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- Travel, PCS and Transportation
- Important Regulation Changes
- Travel & Transportation Entitlements Summary
- Permanent Change of Station (PCS)
- Temporary Duty (TDY)
- Junior COSTEP Travel Information
- Official Travel Forms
- Household Goods Officers
- Transportation
- Government Travel Charge Card
- Table of Frequently Used Acronyms
- Servicemembers Civil Relief Act
- Links
- Travel and Transportation Allowances FAQ
- About Medical Affairs
- Dental
- Active Duty Dental Program
- Previous Active Duty Dental Plan Member Portal
- Family Coverage: TRICARE Dental Program
- Retiree Dental Program
- Immunizations
- Periodic Health Update
- PHU FAQs
- Medical Waiver Program
- Smoking Cessation
- Medical Affairs FAQs
- Tricare Active Duty Dental Program FAQs
- About Personnel & Career Management
- Awards-Officer Awards Program
- Nominations Procedures and Forms
- Eligibility to Receive Awards
- Approval Levels
- Types of Recognition & Awards Criteria
- Non-PHS Awards
- Write-Up (Narrative) Guidance & Tips
- List of OPDIV Awards Coordinators (PDF, 67kb)
- List of Liaisons (PDF, 266kb)
- 2021 USPHS Awards Process Flowchart (PDF, 702kb)
- FAQs
- May 2022 Officer Awards
- COER
- DEERS Information (PDF, 139kb)
- Important Information Regarding DEERS and ID Cards During COVID-19 (PDF, 57kb)
- eCORPS Information
- Education Benefits Overview
- FAQs
- Forms
- Electronic Official Personnel Folder (eOPF)
- eOPF FAQs
- eOPF Status
- FAQs Practice Hours and Special Pay Changes
- Licensure
- Long Term Training FAQs
- Officer Leave and Absence Request FAQ
- Promotions
- Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA)
- Veteran Health Administration (VHA) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for Practice Hours
- Link to list of Professional Advisory Committee (PAC) Chairs (PDF, 19kb)
- About Policy
- Commissioned Corps Issuance System
- Equal Opportunity
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Political Restrictions
- Promotion Ceremony Protocol (PDF, 126kb)
- SGHG Drill and Ceremonies Manual (PDF, 3.39mb)
- Uniform Specifications
- PHS Hard Shoulder Boards and Sleeve Insignia (Male and Female) (PDF, 828kb)
- PHS Soft Shoulder Marks (Unisex) (PDF, 324kb)
- Medical Requirements for Promotion
- RedDOG Force Readiness Information
- Link to list of Chief Professional Officers (CPO) (PDF, 348kb)
- Link to list of Liaisons (PDF, 266kb)
- Promotion Board Recommendations
- Not promoted? Now What?
- FAQs
- Board Composition and Scoresheet FAQs
- Officer Promotion Packet Verification System (OPPVS) Timeline & FAQs
- Promotion, Readiness and Compliance FAQs
- Permanent Promotion Eligibility Chart
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- Visit CDC.gov for Coronavirus (COVID-19) Public Health Updates
As Public Health Service Officers and America’s Health Responders, we stand ready to preserve public health and national security during national or global health emergencies. Our mission is to be out the door as soon as requested, as this is an “all hands on deck” situation. All Corps officers were placed on involuntary deploy or "alert" status effective Wednesday, March 25, 2020, irrespective of the 'on-call month' status. Under Commissioned Corps Directive 121.02, "Deployment and Readiness," as directed by Assistant Secretary for Health, Commissioned Corps Headquarters will deploy Commissioned Corps officers assigned to HHS OpDivs/StaffDivs, either voluntarily or involuntarily and without supervisory approval, who are not considered mission critical, for deployments, under the current National Emergency. Mission critical requests sent to CCHQ are not final until the request is approved by the CCHQ Director as per the POM 821.76 ”Deployment Procedures”. An officer with a non-HHS organization may be deployed in accordance with the Memorandum of Agreement/Understanding between the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and the non-HHS organization.
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Officer Spotlight
LT Robert Mitchell Todd
“I leave work each day feeling as though I made a difference and created positive change for my patients.” Deployed to an Emergency Intake Shelter (EIS) as a COVID-19 Testing Team Lead, LT Robert Mitchell Todd gravitated towards his extensive experience gained throughout the pandemic at his current duty station. LT Todd, a Public Health Service officer with the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) Commissioned Corps, is a staff physical therapist at the Northern Navajo Medical Center in Shiprock, New Mexico.
On active duty for just over a year, LT Todd has already deployed as one of “America’s Health Responders” multiple times to serve those in need. “The USPHS Commissioned Corps has enabled me to continue serving the same local mission to this community, while also providing opportunities to serve both national and international communities,” said LT Todd when reflecting on his career as a Public Health Service officer.
Working as a civilian physical therapist at his current duty station prior to his commissioning in the USPHS Commissioned Corps, LT Todd was able to transition in place from civil service to an active duty uniformed service member. Serving Navajo Nation to make positive impact through providing care and compassion was a critical component to LT Todd’s decision to becoming a Public Health Service officer. “I leave work each day feeling as though I made a difference and created positive change for my patients,” said LT Todd when reflecting on his work.
LT Todd hit the ground running from the very beginning and quickly started taking on roles with additional responsibility. As a member of the logistics team for a previous deployment, LT Todd was elevated to Team Lead of the PPE burn rate and then again to Section Chief. He was recently awarded the Therapist Professional Advisory Committee Responder of the Year Award. He was also recognized with the Public Health Service Achievement Medal for his efforts while deployed and he also received the Indian Health Service Director’s Award for Navajo Area for his efforts throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
A current resident in the U.S. Military Musculoskeletal Residency Program, LT Todd attends the COL Douglas A Kersey course and works alongside physical therapists from other uniformed services to further understand clinical skillsets in an effort to always strive towards the highest level of evidence-based practices. Prior to becoming a physical therapist, LT Todd was an athletic trainer for the University of Kentucky track and field teams. As rewarding as his previous career was, he has found much more fulfillment in the service he provides now. LT Todd stressed that whether he is in civilian clothes or in uniform, being a Public Health Service officer has made him view his surroundings and the world differently. He is now constantly trying to think of ways in which he can become more involved at all community levels to improve public access to high level healthcare.
In his own words, as LT Todd reflected on his time on active duty up to this point, he said, “if the remainder of my Public Health Service career was even half as fulfilling and exciting as the first year was, then I am sure that I made a difference.” He went on to say that he hopes to continue his education not just in his career field of physical therapy, but also in the public health field. In the future, LT Todd hopes to get even more involved in developing and implementing constructive change throughout communities.
As one of “America’s Health Responders” LT Todd said, “being a Public Health Service officer means a great deal to me because it gives me a larger sense of purpose, pride, and honor.”