Are former members of the uniformed Public Health Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration considered to be veterans?

2021-05-01T20:49:38-04:00

Response by CSM Darieus ZaGara made May 2 at 2021 7:38 AM

2021-05-02T07:38:24-04:00

Based on what I read, while DOD, not seemed, no different than other DOD civilians who are not veterans, many of whom serve in combat environments. Again, my assessment of available information.

Response by SSG Dale London made May 2 at 2021 9:00 AM

2021-05-02T09:00:33-04:00

According to U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, "Veteran" means a person who served in the active military, naval, or air service and who was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable. The regulation further specifies that "Armed Forces" means the United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard, including their Reserve components.
With this in mind, I would think the answer to your question is "no."
Edit: I expect that following the creation of the Space Force, 38 CFR will subsequently be updated to include them in this definition.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made May 2 at 2021 9:41 AM

2021-05-02T09:41:47-04:00

Everything that I have found in regards to Public Health Services, specifically United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, the USPHCC is considered Federal Uniform and therefore can claim Veteran status, per 42 US Code Chapter 1

Response by SFC Casey O'Mally made May 2 at 2021 12:51 PM

2021-05-02T12:51:47-04:00

It depends on your definition of veteran. We have "veteran quarterbacks" who have been in the league a while and "veteran detectives" who have closed a large number of cases. So, in that capacity, yes.

However if you are asking about the "traditional" definition of veteran, than no. Not even close.

Uniformed Capitol Police or Park Rangers or any number of other federal positions are not veterans. There is no reason why public health or NOAA would be.

Response by SSG Edward Tilton made May 2 at 2021 4:27 PM

2021-05-02T16:27:08-04:00

The VA prints a guide with general information. Usually there is a list of organizations and units outside the military which are able to use the VA at the back of the book. Some of them, like the Flying Tigers, May surprise you.

Response by SSG Laurie Mullen made May 3 at 2021 4:50 AM

2021-05-03T04:50:39-04:00

One of my neighbors is retired from the PHS, she has a blue retiree ID card. She is considered a military retiree and the rank listed on her ID is, I believe Captain (Navy type). Her military benefits appear to be no different than any other veteran.

Response by SSgt Christophe Murphy made May 3 at 2021 12:27 PM

2021-05-03T12:27:59-04:00

The definition of military veteran is sometimes viewed through an individuals personal experiences instead of using other factors to decide the appropriate answer. They are subject to many of the same things Military members are to include deployments and the UCMJ. They are also entitled to many of the same benefits that military service members are. With these factors I think they would be viewed as veterans but veterans of the uniformed service. They earned their recognition but there should still be clear definition of the differences.

https://www.military.com/join-military/service-choices/what-us-public-health-service.html#:~:text=The%20PHSCC%20is%20a%20uniformed,active%2Dduty%20military%20and%20veterans.

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Response by CDR Terry Boles made May 3 at 2021 12:52 PM

2021-05-03T12:52:29-04:00

Yes, PHS and NOAA commissioned officers are veterans. USPHS officers are veterans under federal law (42 U.S. Code 213d), entitled to all rights and privileges thereof, including the right to burial in a Veterans Affairs cemetery. They participate fully in the Memorial Day and Veterans Day events at Arlington National Cemetery and regularly march in veterans' parades.

I can speak about the PHS, they have deployed to war zones to include our recent Afghanistan and Iraq wars. It’s such a small uniformed service that recognition is often failing. The following is a bit if a read but more background.

The PHS Commissioned Officer Corps was formally established by congressional legislation in 1889, and signed by 22nd/24th President Grover Cleveland. At first open only to physicians, over the course of the 20th Century, the PHS expanded to include veterinarians, dentists, physician assistants, sanitary engineers, pharmacists, nurses, environmental health officers, scientists, physical therapists, and other types of health professionals. The PHS was called upon to assist the military in the Spanish-American War of 1898. All of the PHS Marine Hospitals were made available for the care of the sick and wounded of the Army and Navy. A PHS medical officer was on duty aboard the Revenue Cutter McCullough with the fleet of Commodore Dewy at the battle of Manila Bay.

