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The USPHS Commissioned Corps is committed to our mission to protect, promote, and advance the health and safety of the nation. Public Health Service officers are trained and equipped to provide crucial public health leadership, assist with policy development, advance innovation and science, provide essential care services and respond to national and global public health emergencies. Through our Active Duty Regular Corps, our Public Health Response Strike Team (PHERST) and our Ready Reserve Corps, we remain responsive and available to rapidly deploy in the service of health.
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Commissioned Officers’ Awards Program (COAP)
Frequently Asked Questions
AWARDS FAQs GUIDE:
Nominations
IT Form Submissions
Awards Processing
Service Awards
Wearing of Awards and Badges
Awards Documentation (eOPF and PIR)
Awards Limits and Restrictions
Award of Uniformed Services Decorations
Timeframes
Purchasing Medals and Ribbons
AWARDS FAQS GUIDE
1.What resources are available for information on the PHS Commissioned Officers’ Awards Program?- Commissioned Corps Instruction (CCI) CCI 511.01 “Awards Program”,
- CCI511.02 “Award of Uniformed Services Decorations”,
- CCI512.01 “Wear of Awards and Badges”,
- POM 821.14 – “Commissioned Corps Awards Processing”
For additional questions please contact your: OPDIV/Agency Awards Coordinators (AACs) and Commissioned Corps Liaisons.
2.What are the eligibility criteria for an officer to get a PHS Award?All active duty Commissioned Corps and DoD officers are eligible for PHS awards. All DoD officers must be approved by the DoD Liaison Officer prior to receiving a PHS award. All Commissioned Corps officers must also meet the following requirements per CCI 511.01
Each officer nominated for recognition under the COAP must:
- Be in compliance with the Corps’ licensure policy
- Have satisfactory Commissioned Officers’ Effectiveness Reports (COER) on file in CCHQ for each year covered by the recognition. All COERs on file for the period covered by the recognition (or the last five years of required COERs for longer recognition periods) and
- Not have any suspension of favorable personnel actions or pending or ongoing adverse actions.
- Meet the USPHS Commissioned Corps’ Basic Force Readiness requirements as follows:
- The Director, CCHQ, may rescind recognition when the award was inadvertently processed and should have been denied under Sections 6-9.a. b., c., or d. The Director, CCHQ, shall inform the officer, and the OPDIV, STAFFDIV, or non-HHS organization which initially approved or nominated the recognition of the rescission and its reason(s).
(1) An officer is not eligible to receive recognition under the COAP during periods of misconduct or other actions that lead to an adverse action or while an adverse action is actively managed by CCHQ.
(2) An officer is ineligible to receive honor or service awards if the period of the award overlaps the period of misconduct or active adverse actions.
(3) If the officer has been subject to a suspension of favorable personnel actions or an adverse action, CCHQ will return the nomination to the OPDIV/STAFFDIV/non-HHS organization without action. However, an explanation will be provided.
(1) Officers nominated for an award that covers the officer’s career (e.g., submitted just prior to the officer’s retirement) must continuously meet readiness requirements starting from the date of the award nomination through the date that the award is approved. For officers awaiting the results of end of career awards, the readiness checks will only occur from the nomination date to the date of the start of the terminal leave if that begins prior to the approval date.
(2) All other officers must continuously meet the readiness requirements, starting from the date of the award nomination through the date that the award is approved.
3.Who can nominate PHS Commissioned Corps Officers for awards?A fellow officer, co-worker, superior, or someone outside of the Commissioned Corps with knowledge of the accomplishment(s) deserving recognition may initiate the nomination of an officer or a group of officers as candidate(s) for an individual honor or unit award. However, officers cannot nominate themselves.4.How do I nominate an officer for an award?The nominator should review the criteria for each award level (CCI 511.01), as well as the guidelines on the COAP Write-Up Guidance and Tips webpage. The one-page maximum narrative should concisely describe the above and beyond achievement or accomplishments of the officer(s). For agency awards, send the narrative together with respective PDF-fillable form PHS-6342-1 (Unit Awards), or PHS-6342-2 (Individual Awards) through the OPDIV/Agency’s Line of Authority for signatures. The ACC can provide Line of Authority information. For deployments, PAC or SG appointed groups, work through your team or group’s chain of command. Note that for end-of-career awards a two-page narrative is authorized.5.I am separating/retiring from active duty. When should my award packet be submitted to COAP?Nominations for an individual or unit honor award must be formally initiated and submitted within 13 months after the noteworthy act or specific period of service to be recognized. In addition, for officers nearing retirement or separation it is strongly recommended that nominations are submitted at least 120 days prior to the retirement or separation date in order to allow sufficient time for CCHQ to process the nomination before retirement.6.What is the time limit to initiate an individual or unit honor nomination?Individual or unit honor award must be formally initiated within 13 months after the noteworthy act or specific period of service to be recognized. The nominator’s date on the form must be within 13 months of the end of the period covered.1.Where can I find more information on the types of USPHS® Awards?The types of USPHS® awards and criteria can be found on the CCMIS webpage as well as the Awards policy 511.01.
