Surgeon General is an 0-9 (vice Admiral), assistant secretary of health is an O-10 and is the SG's boss.I need to do a little investigating. I though the Surgeon General was the only four star in the USPH.
They are commissioned officers and are eligible for all the same benefits as active-duty military and veterans. They are also subject to the UCMJ.I guess you can call someone in public health an Admiral or anything you like, and you can put a uniform on scarecrow, but this rank means nothing in the military. It's a civilian rank. The uniform is little more than a Halloween costume.
They are commissioned officers and are eligible for all the same benefits as active-duty military and veterans. They are also subject to the UCMJ.
By Presidential appointment and confirmed by the Senate, that's how.How can one be sworn into the military and directly into the highest rank available?
I always thought the Surgeon General was the senior member of the USPHA Commissioned Corp. I see from their website that the "Secretary of Health" is the senior member.Surgeon General is an 0-9 (vice Admiral), assistant secretary of health is an O-10 and is the SG's boss.
Secretary of Health would be like the Secretary of Defense as senior civilian overseeing the USPHSCC and not in the Commissioned Corp, the senior commissioned officer is the Asst. Sec. of Health.I always thought the Surgeon General was the senior member of the USPHA Commissioned Corp. I see from their website that the "Secretary of Health" is the senior member.
By Presidential appointment and confirmed by the Senate, that's how.
EDIT: For clarity they are not military, they are one of the 8 Uniformed Services of the United States (Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard, Space Force, National Oceanic Atmospheric Agency, Public Health Service). As a non combatant Uniformed Service they are entitled to all of the same benefits as the combatant services to include: pay, medical and retirement benefits, pension and VA benefits. They also wear uniforms, hold military ranks, and are due the same respect as military officers (like being saluted).