• Frequently Asked Questions

  FAQs on CCD 122.01, “Promotions”

  Previous Version	New Version
  Did not mention the Ready Reserve Corps	Applies this policy to the Ready Reserve Corps
  Included 11 categories of officers’ specialties.	Consolidates categories of officers’ specialties from 11 to 5 to be effective 1 September 2023.
  Did not mention promotion credit.	Authorizes the granting of constructive service credit to officers originally appointed to permanent grades above the O-2 grade.
  Did not mention non-competitive exams nor specify that promotion boards base their judgment of officers based on precepts.	Clarifies noncompetitive and competitive examinations and adds precepts by which the promotion boards will examine each officer’s ability.
  Did not specify policy on recommendation and determination of Promotion Lists beyond consideration of “relevant information.”	Expands policy on recommendation and determination of Promotion Lists, especially on the permanent promotion success rates.
  Had separate paragraphs on failure to be promoted at each level O-1 to O-4.	Consolidates failure to be promoted.
  Had no limit on grades for temporary promotions.	Limits temporary promotions to flag grade and converts non-flag temporary grades to permanent grades.
  Lacked a section on effective date of promotion	Adds a section on effective date of promotion.
  Stated that the ASH had authority to promulgate policies implementing this Directive.	Allows the ASH to redelegate the authorities in the Directive and authorizes the SG to issue Personnel Operations Memoranda.

  How do promotions for the Ready Reserve Corps differ from promotions for the regular Corps?

  This CCD applies to both the Ready Reserve Corps and the Regular Corps. However, the only difference mentioned is that the policy states “The USPHS Commissioned Corps will establish seniority lists for each grade of each category in the Regular Corps. The seniority lists will include the names of officers on active duty in the Regular Corps.”  But the CCD leaves seniority lists for the Ready Reserve for the ASH to determine in the future. The policy states, “The ASH may issue policies that address promotion of and seniority lists for officers in the Ready Reserve Corps.” 

  What are the new promotion categories of officers’ specialties?

  The new promotion categories of officers’ professions, starting on 1 September 2023, will be:

  • Medical, consisting of the previous Medical category.
  • Dental, consisting of the previous Dental category.
  • Applied Public Health, combining the previous categories/professions of: Engineer, Scientists (except psychologist), Veterinary, Environmental Health, Information Systems, Healthcare Administration, Public Health, Medical Technology, Medical (Health) Record Administration, and other relevant health professions/specialties as determined by the ASH.
  • Allied Health, combining the previous categories/professions of: Pharmacy, Social Worker, Psychologist (PhD and PsyD), Dietitian, and other relevant health professions/ specialties as determined by the ASH.
  • Medical Services, combining the previous categories/professions of: Nurse, Optometry, Physician Assistant, Podiatry, Therapy, Dental Hygiene, and other relevant health professions/specialties as determined by the ASH.

  When do the new promotion categories go into effect?

  These new promotion categories go into effect on 1 September 2023. Until then the existing categories remain: Medical, Dental, Nurse, Engineer, Scientist, Environmental Health, Veterinary, Pharmacy, Dietitian, Therapy, and Health Services.

  What is promotion credit?

  Promotion credit is the total active-duty time of a Regular Corps officer in the Assistant grade (O-2) or above. The USPHS Commissioned Corps will grant to officers originally appointed to permanent grades above the O-2 grade as follows:

  • Officers appointed to the Senior Assistant/O-3 grade receive 3 years of promotion credit.
  • Officers appointed to the Full/O-4 grade receive 10 years of promotion credit.
  • Officers appointed to the Senior/O-5 grade receive 17 years of promotion credit.
  • Officers appointed to the Director/O-6 grade receive 18 years of promotion credit.
  • The Surgeon General (SG) may grant additional constructive service credit for specific professions.

  What are competitive and non-competitive examinations? How do they differ?

  Noncompetitive Examinations.  Examinations for promotions to the permanent O-2 and O-3 grade are noncompetitive.  The intended success rate for a noncompetitive permanent promotion is 100 percent of eligible officers. The USPHS Commissioned Corps will promote an officer to noncompetitive grades provided that the promotion board recommends the officer for such promotion and the officer meets the requirements established by the ASH (e.g., conditions of service).