2.I’m having issues logging into the forms system with my PIV card or using a username and password as a guest user. What can be done?Please contact the Commissioned Corps Helpdesk (cchelpdesk@hhs.gov) for any login issues. Please note: Google Chrome is the preferred browser to use within the “Forms” Platform.
3.How do I obtain a guest account if I am a civilian and have never used the “Forms” platform?A new guest user account can be requested by going online to the New Access Request page. You will be asked to provide your name, email address, and which form you will need access to. There are optional fields of inputting what officer the form would be for and what reason you are needing the access. Someone of the responsible team will review and take action on the request.
4.How do I enter an award within the “Forms” Platform?Please see the General User Guide for detailed instructions on how to submit, endorse, and view awards within the Forms Platform.
5.What information is included in the narrative?The narrative should clearly describe the impact and/or achievement of the officer(s), emphasize leadership/initiative, and provide a clear indication of how the officer(s) act(s) exceeded expectations.
6.What should I do if an award has been in a stage for a long time?This depends on what stage the award is in. Contact your agency awards coordinator and/or liaison for specific guidance.
7.Can I be nominated for an individual award if the activity was recognized as a unit award?Yes, you can be nominated for an individual award for an activity that was nominated for a unit award if it is made clear what you did that was different than what the group did. Your impact and accomplishments must be distinguished from that of the unit. At this time, only individual USPHS® awards may be submitted through the “Forms” platform. Unit awards will continue to be submitted via the PDF nomination process as outlined on the Nomination Procedures and Forms page on CCMIS
8.As the nominator, what if the officer’s information does not populate when searching for the officer by name, SERNO, category, or agency?Please reach out to the COAP team, PHSCOAP@hhs.gov, with screenshots and detailed information so we can troubleshoot the situation.
9.As the nominator, what if I don’t know who the primary supervisor is?The nominator may obtain this information from the officer who is being nominated.
10.As the nominator, what if I hit submit to move the award to the next stage, but realize I need to edit the form?The award can be rerouted back to you for editing. This can be done by the agency awards coordinator and/or liaison or the COAP team at PHSCOAP@hhs.gov. Alternatively, there is an option that the award can be rejected in the current stage and returned back to any previous stage.
11.As an agency awards coordinator, how do I move an award to the next stage?Please see the Awards Coordinator User Guide for detailed instructions on how to act on awards in this stage within the “Forms” Platform.
12.What does the asterisk mean in the form?The asterisks indicate mandatory fields.
13.Why can’t I edit awards submitted for me?The inability to edit awards submitted for you is because only the nominator has the authority to edit the narrative.
14.Can more than one award be submitted in the new electronic system?Yes, you can submit more than one award for the same officer for different accomplishments.
1.How many awards boards are there and what are their roles?There are 3 awards boards as follows:
Agency Awards Boards (AAB): Agencies with delegated authority from the Assistant Secretary for Health (ASH) must establish an AAB to review award nominations. The agency has discretion to determine members of the AAB but should ensure they represent the diversity in the agency. The board can include civilians.
Commissioned Corps Interagency Awards Board (CCIAB): The CCIAB reviews the nominations for all agencies without delegated approval authority, Professional Advisory Committees (PACs), deployment awards, Surgeon General (SG) appointed groups, and all other award nominations without an awards board.
PHS Commissioned Corps Awards Board (PHS-CCAB): The PHS-CCAB is the required second board review for all DSM, MSM, and OUC nominations, as well as awards nominated with Valor.
2.What board reviews are required for PHS awards?- All PHS Honor Awards, both individual and unit recognition must be reviewed by at least one award’s board.
- PHS Citations (CIT) and Achievement Medals (AM): Many OPDIVs/Agencies are delegated the authority to approve these awards at the center, institute, bureau, or area director level.
- Commendation Medal (CM), Outstanding Service Medal (OSM), and Unit Commendation (UC) many OPDIVs/Agencies are delegated the authority to approve these awards at the agency head level.
