Awards Program

Annual Awards 

The Black Commissioned Officers Advisory Group (BCOAG) grants three awards each year to civil service employees, and active duty and retired USPHS officers. These awards recognize the outstanding service and leadership of PHS officers and civil service employees to the mission of their agencies and the PHS Commissioned Corps.  Awards are presented during the annual USPHS Scientific and Training Symposium.  All relevant accomplishments from the date the nominee was called to active duty or began Federal service can be used to meet the award criteria. Without exception, nominees must meet all criteria by the nomination deadline. The annual awards are:

• RADM George I. Lythcott Award
• CAPT Hildrus A. Poindexter Award
• Retired PHS Officer Recognition Award
• Sylvia Trent-Adams Leadership Award
• CAPT John C. Eason Responder of the Year Award

Please submit nomination packet to bcoagawards@gmail.com. For questions; please contact LCDR Isaac Ampadu and LT Chiemena Anyanwu. Subject line of email: "BCOAG Annual Awards". The nomination deadline is COB Friday, February 10, 2023.

The Awards Committee conducts the awards review and selection process and presents the names of the selected nominees to the BCOAG Chair. The Chair forwards the names of the selected nominees to the Office of the Surgeon General for final approval.

Awards Review Program

The BCOAG Awards Review Program is a collaboration between the Career and Professional Development and the Awards Committees. The purpose of the Awards Review Program is to provide valuable input to help strengthen and improve award narratives for PHS and non-PHS awards.  It was officially launched in June 2013. 

Officers are encouraged to submit award narratives for review before submitting for award approval. Interested officers should use the following instructions and coverpage to submit their award narrative.

Officers must use the preferred format for submissions and allow up to three weeks for review. Award narratives will be reviewed by a minimum of two reviewers from a pool of retired and senior officers from several agencies. Reviewers will provide comments and questions to consider for improving the award narrative. Comments provided by reviewers are not an assurance that the officer will be granted an award. 

For additional information or questions, please email bcoagawards@gmail.com.

BCOAG Awards Resource Database

The BCOAG Awards Committee has developed a comprehensive list of USPHS and non-USPHS awards as a resource for PHS officers. The Awards Resource Database is easy to navigate and officers can search for awards by award name, discipline, submission deadlines, or award requirements.  The Awards Resource Database can be a valuable resource in ensuring our officers get recognized for their leadership, service, dedication and hard work in supporting the PHS mission. We strongly encourage officers to apply for awards and support the continued development of this tool with their ideas and new award information. Suggestions and comments on the database can be sent to bcoagawards@gmail.com.

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