August 2007 Flag Grade Billet Evaluation and Designation Is Completed An important Commissioned Corps event occurred on 1 October 2007. On that date, our Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service promoted eight officers to RADM (Lower half) and twp officers to RADM (Upper half). Below I reprise the message of 2006 from our former Assistant Secretary for Health, John Agwunobi, I believe its eloquence reflects and equally important message for today. “Those entering the Flag Ranks do so with enthusiasm – they should because these are very prestigious positions. However, our Flag Officers are far more. They are the senior most ranking officers of our Corps, and they serve with distinction and as a visible reminder of the great legacy of public health leadership that is our tradition. Because of this tradition, the Acting Surgeon General and I have high expectations of our newest, and indeed all, of our Flag Officers. They are to be leaders, demonstrating strong support of Corps activities. They are to be visible, defining by action and by being in uniform, the honor of being a member of this Service. They are to be mentors and educators, providing sage advice and counsel to their Flag colleagues and our Corps at large, especially our junior officers. As the Corps moves through the Transformation, the significance of Flag Officers is daily made more apparent – they shall lead us, they shall define us, they shall exemplify the essence of this Corps. As you congratulate the officers named below, remind them of what they mean to you, to our Corps, and to our future – remind them of the legacy that has gone before them and just how powerful your expectations are of each and every one of them.” Congratulations! Anand Parekh, M.D., M.P.H. Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health (Science and Medicine) Office of Public Health and Science From O-6 to O-7 (RADM Lower half) Clara H. Cobb Regional Health Administrator, Region 4, Office of Public Health and Science Robert L. Davidson Regional Health Administrator, Region II, Office of Public Health and Science Epifano Elizondo Regional Health Administrator, Region VI, Office of Public Health and Science Ronald C. Ferguson Director, Division of Sanitation Facilities Construction, Indian Health Service James M. Galloway Regional Health Administrator, Region V, Office of Public Health and Science Ali S. Khan Deputy Director, National Center of Zoonotic, Vector-Borne and Enteric Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Steven L. Solomon Director, Coordinating Center for Health Information and Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention David C. Rutstein Director, Office of Force Readiness and Deployment, Office of the Surgeon General, Office of Public Health and Science From O-7 to O-8 (RADM Upper half) Steven K. Galson Director, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration William C. Vanderwagen Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, Office of the Secretary

August 2007 Flag Grade Billet Evaluation and Designation Is Completed

The authority to designate and approve flag grade billets for the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service (Corps) resides with the Assistant Secretary for Health (ASH), pursuant to the Commissioned Corps Issuance System (http://dcp.psc.gov/eccis/documents/CCPM23_4_7.pdf, “Flag Grade Officer Selection and Assignment.”

At least once per year, the ASH, through the Office of Commissioned Corps Force Management (OCCFM), reviews the approved flag officer billet list to ensure the needs of the Department and the Corps are met. At the direction of the ASH, OCCFM initiated the process for this review cycle. OCCFM requested that Operating Division (OPDIV) and Staff Division (STAFFDIV) Heads indicate what changes they recommended, if any, in their previously submitted flag grade billets, and they were asked to submit a list, in priority order, of any billets they wish to submit. By direction of the ASH, OCCFM also requested lists from the Department of Defense, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons in priority order of any billets they wish to submit.

With the information supplied by the responding entities, OCCFM developed a proposed rank order list using a two-step process. A review of each newly proposed billet was first conducted by the Flag Grade Billet Review Team (FGBRT). This team was composed of three members from the OPDIVs/STAFFDIVs. All members were permanent O-6 grade officers who met the basic readiness requirements. Using the criteria contain in CC23.4.7, the submitted billets were reviewed and scored.

In the second step of the process, the preliminary rank order listing of the submitted billets, by proposed rank, was reviewed by a team of O-8 grade officers selected by the ASH. The Flag Grade Billet Validation Team (FGBVT) reviewed the preliminary listing of scored billets by proposed rank and made adjustments, if needed, to the rankings. These adjustments were based on the FGBVT’s assessment of the duties and responsibilities assigned to the billet, their review of the billets and the accompanying assessment, and the OPDIV/STAFFDIV/non-Department of Health and Human Services organization ranking. Both the FGBRT and the FGBVT were asked to provide comments and ideas that would allow the process to be strengthened.

Three distinct bands of billets emerged from the evaluation process. The first band consists of billets that clearly merit O-8 grade. They possess the characteristics of a senior flag grade billet by the nature of the complexity of duties and responsibilities. The second band consists of those billets designated as O-7 performance level. The third band contains those billets, based on the write-ups provided, found not to merit designation as a flag grade billet.

The ASH has designated the following billets to be flag grade billets. This list has been provided to the Office of the Surgeon General for inclusion in the Corps’ billet system and for use by the Flag Officer Promotion Board for its deliberations. All organizations that submitted billets for evaluation in this review cycle have received written notification from the ASH of the grading of their billets.

The following is a listing of all approved flag grade billets as designated during the August 2007 review process:

Agency	Rank	Billet Name
		O-8 Flag Grade Billets
		None designated

		O-7 Flag Grade Billets
CDC	1	Director, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD)
IHS	2	Director, Indian Health Services Area Office - Aberdeen Area
HRSA	3	Associate Administrator, Bureau of Clinician Recruitment and Services
IHS	4	Director, Indian Health Services Area Office - Tucson Area
CDC	5	Director, Influenza Coordination Unit
CDC	6	Deputy Director, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD)
CDC	7	Deputy Director, National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP)

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