- Meritorious Service Medal (MSM), Distinguished Service Medal (DSM), Outstanding Unit Citation (OUC) and award nominations “With Valor:” require two board reviews including a final review and recommendation by the PHS Commissioned Corps Awards Board (PHS-CCAB) prior to final approval by the Surgeon General (SG) or the Deputy Surgeon General (DSG) if the approval is delegated.
- Nominations for officers assigned to organizations where the approval authority is not clear, officers detailed to an organization that does not have delegated approval authority, or officers in cases of a potential conflict of interest for the delegated authority to approve, are directed to the CCIAB for review prior to approval by the SG or DSG if delegated. The SG, or DSG if delegated, serves as the approving authority of these awards.
3.What happens to my award after my agency award boards approves it?Lower-level award nominations [Citation (CIT), Achievement Medals (AM), Commendation Medal (CM), Outstanding Service Medal (OSM) and Unit Commendation (UC)] are submitted to COAP and processed accordingly. Higher level award nominations [Meritorious Service Medal (MSM), Distinguished Service Medal (DSM), Outstanding Unit Citation (OUC) and awards with Valor] are reviewed by the PHS Commissioned Corps Award Board (PHS-CCAB). The PHS-CCAB reviews the award nomination and submits their recommendation to the Surgeon General (SG), or Deputy Surgeon General (DSG) if delegated, for a decision. The SG, or DSG if delegated, has the final authority to upgrade, downgrade or deny the award.
4.What type of documentation is provided with an approved award?All approved awards are processed by the COAP Team in the system of record. The award is viewable in the promotion information report (PIR) immediately after processing. The award nomination packet is forwarded for upload and indexing to the eOPF. COAP will then forward certificates and medal sets to the OPDIV/Agency Awards Coordinators for dissemination.
CCHQ supplies a certificate for the DSM, MSM, ASHESM, SGESM, OSM, CM, AM, and CIT. CCHQ supplies the initial medal set for the DSM, MSM, ASHESM, SGESM, and OSM. OPDIV/STAFFDIV/non-HHS organizations may, at their expense, supply medal sets for the, CM, AM, and CIT, or the officer may procure these medal sets from authorized sources (e.g., military uniform shops, Navy Exchanges) using his/her personal funds.
5.How do I check the award status after I am nominated?Officers should always contact their AAC first, or nominator in the case of Professional Advisory Committees (PAC) awards, deployment awards, Surgeon General (SG) appointed group awards, and all other award nominations without an awards board to check on the status of an award submission. They should be able to give the officer any type of information regarding the status of the award, e.g. has it been approved, has it been sent to Commissioned Corps Headquarters (CCHQ)/COAP. The AAC or nominator will then reach out to COAP regarding any outstanding issues with a pending award – not the officer. It can take up to 90 days from the time an award is submitted to COAP for it to be processed and visible on the PIR, and another 60 days for the support documents to be uploaded and indexed to the eOPF.6.Are non-HHS OPDIVs required to have Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for processing awards?Yes, all HHS and non-HHS OPDIVs are required to create and submit their respective SOP for award processing. The SOP must adhere to the policies in CCI 511.01 ‘Awards Program’ and the guidelines in POM_821.14 ‘Awards Processing’.
7.What information must be included in the agencies SOP?The minimum information required for the agency’s SOP are the following:
- The organizational chain of command through which the nomination is submitted, and the appropriate levels of notification needed, along with reasonable timelines to accomplish each level of endorsement.
- Requires that nominators and others within the chain of command notify their respective Awards Coordinator that an award nomination is submitted, so that the nomination may be tracked,
- An outline of the OPDIV/STAFFDIV/non-HHS organization’s board process.
8.What is the role of the Agency Award Coordinator (AAC)?- The AAC serves as the first line of contact for officers and managers within the respective agencies.
- The AAC serves as the liaison to CCHQ for award issues for their respective agencies
- The ACC tracks award nominations to ensure awards are processed within the POM_821.14 Awards Processing section 6.
1.I have my Dive Certification. Do I qualify for the Hazardous Duty Award (HDA)?Yes. An officer who completes and maintains certified diver training as required for their agency and receives dive pay for 180 consecutive days qualifies for the HDA. If eligible due to achieving dive certification in accordance with CCI 511.01, Section 6-3.b.(3)(e), the AAC must provide the officer’s name, PHS number, copy of the Dive Training Certification and personnel order authorizing dive pay. Submission does not require a spreadsheet.
2.I participated in a deployment that required me to provide emergency medical/support services in 2020. Do I qualify for the National Emergency Preparedness Award (NEPA)?No. The NEPA recognizes officers who have served in an organizational entity, from 19 December 2006 through 31 December 2019.