  Competitive Examinations. The ASH may prescribe an examination for grades above the permanent O-3 grade as either noncompetitive or competitive. The success rates for competitive promotion to the permanent O-4 and O-5 grades (when not restricted) must be no less than 80 percent unless the promotion board finds that more than 20 percent of the eligible officers are not qualified in which case the resultant success rate may be less than 80 percent. 

  The success rate for all other permanent grade promotions are based on the needs of the USPHS Commissioned Corps, and the ASH may request that the promotion board only recommend officers who possess special qualifications prescribed by the SG.

  What is the policy on promotion lists?

  The promotion board must make a promotion recommendation for each officer it examines and establish a rank ordered list for each grade of each category group that contains the names of officers ranked according to the board’s evaluation of the officers’ qualifications for promotion.  The USPHS Commissioned Corps will submit the promotion lists to the ASH who will determine which officers he/she will approve for temporary promotions (for promotion year 2022 and 2023 only) and which officers he/she will recommend that the Secretary forward to the President for approval for permanent promotions. When generating the final promotion list, must consider grade, success rates, numbers limitations, and the officer’s compliance with the USPHS Commissioned Corps’ conditions of service. 

  What is the policy on promotion allocation by grade?

  Promotion Allocation by Grade.  The USPHS Commissioned Corps will not promote an officer if the promotion would cause the USPHS Commissioned Corps to exceed the authorized distribution of officers by grade as outlined in CCD 122.02, “Force Distribution and Management,” which provides the authorized distribution of officers by grade from the O-1 grade to the O-6 grade.  This distribution includes both temporary and permanent grades and does not require (apart from action pursuant to other provisions of law or regulation) the USPHS Commissioned Corps to separate any officer from the Service or reduce an officer in grade. 

  What does “failure to be promoted” mean?

  “Failure to promote” means the officer was reviewed for a promotion but either the board did not recommend the officer for a promotion, the officer ranked below the promotion success rate, or the Surgeon General removed the officer from the promotion list. The USPHS Commissioned Corps may terminate the commission of an officer who fails to be promoted in accordance with CCD 123.01, “Involuntary Separation,” or may retire the officer in accordance with CCD 123.01 or CCD 124.01, “Retirement” (for additional policy regarding failure of promotion, see CCI 331.01, “Permanent Grade Promotions”).

  What is changing with temporary promotions?

  The USPHS Commissioned Corps is eliminating most use of temporary grades for officers below flag rank. Promotions to the Assistant Surgeon General grade (i.e., O-7 and O-8) and the O-9 and O-10 grades are temporary promotions approved by the Secretary. Aside from that, as of 1 September 2023 (or a later date selected by the President or the Secretary) the USPHS Commissioned Corps may only utilize temporary promotions to fill permanent grade vacancies when the ASH determines that there is an insufficient number of officers who hold the permanent grade to meet the USPHS Commissioned Corps’ force management requirements.

  However, in time of war or national emergency proclaimed by the President, the USPHS Commissioned Corps may recommend to the Secretary any officer of the Regular Corps in any grade for a temporary promotion to any higher grade, up to and including the O-6 grade, whether or not a vacancy exists. Within one year of the termination of the proclamation of the President, the USPHS Commissioned Corps will reduce officers promoted to a temporary grade under the previous sentence to their permanent grade.

  When does the new policy eliminating most temporary grades (for non-flag officers) go into effect?

  This change to the temporary grades goes into effect no later than 1 September 2023, the date of the President’s approval, or another date established by the Secretary, whichever is later. The ASH may delay this conversion for up to one year (i.e., 1 September 2024) with no further extension if the information technology (IT) systems that support the promotion process need the additional time to make the changes necessary to manage the conversion.

  What happens if my temporary grade is higher than my regular grade?

  For an officer who holds a flag grade the equivalent grade is the permanent O-6 grade. Such officers will hold the permanent O-6 grade and retain their temporary flag grade while they remain qualified for the flag grade. The USPHS Commissioned Corps will convert all qualified non-flag officers who hold a temporary grade to an equivalent permanent grade.

  What is the effective date of promotion?

  Permanent Promotion.  The USPHS Commissioned Corps will not make the effective date of a permanent promotion prior to the date of the President’s approval or the date the officer meets the eligibility criteria established by the ASH, whichever is later.

  Temporary Promotion.  The USPHS Commissioned Corps will not make the effective date of a temporary promotion prior to the date of the ASH’s approval (Secretary’s approval for flag grade promotions) or the date the officer meets the eligibility criteria established by the ASH, whichever is later.

  Last Updated: 2/25/22
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