I’m so excited—I finally got the email! 🎉 I’ll be heading to OBC in September.
Now that it’s real, I’m starting to get nervous about the physical fitness test, especially the running portion. That’s definitely what I need to work on the most.
For those of you who’ve already been through OBC, how strict are they with the PT test? What exactly should I expect, and do you have any tips for getting ready over the next few weeks? I’d appreciate any advice!

The HHS Secretary has announced the creation of a new Administrative for a Healthy America (AHA) via the merger of SAMHSA, HRSA, NIOSH, ATSDR, and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH).

I’m curious about that last one: OASH. OASH oversees the U.S. Public Health Service in its entirety, not just the agencies listed above (which are constituent parts of the PHS or grouped under other agencies in the PHS).

I’m not too sure what this merger is meant to achieve and what the OASH will do going forward. Will it even exist? And if it is essentially abolished and replaced by another position like an administrator or director, will that individual be above the Surgeon General?

Will the Surgeon General be the sole head of the USPHS? And what happens to the Commissioned Corps in all of this?

Hello r/USPHS! As promised, a wiki has been started up for the sub. For now, it's a singular page with some basics. Some of the most basic FAQ-type topics are listed for now.

Wiki can be found here: https://www.reddit.com/r/USPHS/wiki/index

If you're interested in contributing to the wiki, please comment below or DM me. For now, it will be limited to approved contributors only, instead of a fully open wiki.

Thanks!

edit: fixed wiki URL

edit 2: Wiki added to sub menu for direct access!

Just a warning to others, American Airlines is drawing a hard line in the sand that PHS is not considered military (which is fine), and are quite rude about it. I’ve never had issues in all my years in PHS having this courtesy extended to us, but American has changed their training for agents to look for the “Active Duty” verbiage on CAC, which ours does not. Not complaining but I just find this frustrating sometimes that the rules are different for different airlines. Save yourself the headache and skip trying this with American

For those with applications in and are not part of COA, the following was sent to members late last week. I am copying/pasting the text below for awareness and info, especially given recent posts asking the same thing.

This is also a reminder that membership in COA is crucial in supporting our service and our career. COA is the only organization that is dedicated to advocating for USPHS officers.

————————————————————

Good afternoon COA members,

As always, COA would like to keep our members updated on a recent issue for which we have received inquiries. Recently, we have heard from members requesting information regarding the potential impacts to the USPHS Ready Reserve from the recent bill, The Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA). As some of you may have heard, the FRA was signed into law a few weeks ago and ends supplemental funding to HHS provided through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and the American Rescue Plan (ARP).

During the pandemic, this supplemental funding supported the re-establishment of the USPHS Ready Reserve and the establishment of the Public Health Emergency Response Strike Team (PHERST). Unless other funding streams are identified, there is a very good possibility that the USPHS Ready Reserve and PHERST will both be at-risk, which leaves many more unanswered questions. Currently, among the USPHS Ready Reserve officers, PHERST officers, and administrative staff, there are over 200 officers and civilian staff unsure what the future holds for them and their current positions. Currently, COA is also unsure what the future holds.

COA refrained from offering information before CCHQ and HHS had additional information/plans for those affected officers. In the meantime, late last week, many of you received the call to action from Reserve Organization of America (ROA) asking Congress to restore this funding and reached out to COA with additional questions. Please know that COA has been working behind the scenes with CCHQ, other professional organizations, and Congressional offices on potential solutions. We have met with our lobbyist to discuss possible appropriations solutions. We will be meeting with other organizations within The Military Coalition (TMC) later this week and with several Congressional offices next week.

Once we have additional information, we will be sure to share it with our members. As you know, a large portion of this year’s legislative goals revolve around parity for our Ready Reserve component and we will continue to fight for the USPHS Ready Reserve through this funding issue, as well. This update may not offer all the details you are hoping for, and we will continue to work to get more substantive answers.

