"Average guy" leads extraordinary life

From serving as White House physician to writing the book on bioterror preparedness, Navy Capt. Robert Darling, MD, is living the adventure.

By Markian Hawryluk, AMNews staff. Jan. 27, 2003.

The Nation is their Patient
Doctors serve America at all levels of government. This occasional series explores how their medical background influences what they do.

Navy Capt. Robert Darling, MD, didn't set out to be an expert in bioterrorism. Or a physician to President Clinton. Or to help land a burning aircraft on the deck of a carrier, saving the lives of its crew.

"I didn't go to Harvard or Yale. I didn't graduate at the top of my medical school class," Dr. Darling said. "I was a pretty average guy, and all these neat things have happened to me."

But Dr. Darling is no real-life Forrest Gump who just happens to be in the right place at the right time. Case in point: He was recently named senior medical adviser to the Navy Medicine Office of Homeland Security. This post places the 44-year-old Dr. Darling on the front lines of one the nation's scariest battles -- protecting the country against a bioterrorist attack.

"Fighting terrorism is the single most important objective to ensure our national defense, and we need our very best talent dedicated to the cause," said Rear Adm. Donald C. Arthur, MD, deputy surgeon general and chief of the Medical Corps. "Capt. Rob Darling is our most highly qualified expert and will guide us well."

Dr. Darling grew into the role starting with his experience at the White House. In 1996, the Clinton administration was looking for a new White House physician, a post generally filled by internists, surgeons or family practitioners. Dr. Darling was the first emergency physician to win the assignment.

At the White House, the Secret Service asked him to help them better understand the threat of a biological attack from a medical perspective.