3.Can an officer working domestically, qualify for a Global Health Initiative Service Medal (GHISM)?Yes. Any officer who supported a Global Health Initiative Assignment, for at least 30 consecutive days or 60 non-consecutive days while on temporary or permanent assignment after 26 January 2005, within the continental United States (CONUS) and/or outside of the continental United States (OCONUS), qualifies for a GHISM. See PPM 09-003 for additional details. The GHISM recognizes officers who met the criteria any time before 31 December 2024.
4.Can an officer receive two Commissioned Corps Training Ribbon (CCTR) awards?Yes. Officers who successfully completed the former Basic Officer Training Course (BOTC)/Independent Officer Training Course (IOTC) were awarded the CCTR. Officers who separated and returned to the Corps and meet certain requirements, are eligible for a second CCTR (no device authorized).
1.Can I wear awards from non-PHS services, Federal Agencies/Departments, or foreign governments?Yes, however the awards must be worn only as designated in CCI.512.01 ‘Wear of Awards and Badges”. For prior service awards, email a secure copy of your Department of Defense (DOD) Form DD-214, “Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty,” Form DD-215, “Correction to DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty,” or a National Guard Bureau (NGB) Form 22/22a as an attachment to the COAP Team at phspriorsawards@hhs.gov. If the officer received non-uniform service decorations as a civilian prior to commissioning, he or she must submit corresponding documentation, i.e. certificate and memorandum, to the COAP team.
2.Can I wear my full-size Field Medical Readiness Badge on my Dinner Dress?No. Officers may wear full-size badges with full dress, service dress blue, and service dress white, uniforms
Awards Documentation (eOPF and PIR)
1.How do I resolve missing or incorrect awards issues in my eOPF and PIR?Reach out to your AAC first to assist in troubleshooting the issue. Awards are processed electronically and will show on the PIR. If the award is missing from the PIR (data transfer issues may have occurred in the DA transition), then notify COAP at of the issue. Ensure you include your PHS SERNO with a detailed explanation of what award is missing.
Issues regarding incorrect support documentation in the Awards Section of the eOPF need to be directed to the COAP Team phscorrections@hhs.gov. Please explain the problem in detail.2.My promotion folder does not show all my awards. How can I correct this?The promotion folder may not mimic the awards in the PIR entirely for various reasons. There are multiple manual steps involved to have awards narratives in the eOPF and then into the promotion folder. Awards will fully count towards promotion if they are visible on the Promotion Information Report (PIR).
- Due to several factors, there will be no supporting documentation uploaded to the eOPF for the majority of service awards. Please refer to your expanded PIR for all citation information entered on awards, including these. Most GRSA, CRSA and RSA deployment events will have supporting documentation uploaded after processing and when the mission is complete.
- Only awards from the past 7 years will be visible in the promotion folder as outlined on the CCMIS website.
- There is a delay in the narrative eOPF upload. If the award is not showing in your eOPF it will not show in the promotion folder.
3.There are typos in the Unit and/or Citation entries on the new PIR awards list, can I get those fixed?For issues regarding typos in the PIR, please reach out to the COAP Team at phscorrections@hhs.gov. Ensure you include your PHS SERNO with a detailed explanation of what is incorrect.
4.My prior service awards are not on file. How can I get authorization to wear them?Email a secure copy of your Department of Defense (DOD) Form DD-214, “Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty,” Form DD-215, “Correction to DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty,” or a National Guard Bureau (NGB) Form 22/22a as an attachment to the COAP Team at phspriorsawards@hhs.gov. Not all prior service awards are authorized for wear with the PHS uniform.
5.I am missing awards documentation for a PHS honor award. How can I get the award into my file?There are many steps in Awards processing. It is possible your award is not fully processed. Check your PIR first. If you know you’ve been nominated for an award, follow up with your Awards Coordinator or Agency Liaison (or nominator in the case of Professional Advisory Committees (PAC) awards, deployment awards, Surgeon General (SG) appointed group awards, and all other award nominations without an awards board) deployment awards) to find out when it was submitted to COAP. These individuals have the best information on the status of your award.
6.Why are my agency awards or PAC Certificates of Appreciation not appearing in the awards section of the PIR?Only PHS awards listed in the Awards Policy and similar wearable awards received while assigned to DoD, U.S Coast Guard, or NOAA are entered into the Awards section. Some agency honor awards that have associated ribbons (i.e. EPA awards) are also entered.