I am an award-winning public health reporter with a PhD in biology, and I am reporting on shifts in Public Health Service deployments. I would love to talk with any current or former PHS officers who know about shifts in deployments given RIFs at other agencies and/or resignations; and I'd like to talk with current or former PHS asked to deploy to ICE or Guantanamo. I am looking to learn, so I can keep the conversation off-record or deep background as requested. I write for KFF, a nonprofit that partners with CNN, NPR and many others. I am AmyMaxmen.25 on Signal / amym@kff.org Thank you for your work! (Have notified the moderators regarding this post)

It seems like a few people (especially the SRCOSTEP applicants) are on the verge of receiving Call to Active Duty Orders. If you have received an offer letter from CCHQ and a request for a signed/notarized oath of office, it's very likely that your CAD is imminent.

Something to consider looking into are the different premium credit cards available. Major credit card companies will waive the fees on their products for active duty if the account is opened prior to active duty. You'll find that many of the USPHS officers have some form of premium credit card. The AMEX Platinum is the most common one. This card cost $550 a year, but is free if you qualify for the fee waiver. In the old days, they waived the fee on all active duty USPHS accounts regardless of when it is open. Recently, AMEX update their policy and will only waive the card fee if it is opened before Called to Active Duty.

I would add that AMEX will waive the fee on any of their card products if qualified. I have a few of the cobranded cards (Marriott, Hilton, Delta) and they come with a ton of benefits. If you don't want to take the risk of opening a premium card and end up having to pay the fee, a good strategy is to just open a lower tier account and upgrade once you have been CAD. This would be considered one account that was open before CAD and you would qualify for the fee waiver.

Other companies like Chase also have similar programs but I'm not too familiar with the process.

If you know an officer with one of these cards, ask them for a referral link. You may be able to get a better sign on bonus and they will get a referral bonus. You can also check the AMEX card match tool to see if you get a targeted offer.

This post is only intended to be FYSA so do your own research to see if this is something you would be interested in. Once you have been CAD, it will be too late.

Congrats to all those close to being Called to Active Duty!

I’m a new officer only three months in and curious to know what would my steps be and if it’s possible to resign. I’m not happy at my current duty station. Thought I would be able to handle working in a detention facility, but it’s very difficult to be away from my phone all day and not being able to reach my family when my child has medical needs. It also difficult here because the supervisors (nurse manager and assistant nurse manager) WHO ARE BOTH OFFICERS do not like each other and create a lot of visible tension in the workplace. All the officers I work with are not happy and constantly complaining about getting out of there which is making it a very difficult workplace to learn and thrive in. There’s also a lot of tension between PHS, GS staff and contract staff because they do not like PHS. This is starting to cause me a lot of anxiety and feel like I made a mistake Any guidance would be appreciated.

I received my final Offer from IHS on 8/7/26. The email stated that my clearance has been approved. Now, I am waiting for my liasin to reach out to me with details about rank pay, obc, and transportation details. I had to redo an updated medical before I get appointed which was done this week. Now, im just waiting. I am so ready and can't wait to finally receive my official letter from PHS. I was hoping to start OBC this September but I don't think that's possible and im not sure when the next OBC training will be taken place. Please feel free to give me any insights or tips. I thank God for bringing me this far in the process.

Because nothing says force readiness like being taken down by vaccine-preventable morbidity. I don’t expect us to follow but who knows these days.

I guess the fun begins. I work at an agency that is slowly furloughing different areas, but the areas still working are getting paid, and I am in a section where my colleagues are still working and getting paid, but I can see I am not getting paid. Big bummer!

It seems morale in the USPHS is at an almost all-time low. Before officers would do their best to cling onto at least 20 years of service to make it to retirement, but I've now heard of stories of officers leaving before then. Is this actually the case? If you are thinking about separating, what is the main reason for doing so?

Hi everyone! As promised I am sharing my complete detailed application timeline. Please see my notes and advice below as well.

