Robert G. Darling, M.D., FACEP

CAPT, MC, USN (RET)
Founding Principal and Chief Medical Officer
The White House Medical Group

A founding principal and Chief Medical Officer for the White House Medical Group (formerly Guardian 24/7), Dr. Robert Darling has provided health care to people at the highest levels of the U.S. military and government, and specialized in preparing for and responding to emergencies, disasters, and other challenging conditions around the world. The White House Medical Group is a healthcare company that delivers medical care to patients in virtually any location in the world by using advanced telemedicine and other cutting edge technologies.

In 1996, Dr. Darling became the first board-certified emergency medicine physician selected to serve the President of the United States as White House Physician. In addition to caring for the president, vice president, their families, and other senior U.S. Government officials, Dr. Darling traveled to more than 40 countries planning medical contingency operations for both official presidential visits and vacations.

Dr. Darling served in the Clinton White House until October 1999 and subsequently served as a consultant to the White House Medical Unit on matters relating to biological terrorism and the medical consequences of weapons of mass destruction.

After completing his tour as White House Physician, Dr. Darling transferred to the Operational Medicine Division of the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) in Fort Detrick, Maryland, where he served as emergency physician, flight surgeon, and Director of the Aeromedical Isolation Team specializing in the mitigation of the medical consequences of biological weapons and bioterrorism.

From 2004 until 2006 he served as Director of the Navy Medicine Office of Homeland Security, where he was responsible for guiding Navy Medicine in its efforts to prepare for the medical and public health consequences of natural and man-made disasters in its hospitals and clinics throughout the world.

CAPT Darling retired from the Navy in 2006 and was named Director of the Center for Disaster and Humanitarian Assistance Medicine (CDHAM) and Assistant Professor of Military and Emergency Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) in Bethesda, Maryland. He served as Director of the Center from October 2006 until April 2008. As CDHAM Director, Dr. Darling was responsible for the overall management of health care sector reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan, pandemic influenza preparation, HIV/AIDS educational initiatives in the Caribbean and South America, and many other related programs whose overall purpose is to prepare for and respond to humanitarian disasters worldwide.

From 2006 to 2009 Dr. Darling also served as attending physician in the Advanced Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine Center at the Washington County Hospital in Hagerstown, Maryland. He treated patients with complex non-healing wounds by employing the latest in advanced wound care treatment techniques and hyperbaric medicine.

Dr. Darling received a Bachelor of Science in Biology (with honors) from Adelphi University in 1981. He was commissioned in the U.S. Navy Medical Corps the same year and received his Doctor of Medicine in 1985 from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS). He completed his transitional medical internship at the Bethesda Naval Medical Center in 1986 and basic flight training at the Naval Aerospace Medical Institute in Pensacola, Florida in 1987. He has served as a flight surgeon aboard the aircraft carrier USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (CVN-71) and at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. He was second seat qualified in both the F14-A and A6-E tactical jets.

Dr. Darling maintains his academic appointment as Assistant Professor of Military and Emergency Medicine at the USUHS, served on the medical school admissions committee and continues as medical consultant to the CDHAM. He has numerous publications and has lectured both nationally and internationally. He is a past member of the Adelphi University Board of Trustees and a current member of the Adelphi Center for Health Information Advisory Board. He lives in Ashburn, VA with his wife and three daughters.