(10-20-2021, 08:03 PM)Ninurta Wrote: I didn't know there even WAS such a beast as the "US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps". What the hell do we even need anything like that for? And why the hell would it need "admirals"? Does it have boats, too?
Apparently...
Quote:23 Mar 2020Miltary.com:
Military.com | By Jim Absher
You may have seen them standing beside President Donald Trump at recent news conferences:
people in uniforms that looked vaguely familiar, but not quite the same as military uniforms.
Who are they, and why are they in those strange uniforms?
First of all, they are the same uniforms worn by Navy officers, although with different insignia.
And those good folks are members of a division of the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) -- specifically the United States
Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC) -- which, as the name states, is comprised of commissioned officers.
The USPHS itself is a division of the Department of Health and Human Services; the head of the service is Adm. Brett P. Giroir.
the assistant secretary for health, who holds a four-star rank. The PHSCC is a uniformed service of the U.S. government, just like
the military. In fact, its members are eligible for all the same benefits as active-duty military and veterans.
They are also subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).
These officers are often the first to deploy to danger zones, serving in the front lines of public health by treating the very ill and
researching communicable diseases. They also have day jobs doing medical and scientific research, serving in hospitals and
health clinics, or conducting health and medical inspections on our borders.
In fact, the PHSCC officers are on-call to deploy within 12 hours as necessary, and besides augmenting the military health service
in places like Afghanistan, they serve alongside civilian medical personnel in disaster areas such as the World Trade Center on
Sept. 11, 2001; during hurricane flooding in the Southeast; and nearly 800 other times in the last 10 years.
The PHSCC traces its beginnings to 1798, when the U.S. Marine Hospital Service was formed to protect against the spread of
disease from sailors returning from foreign ports and to maintain the health of immigrants entering the country. The mission has
changed throughout the years but remains focused on maintaining the nation's public health.
There are currently more than 6,500 members of the PHSCC, serving in 11 professional categories:
Dentist
Dietitian
Engineer
Environmental health officer
Health service officer
Nurse
Medical officer
Pharmacist
Scientist
Therapist (including physical, occupational, speech, respiratory)
Veterinarian
U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams holds the equivalent military rank of vice admiral (O-9) and is normally the public face of the service,
speaking to the media and overseeing the service's daily operations. Officers in the PHSCC work in a variety of federal agencies throughout
the Department of Health and Human Services, including the Indian Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and National
Institutes of Health, as well as other federal agencies, such as the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Defense Department, and Immigration and
Customs Enforcement.
Entry into the service normally requires a medical degree and medical license in a qualifying specialty.
Since the service is small, competition to gain entry is fierce; the process to become a commissioned officer may take up to a year.
Unlike their military counterparts, PHSCC officers have no requirement to move every few years.
However, like in the military, many promotions are dependent on a member's willingness or ability to relocate.
PHSCC members are eligible for the same benefits as their military cohorts, including Tricare, retired pay, VA home loans, the GI Bill,
VA disability compensation, special pay and allowances...'
Edith Head Gives Good Wardrobe.