The Golden Wings represented the fourth distinction added to the Kalidor Crescent, the highest honor bestowed by the Alliance to Restore the Republic. This award was granted exclusively by either the Alliance Chief of State or the Supreme Commander of the Alliance Armed Forces for extraordinary acts of valor and bravery against overwhelming odds. To be considered for this fourth distinction, a living military member had to perform a fifth act of such courage, be nominated by a superior officer or a representative from the Alliance Civil Government, and must have previously received the Bronze Cluster, the Silver Talons, and the Silver Scimitar for their Kalidor Crescent. The distinction itself consisted of a pair of gold wings, designed to resemble a kalidor in flight. A kalidor is an avian predator species native to the Core Worlds planet Davnar II. The Bronze Cluster, Silver Talons, and Silver Scimitar were previous embellishments, and the Diamond Eyes served as the subsequent and final embellishment.
Within the current Star Wars canon, the Golden Wings embellishment is referenced in the 2016 roleplaying sourcebook Lead by Example, published by Fantasy Flight Games. This embellishment originated in the Star Wars Legends continuity, initially appearing in both Star Wars: X-Wing, a computer game developed by Totally Games and released in 1993 by LucasArts, and in The Farlander Papers, a companion book authored by Rusel DeMaria for the game's Limited Edition.