During World War II, the President was given legislative authority for militarizing the PHS. Congress on November 11, 1943 authorized military benefits for the commissioned officers of the PHS and also gave the President the authority to declare the PHS to be a military service in times of war. The Public Health Service Act of July 1, 1944, which repealed the 1943 Act, contained the same provision for militarization of the PHS. On June 21, 1945, President Truman issued Executive order No. 9575 which declared "the commissioned corps of the Public Health Service to be a military service and a branch of the land and naval forces of the United States during the period of the present war, World War II." The Public Health Service Act of July 1, 1944 was later amended to state that the President might declare the PHS to be a military service not only in time of threatened or actual war, but also in "an emergency involving the national defense proclaimed by the President." In the absence of a declared war in Korea, the PHS reverted back to a Uniformed Service although many PHS officers deployed. The PHS also contributed support to military operations such as in Vietnam and the Persian Gulf. For example, the PHS organized surgical teams in Vietnam, consisting of both active duty officers and civilian personnel. PHS was also involved in efforts to control malaria and other infectious diseases in Vietnam. On July 6, 1988, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense signed for the first time a Memorandum of Agreement which established a contingency planning relationship between the departments "for the mobilization and employment of US Public Health Service (PHS) Commissioned Corps Officers in DoD health care activities." The PHS has partnered, very successfully, with the Defense Health Agency of the Department of Defense to augment behavioral health and physical therapy resources for returning Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines. PHS officers traditionally can be found in large numbers assigned to the Indian Health Service (IHS), Bureau of Prisons (BOP), CDC, FDA, Coast Guard, NOAA, and a host of many other federal and state agencies.

In 2002 Vice Admiral Richard Carmona was sworn in as the 17th US Surgeon General (SG) of the United States Public Health Service. SG Carmona was a high school dropout who enlisted in the Army in 1967 and subsequently became a combat-decorated Vietnam veteran with the Army’s Special Forces. The years that followed, SG Carmona obtained his medical degree in 1979 and became a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. Prior to being sworn in as SG, he was the chairman of the State of Arizona Southern Regional Emergency Medical System, a professor of surgery, public health and family and community medicine at the University of Arizona, and the Pima County Sheriff's Department surgeon and deputy sheriff. During SG Carmona’s tenure he is credited with the transformation of the PHS and the initial partnerships with DoD which led to PHS officers deploying in harm’s way to Iraq and Afghanistan for mutual missions, and providing more medical providers at military treatment facilities.

Although a small branch of service with 6746 commissioned officers, the PHS deployed nearly 900 officers providing a continuous presence from 2003 to 2014 for ongoing operations in both Afghanistan and Iraq working directly with the Ministries of Public Health to create national programs and services for both countries. PHS officers deployed to Afghanistan delivered and coordinated clinical and public health interventions designed to improve maternal and child health outcomes in a sustainable systems approach. The Afghanistan Health Initiative focused on the Rabia Balkhi Hospital to implement processes and systems designed to strengthen hospital management and leadership; to develop culturally appropriate training programs for physicians, midwives, and other health providers in the hospital; and to improve health outcomes for mothers and newborns. While other PHS officers deployed in support of combat units; one such officer was CAPT Maurice Sheehan (0-6) who deployed for 12-months in 2008 at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Fenty and partook in numerous operations working with Pashtoon refugees, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and the Department of State in the hotly contested Korengal Valley with 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team and then after a Relief in Place/Transfer of Authority (RIP/TOA) with the 1st Infantry Division, known as the “Big Red One”. During one such operation, CAPT Sheehan, while serving at Combat Outpost (COP) Seray in the Chowkay Valley, earned his Army Combat Medical Badge (CMB) as he came under heavy enemy fire while enroute to performing medical interventions on a wounded Afghanistan Army soldier. For his work and similar combat actions and interventions both in the Korengal at COP Vegas, he was subsequently meritoriously awarded the Bronze Star.

PHS officers also deployed to backfill medical needs at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany and Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii to provide care to wounded warriors. PHS officers are currently assigned to the Pentagon, USNORTHCOM/NORAD, TRICARE, Secret Service, Department of Homeland Security, and Army and Air Force medical treatment facilities (MTFs) providing care to wounded warriors with traumatic brain injuries. PHS officers also provide direct health care services to service members of the Coast Guard and the commissioned officers of NOAA at their bases and aboard ship.

So yes, they are veterans entitled to all rights and privileges thereof as per their storied history and federal law (42 U.S. Code 213d). They receive the same military benefits, retirement, etc as other service members of the now 8 Uniformed Services.