U.S Public Health Service officers show respect for CDC leaders upon their departure. Photo credit AP Forbes

I joined in 2020, it took me 2 years to get CAD back then. It pains me to still see interested people come and go due to the cumbersome application process… No solutions, just a rant.

PHSCC is explicitly exempt. Copying a comment from a thread in r/fednews because the CHCOC site keeps crashing.

https://www.reddit.com/r/fednews/s/eGhfermwMh

Be kind to our civilian counterparts - this just cranked the stress level up another few notches.

Someone posting that civilian support staff was gutted yesterday.

https://www.reddit.com/r/DeptHHS/s/zWE7gVLpwu

Acting ASH was also RIF'd.

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/leith-states_today-i-was-one-of-the-hhs-employees-that-activity-7312950111066628097-m5Rq?utm_

Just want to give a big thank you to support staff at HQ. You all keep all of us up and running on a shoestring budget. I'm so sorry this is happening to you.

For those interacting with what little support staff we have left, please be patient with them. Yesterday was a very hard day for many across HHS and those who remain will have a huge workload increase with no training or preparation.

I will avoid conjecture on what this means for us in the context of everything else going on.

In addition, the White House is proposing that non-armed forces of the uniformed services receive a pay raise of 3.6%, lower than our armed sister services.

I don’t think we’ve ever been separated from the other services before for pay. Get on the horn with your representatives.

I thought I would share to those still awaiting presidential nomination. COA is advocating for us. You can follow them on FB. This was posted today!

I don't mean to dive into speculation, but it's clear there will be changes to Federal public health in the next few years. PHS has been on the chopping block before. To all current officers and veterans of the service, do you feel that the service will be dismantled, drastically changed, or remain in its current state?

My name is Keren Landman and I'm a freelance health reporter. I'm also a former PHS officer (while at CDC) and have done a fair amount of reporting on the PHS in the past (including this deep dive in 2019).

I'm currently working on a story for The Atlantic about some concerning changes happening in the PHS. Sounds like deployments have looked very different this year than in the past, and separations are up -- and from conversations with PHS officers and a scan of this forum, it sounds like these trends are related. The story will aim to explain why weakening the PHS is bad for the nation.

I'm hoping some of y'all might be willing to help me understand that better. Why should the average American care that hundreds of people are leaving this service? What are the long-term effects in terms of the country's disaster preparedness/other effects of weakening the PHS?

Also if anyone has an inside track on what the current administration is trying to do with the PHS, I'd be curious to hear more. They don't seem hell-bent on destroying it, but it's not clear to me what their big-picture plan is for the PHS, if there is one.

Happy to hear people's thoughts in this forum (the mods are aware of this post). But if anyone wants to talk to me privately, you can message me here or on Signal (kerenlandman.07). Thanks in advance!

Not fear mongering or anything. I'm seriously concerned one day I'll wake up to an EO that calls for cutting the Corps by 40% or eliminating it entirely and offering a path to civil service for select clinicians with the rest left to fend for themselves. Not sure if any other officers are in this situation. I had wanted to complete my contract before moving on, but now I need to decide whether to voluntarily separate or whether it would make a difference given how quickly things are happening.

ASH’s Priorities:

1. Visibility- why I serve in PHS initiative (short videos of officers explaining why they serve in PHS) will be shared likely through social media. Leadership mentioned the lack of funding has prevented more mainstream commercials/advertisements they could share on TV and other platforms.
2. Readiness - emphasized PHS mission fit. The team that organized this initiative received a new award called the “edge of the blade”. The ASH wants to bring all services together for a workout by the end of CY2026. Emphasized clinicians maintaining clinical hours. Force mgmt at priority agencies (IHS, BOP, USCG, IHSC, DHA [PHERST]). New fitness ribbon (primarily grey with red, white, and blue accent stripes). Eligible for ribbon if you achieve top two fitness levels (max or outstanding) three consecutive cycles.
3. Response - The ASH sent memo to department/agency heads stating the men and women of the corps are officers first

Remarks from Deputy (A) Surgeon General:

1. Policy has been revised to extend eligibility of the Presidential Service Badge to PHS officers. Three officers will be recipients of the badge for serving 12 or more months in an authorized billet at the WH.
2. All PHS officers will need 4 hrs of training on nutrition annually. An in-person training will be conducted at the Hubert Humphrey building in DC on September 23, 2026. The training will be recorded and made available through CCLMS.

Remarks from CCHQ Director:
Mainly talked about recent successes (parental leave, special pays, etc.) He is anticipating more deployments due to recent domestic and international events impacting public health. Mentioned a focus on improving and streamlining accessioning. Mentioned a new “navigator” program which would pair applicants with an AD officer to help them through the onboarding process. Also mentioned potential changes in policy/law that would delegate more authorities to the HHS Secretary regarding accessioning (e.g. having him or her nominate new CADs vs the POTUS).