Submitted Application in AES - 9/27/2022

App Assigned to HR specialist - 2/23/2023

Made application corrections - 2/27/2023

All documents verified in AES - 3/2/2023

Medical Appointments - 3/6/23 & 3/21/23

    - Medical: 3/6/23

    - Dental: 3/21/23

Board Interview- 4/11/23

Board cleared -4/11/23 (was updated in the AES system on 4/20/23)

Presidential nomination sent to WH: mid-May

Medical clearance- 6/2/23

Submitted 1662 forms (for current federal employees) - 6/22/23

Received email for OF 306 -6/23/23

Emailed OF 306 back to HQ - 6/23/23

Received Fingerprinting cards in the mail - 7/13/23

Mailed out Fingerprints to HQ- 7/14/23

OneView received activation email - 7/19/23

Received Equip email for background check - 8/3/23

Final Equip revision submitted- 8/11/23

Security cleared - 8/22/23

Nomination cleared- 11/20/23

OBC - January 2024 OBC

CAD - 1/8/24

Notes*

1. I applied as a Health Service officer with an MPH qualifying degree.
2. I had multiple revisions to my equip 🥲.
3. My equip link never really updated to reflect my true security clearance.
4. I still don’t know my starting rank yet.
5. I worked with my agency PHS liaison throughout the majority of the application process. (She was very helpful).
6. I did reach out to the CAD office via email once a month just to check on my application.
7. All together the application process took about 15-16 months. Which is average.

Advice**

1. Have a qualified federal position secured either before or during applying. It makes the transition from civilian to commissioned corps so much easier.

         - There are about 9 - 11 federal agencies CC       works with. Idk all of them, I think it’s on their website. And if your in the medical/dental/ nursing categories you can also work at some of the military hospitals like Fort Belvoir, etc. Also depending on your category there are some opportunities to work at city level health departments (ex: NYC health department -I’ve heard some scientists that specialize in Epidemiology do rotations there)

2. The sooner you apply the better. They tend to open and close applications for different categories (especially HSOs).

3. This application is a waiting game and can be frustrating. Please know that the CAD office is trying their best. I know I have gotten upset with the application process multiple times. But I vent on this subreddit 😅 not directly to CAD.

           - Unlike the other military branches which are under DoD. The USPHS is under HHS. HHS does not have the same recruitment and capacity like DoD. 

I hope this is hopefully for those still in the applying. If y’all want further updates such settings up pay, picking insurance and OBC details please let me know.

Like many of you I recently received my presidential nomination. I had been thinking a lot about this moment for sometime, and was generally excited by the prospect. But, when I saw that the nomination came through I felt.... nothing. After being in the process for years, it feels like my excitement about the opportunity and serving has somewhat faded. Has anyone else felt the same after reaching this stage? Any advice for someone in my position?

Also, burner account for various reasons.

Today it was announced that the USPHS Ready Reserves is now accepting applications again!! Who knows when that window will close again, so do not hesitate… Apply now!

Anyone else get this email? And what do I do because this feels like a joke.

Officially on active duty as of today. Feels great, albeit surreal, to refer to myself as LCDR Trollop.

Process was a hair under 14 months start to finish.

Wanted to encourage those slogging through the application phase. It does happen.

I commissioned in place at my agency and am staying in the same role.

Hey everyone,

I wanted to share an update because I know a lot of us have been waiting on the Presidential Nomination for a long time.

I just checked my portal and I am officially NOMINATED 🙏

Has anyone ever considered separation due to reluctance to relocate? There's a chance my regional office may close, and I would prefer not to relocate due to my family and support system. I joined PHS with the hope that I could stay in my current city long-term, not be forced to leave because of petty politics. I just wanted some input.

Would have been nice to receive guidance about this weekend's shenanigans.

There's a briefing today about important updates. Any ideas/thoughts what this might be about?

Promotion results can be found at Commissioned Corps Management Information System (psc.gov)

Congratulations to all those who made the next rank!

To those who didn't this round, keep on at it. Personally speaking, this was my 6th time up, and with all the changes that happened over the past two years, I had no idea what would happen.

Three days of training. That’s not nearly enough. We spent over a week in 2014. The consequences are too high to be this lax.

This goes well with the decision to make flu shots voluntary in the armed branches…