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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)
Nomination Procedures and Forms
Award nominations may be submitted via email to the appropriate resource box. Nominators may opt to utilize the “Forms” platform within the Officer Secure Area (OSA) to submit USPHS® Individual Honor Awards. All PDF submissions via email for the USPHS® Individual Honor Awards will no longer be accepted by January 2025.
Honor Awards
Each recommendation for an individual or unit honor award must be formally initiated within 13 months after the noteworthy act or specific period of service to be recognized. All nominations should have at least one level of Supervisory / Line Authority review and endorsement. Please utilize digital/electronic signatures whenever possible.
- Individual Honor Awards[Distinguished Service Medal (DSM); Meritorious Service Medal (MSM); Outstanding Service Medal (OSM); Commendation Medal (CM); Achievement Medal (AM); and Citation (CIT)] – utilize Form PHS 6342-2 (PDF, 266kb).
- Unit Honor Awards[Outstanding Unit Citation (OUC) and Unit Commendations (UC)] – utilize Form PHS 6342-1 (PDF, 414kb)
The “Forms” platform within OSA will now accept USPHS® Individual Honor Award Submissions. All USPHS® Individual Honor Awards must be submitted in this fashion by January 2025. Additional information on how to submit awards via the “Forms” platform can be found in the Awards User Guide.
Service Awards
No form is utilized for submission of Service Awards; specific authorization memos are used. Agency liaisons and/or agency awards coordinators can assist officers in gathering the necessary information for the agencies to submit to the COAP Team.
Awards Boards
- Agency Awards Board(AAB) – Most agencies have their own AAB for review of Honor Award nominations. They have delegated authority for final approval of OSM and below and UC. Those agencies without an AAB have their nominations reviewed by the CCIAB.
- Commissioned Corps Interagency Awards Board(CCIAB) – Managed by COAP, reviews all high-level honor award nominations, and those without an AAB, e.g. DoD, DHS/IHSC, PAC, and deployment.
- PHS-Commissioned Corps Awards Board(PHS-CCAB) – Managed by COAP, reviews all high level honor award nominations after an initial board review, i.e. DSM, MSM, OUC and any award w/Valor.
- Mixed Bag Awards– Shall have a Single Point of Contact in the Liaison Program Coordinator who can be reached at mixedbagawards@hhs.gov. The Liaison Program Coordinator in this role will ensure:
- No award duplication/overlap
- Award submission timeline is met
- Eligibility requirements are met IAW CCI 511.01 6-9
- Tracking of awards submissions
- Feedback is provided back to the nominator once a decision has been met
Procedures
- Agency Awards– Please contact your Agency Awards Coordinator or Agency Commissioned Corps Liaison to determine the procedure for award submission for both Honor and Service Award nominations.
- PAC and SG Appointed Group Awards(non-PAC) – Honor awards are submitted directly to the Liaison Program Coordinator at mixedbagawards@hhs.gov for review by the CCIAB. Special Assignment Awards (SAA) are routed through the OSG’s Director of Operations for SG approval prior to their submission to COAP for processing.
- Deployment Awards– Honor Awards are managed by the Team Commanders/Leads and are submitted in coordination with the Readiness and Deployment Branch (RDB), the Liaison Program Coordinator, and COAP. Service Awards are determined by level of authorization (see COAP Introduction webpage) and are submitted by RDB to COAP for processing after receiving approval from the Director of CCHQ. Individual requests for deployment related Service Awards will not be processed. FMRB eligible lists are run by RDB and after receiving approval are forwarded to COAP for processing.
Timelines
- Agency Awards Board– Held as often as the agency deems necessary; please contact your Agency Awards Coordinator and/or Agency Liaison for specific deadlines for submissions.
- CCIAB– Held monthly, generally within the first two weeks of the month; nominations submitted in the prior month are reviewed. Results are disseminated only upon receipt of the final approval memo from the SG, or DSG if delegated, to the relevant Agency Liaison and/or Awards Coordinator, or in the case of deployment and SG Group awards, the Liaison Program Coordinator.
- PHS-CCAB– Held bi-monthly in even numbered months, generally on the first Tuesday of the month; nominations submitted 30 days prior reviewed. Results are disseminated only upon receipt of the final approval memo from the SG, or DSG if delegated, to the relevant Agency Liaison and/or Awards Coordinator, or in the case of deployment awards directly to the nominator.
- Service Awards– agencies submit on a quarterly basis, whereas deployment awards and SG/PAC SAAs are submitted upon completion of mission, or term, with subsequent validation of participants and required approval.
- COAP– award processing is generally accomplished within 60-90 days after receipt from the agency (see the COAP Introduction webpage). In order to process awards for review during the next promotion cycle, agencies need to have submissions to COAP NLT September 1st moving forward. This means, awards submitted by 2359 on August 31st of each calendar year will be available for the upcoming promotion boards preceding the promotion year. Upload of relevant documents is accomplished within 30-60 days of processing.
The flow of the awards process can be seen here.
If you still have questions, please visit the COAP FAQs webpage at: http://ccmis.usphs.gov/CCMIS/COAP/COAP_frequently_asked_questions_m.aspx
Last Updated: 8/1/2024
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USER ASSISTANCE
Please check our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) . FAQs are located at the top of the page next to the search function.
Having Access Issues or Need IT Help? Please contact the Commissioned Corps Helpdesk at: CCHelpDesk@hhs.gov
COMMISSIONED CORPS NEWS
Officer Spotlight January 2025
Officer Spotlight
Practice Hours Opportunities
Practice Hours Opportunities
2023 Temporary Grade Promotions
CC News Announcement 2023 Temporary Grade Promotions
Changes in Tattoo Policy in CCI 412.01, Uniforms and Appearance
Changes in Tattoo Policy in CCI 412.01, Uniforms and Appearance
Surgeon General Priorities
Surgeon General Priorities
January 2021: United States Public Health Commissioned Corps Doctrine
The link above will take you to the Noncompetitive Promotion Roster for Promotion Year 2020.
FAQs Practice Hours and Special Pay Changes
This is first in a series of FAQs, more FAQs will be forthcoming on Practice Hours and Special Pays.
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Mission - Deployments Readiness Updates
As we position ourselves to assist with controlling the spread of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), please note that we’re in an “all-hands on deck” status. Messaging has gone out from the Assistant Secretary for Health reminding Commissioned Corps officers of their deployment responsibilities...
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