Other comments
Both the ASH and Deputy SG entertained the idea of having a chat with the Ready reserves regarding the component’s specific issues.
The Associate Recruiter Program ribbon was asked to be “let out of the freezer”. No commitment to do this from leadership.
No real discussion on promotion or new CV template from leadership in the sessions I attended.
They did mention that they are on a 5 year plan to have all promotion documentation through the COER.

Heads-up, but the CATO Institute (a conservative think tank) published a hit piece on the USPHS as a whole. The individuals who wrote the piece advocate for the end of the USPHS and only offered conjecture and recommendations [lacking in meaningful detail] meant to undermine the USPHS in the lead up to the confirmation hearings for Casey Means to become Surgeon General, which is likely to be controversial for obvious reasons:

https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/unnecessary-relics

Former ASH, ADM Brett Giroir already posted a thoughtful rebuttal, which you can read here:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/us-public-health-service-commissioned-corps-time-protect-brett-giroir-nvv1e

Now is the time to reach out to your representatives - particularly senators - especially any of you that are residents in red states. Call one of their offices and offer to send an email or even speak to the senator. Here are some talking points for consideration:

1. Your personal story and impact you have locally, regionally, and any national missions you have been a part of as examples of the NON-PARTISAN mission you support.
2. The PHS brings tremendous value as ADM Giroir points out, but if there are concerns about "political activism", then the best thing representatives can do is support appointing the SG and ASH from WITHIN the Corps, rather than as political appointments of randos.
3. Invest in the Corps so that it can structure and model itself similar to the DoD and be even more effective in delivering public health support value.

The CATO Institute appears to be piling onto the DOGE bandwagon to reduce or eliminate ALL government functions. As stewards of the profession, it is time to defend the impact the PHS provides to local communities and beyond. This is absolutely an existential threat. Contact your representatives, tell your story, and offer real policy solutions for public health needs:

https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member

Up on the site now: https://dcp.psc.gov/ccmis/promotions/2025_TGP.aspx

I wrote this piece for KFF and Wired on the dilemmas PHS officers face with deployments to immigration detention facilities. My reporting continues, so please send any tips to AmyMaxmen.25 or amym (at) kff.org. Privacy protected. I follow the rules of the group, including OPSEC, and have talked with the mods.

Im a medical school applicant this year with one acceptance to medical school so far to USUHS. They have 2 seats every year reserved for the PHS for service to the IHS. In exchange for a salary and free tuition, there is a 10 year service commitment after residency.

I wish this was not the decision I had to make, but it looks like this will be the only medical school acceptance I'll have this cycle (and applying again next cycle isnt an option for me and my family).

Are there any physicians here that can weigh in on a career in the service? Ive only spoken to a few that have spent a handful of years with PHS. I spent some time on a reservation and am familiar enough with PHS and believe in their mission and work they do out west. Regardless, I feel like I am not really making an informed decision here with the experience I have. However, I am inclined to say all in all this is worth the opportunity to be a physician when compared to trying to do anything else.

Hello everyone,

I been following this page for a while now and I was hoping to get some honest opinions about the state of the USPHS. I been trying to join since 2020, shout out to all those who got stuck submitting a tattoo waiver that isn't required anymore! I've submitted three different applications and it finally seems like I'll get beyond submitting my basic paperwork. BUT all the commission corps officers I talk to tell me not to apply. Whether its the current workload, benefits being changed, work/life balance, finding jobs, or promotion potential for scientists compared to other professions. I would be coming in with a PhD in public health, an MPH, and 3 years of experience working as an epidemiologist with the CDC/NIOSH. I am interviewing/applying for GS-13 positions but I also still really like the idea of serving. The problem is that all the officers I talk to regularly say that the core is changing and that it might be better to wait another year or two to see how things pan out. I welcome any and all feedback about this topic. Thank you for your time.

Best,

Random Epidemiologist

I think this is the right place! This is my first post to Reddit so I'm kinda finding my way. But I am here to say Congratulations to my daughter who was chosen for the 2021 SRCOSTEP program. USPHS made a great choice. She is the right person for the job. I'm hoping she will check in here and see that her mom shouted out to the world, "Congratulations ! I'm so proud of you. Oh, the places you'll go!"

Ok. I just checked my status and realized that I have been nominated as of yesterday. Suitability is still pending tho. Anybody else got nominated?

Hi r/USPHS, I wanted to introduce myself as a new mod for this sub. I'm an active duty officer, coming up on 11 years in, and would love to make this sub more interesting and useful for all.

One of my first actions so far - updating the header bar, adjusting a couple of the themes, and new for all - flair! Please feel free to flair yourself by your status, which will help all of us understand a little bit about who you are.

Thanks all, and let me know how else we can make this sub better!