General Ralph Edward Eberhart, United States Air Force, for exceptionally distinguished achievement as Director, Force Structure, Resources, and Assessment, The Joint Staff, from 24 January 1994 to 28 April 1995. General Eberhart’s vision and dynamic leadership enabled him to quickly build a relatively new organization into a substantial contributor in developing Department of Defense (DoD) requirements, programs and budgets. He provided genuine joint military perspective on resource allocation issues confronting DoD, fulfilling the intent of the Goldwater-Nichols legislation. Hid direction and guidance were instrumental in developing the new Joint Warfighting Capabilities Assessment process to improve the linkages between warfighting requirements and budget decisions. He integrated the Commanders in Chief more fully into the PPBS decision-making cycle through an exhaustive series of visits and meetings. His improvement initiatives contributed to the substantial strides in effective Office of the Secretary of Defense-Joint Staff collaboration made over the past few years. General Eberhart consistently provided sound advice on all resource and planning issues to the Chairman and the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The distinctive accomplishments of General Eberhart reflect great credit upon himself, the United States Air Force, and the Department of Defense.

The Secretary of Defense of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting a Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu of a Second Award of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal to Lieutenant General Ralph Edward Eberhart, 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 Commander, United States Forces, Japan, and Commander, FIFTH Air Force, from June 1996 to June 1997. Throughout this period, General Eberhart made major contributions to the Unites States-Japan security relationship and the Asia-Pacific region. Through his close rapport with key Japanese military and civilian leaders, he was directly responsible for enhancing and expanding United States-Japan cooperative defense efforts, improving bilateral planning, and furthering mutual understanding and cooperation between the United States and Japan. General Eberhart’s keen diplomatic and leadership skills provided the environment for the success of the Special Action Committee on Okinawa. His recommendations to the Security Consultative Committee on ways to consolidate, realign and reduce United States facilities and areas in Japan further strengthened the United States-Japan alliance. General Eberhart’s guidance and insight ensured that United States-Japan military exercises focused on mission training objectives and demonstrated the United States’ resolve and commitment to the defense of Japan. His enactment of the Mid-Term Exercise Concept with the Japan Joint Staff Office allows senior United States and Japanese leaders to integrate training more efficiently. This concept fostered an unprecedented degree of cooperation between United States and Japanese military forces, demonstrated by the increased sophistication of the bilateral KEEN EDGE exercise program. His leadership, foresight and perseverance have been singularly responsible for making the United States Forces, Japan a more effective instrument of national policy. The distinctive accomplishments of General Eberhart reflect great credit upon himself, the United States Air Force, and the Department of Defense.