7.How do I get my PAC award into the PHS Awards & non-PHS Awards section?Utilize the eDOC-U feature to upload these items following the eDOC-U guidance provided. (e.g. PAC awards and high-level agency awards can be uploaded here as an Agency/Category award. This section is NOT for certificates of appreciation, foreign performance badges, and non-PHS authorized military associated badges or ribbons). Submit those documents under certificate of appreciation, which will be listed under the PHS Supporting Activities section.
8.Where is my Regular Corps ribbon write-up?There is no write-up for the Regular Corps ribbon. Check your PIR to make certain the ribbon is listed there. That is the only place it will appear in the record. Do not submit an image of your Regular Corps certificate to the eOPF.
9.I received an award from my prior DoD/CG duty assignment, but now I’m in another agency, how do I get it recorded?Do NOT submit documents directly to COAP. Submit all award documentation to your Agency Awards Coordinator or Commissioned Corps Agency Liaison for verification and administrative checks. They will forward the documentation to COAP for processing.
10.For officers assigned to the DoD and CG, are they eligible for the Armed Forces Service Medal (ArFcSM) and Humanitarian Service Medal (ArFcHSM) for COVID-19 related responses?The ASH extended the COVID 19 medal until the end of the Public Health Emergency. Officers are unable to obtain the AFSM and HSM for the COVID response. Just as the DoD are not allowing their officers to have the COVID 19 Medal for DoD officers as they were awarded the AFSM and HSM.
Awards Limits and Restrictions
1.As a Commissioned Corps officer, am I eligible for cash awards?By law, Commissioned Corps officers are eligible for cash awards for only three different categories: inventions, suggestions, and special acts of scientific achievement. The authority for cash awards to officers is set forth in Title 42 U.S.C. 213a(a)(15) and Title 10 U.S.C. 1124. Cash awards will not be made to officers for superior performance of assigned duties or for contributions which reasonably may be considered to be within the scope of those duties. The criteria for cash awards can be found in the CCPM, Chapter CC27, Subchapter 27.1, INSTRUCTION 5 (Commissioned Officers' Incentive Awards Program; Cash Awards for Inventions, Suggestions, and Scientific Achievements - PDF, 169kb).2.How many awards can I receive? Is the number limited by time?There are neither minimum nor maximum numbers of nominations that may be submitted by organizations to which Corps officers are detailed. Each award nomination is assessed upon its own merits in comparison with criteria. However, an officer cannot be nominated for an additional award overlapping a previous award for the same achievement or activity.3.Can I receive an honor award in addition to a Unit Commendation for the same achievement?An officer, who has demonstrated a level of accomplishment that significantly exceeds the efforts of other members of the unit, may be nominated for an Individual Honor Award in which the award nomination must clearly specify the achievement or activity beyond the group accomplishment.1.How long does my agency have to process my award and submit to COAP?- All endorsements must be completed within 90 days of the nomination date
- The Agency Awards Board (AAB) has 180 days from the nomination date.
- Final approval by the delegated authority is completed within 60 days of the AAB’s recommendation/date the AAB is convened.
- Nominations are submitted to COAP by the AAC within 30 days of final approval.
2.My award was sent back for a rewrite, how much time do I have to resubmit?To ensure timely recognition, deadlines for rewrites/resubmissions are restricted to no more than 180 days.3.My agency does not have an approving authority. How will my award be reviewed?Your award will be reviewed by the Commissioned Corps Interagency Awards Board (CCIAB). Nominations must follow the COAP awards program submission guidelines.4.My SG Appointed Group wants to send an award on my behalf. When should they submit the award to ensure the timeframes are met?All endorsements are completed within 90 days of the nomination date and forwarded to COAP within 10 days of the final endorsement date.5.I want to submit a deployment award for an officer. When are submissions due?For agency related deployments, nominations should be within 13 months of the period being recognized. The agency liaison and or coordinator should submit the nominations to COAP within 90 days from nomination. Readiness and Deployment Branch (RDB) related deployments are completed by RDB within 90 days of the nomination date and forwarded to COAP within 10 days.1.Where can I purchase medal set replacements/extra ribbons, etc?Walter Reed National Military Medical Center - Uniform Center
8901 Wisconsin Avenue, Building 82
Bethesda, MD 20889
2407434702
https://www.mynavyexchange.com/
UltraThin – (The only company that has Commissioned Corps ribbons)
800-758-7265
405-794-7892
https://www.ultrathin.com/Other sources may be available. However, it is your responsibility to ensure all purchases meet current military specifications.
2.I still have questions, where can I get more information?Please contact your Commissioned Corps Agency Liaison or visit the COAP website.Last Updated: 8/1/2024