CDC NOT a civilian agency?/ CDC policy re: military uniforms

[Guest guest]

The CDC is thought of as a civilian agency, but unbeknownst to most --

virtually all of the major policy and professional appointments at the CDC

are staffed by MILITARY officers. This is described in the official gov't

handbook on U.S. federal agencies.

CDC officers are drawn primarily from the ranks of the USPHS Commissioned

Corps. The U.S. Code contains the statutes authorizing the formation of this

branch of the U.S. military. USPHS Commissioned Corps officers are subject to

the usual perks, retirements benefits, VA benefits, etc of other members of

the U.S. military and can transfer between other branches of the military

(Army, Navy, etc.)

What is troubling is that if you meet these people at a professional

conference, for example, the common assumption is that these are civilian

physicians or scientists. Not so. Has anyone heard of someone, for example,

in Gubler's position and dressed in civilian attire introduce themselves as

" Captain Gubler " ? Has anyone heard it announced in introducing any of these

people as speakers at a conference that they are a " Captain, " for example,

" in the Commissioned Corps " -- announced alongside the references to their

other accomplishments and affiliations?

I have found it virtually impossible to find references to the military

affiliation and rank of CDC officers. Reference to these affiliations seems

to occur ONLY in military contexts -- e.g., publications in " Military

Medicine " or names listed in a brochure for a military event.

In evaluating someone's work, I think most of us would prefer to know where

someone is coming from -- their motivations, potential conflicts of interest,

institutional affiliations, etc. That these officials at the CDC aren't

simply civilian public health officials and that their pay and appointments

come directly from the U.S. military -- this seems to me like a major

potential conflict of interest that members of the public and the press would

want to know about.

Related to the congressional testimony of CDC officials on the subject of

bioterrorism -- it would be nice to know that these docs are U.S. military

and their employer is the U.S. military. As spokesmen for the CDC, they are

not speaking as civilian doctors or civilian public health experts. By virtue

of their ties to the military, CDC officials may have very different agendas

than what would otherwise be expected from a civilian public health agency.

Also, let's think about it further and consider how a military culture might

view civilian health care issues, pathogenesis studies, and health care

problems unique to children, the elderly, women, African-Americans and gays.

Military culture and military medicine depart in important ways when compared

to the culture of civilian health care organizations and universities engaged

in medical research. These groups - children, elderly, women - and civilians

in general aren't a focus of concern in military culture or in military

medicine.

It is also well known that the U.S. military has a history of human rights

abuses related to experimenting on civilians and on military personnel.

Perhaps we should not be so surprised that the CDC and its USPHS " officers "

brought us the Tuskegee experiment.

Certainly we are all familiar with the jokes about military medicine. Now

that I appreciate that the place is staffed by military docs and more likely

than not is imbued with a military culture -- it goes some distance in

understanding the mediocrity of the CDC and their indifference to commonly

held principles adhered to by civilian scientists and researchers such as

scientific integrity. It explains their lack of real concern about the PUBLIC

(i.e., civilian) health in covering up the epidemic of tick borne diseases

and the serious effects of these diseases. It goes some distance in

explaining the scandals regarding the diversion of funds allocated for the

study of chronic fatigue syndrome, an entity predominately affecting females.

And it goes a long way in understanding their abject lack of sensitivity to

civil rights issues and constitutional law in planning for contingencies

related to biological warfare.

It also explains why CDC physicians don't embrace the long-standing views

held by civilian organized medicine that biological warfare is evil and

unwinnable. Instead, what we see are CDC officers eagerly setting the stage

for biowarfare. You will not find reference to any moral qualms related to

this frenzy by agency officials (i.e., " officers " ). And, in reading their

plans for responses to a biological attack, you will find little practical

concern for civilians in the policies they are promulgating. Their plans for

what is now being called " homeland defense " read like war games.

Related to the military staffing of the CDC, below is a copy of the policy

regarding officer's uniforms found at the CDC website.

Lynn Shepler MD JD

---------------------

http://www.cdc.gov/od/foia/policies/unfrm-f.htm

Human Resources - Commisioned Officers: Uniform of the Day

CIO CONTACT: Office of Program Support, Human Resources Management Office,

Operations Branch, Commissioned Corps Section

Material Superseded: None

Sections: PURPOSE

INTRODUCTION

REFERENCES

REQUIREMENTS

FAQs

I. PURPOSE

This chapter establishes policy and prescribes the Uniform of the Day for the

Spring-Summer and Fall-Winter seasonal periods for Public Health Service

(PHS) commissioned officers assigned to duty stations in Atlanta, Georgia and

all field stations except Washington, D.C. and Hyattsville, MD. Officers

assigned to Washington, D.C. and Hyattsville, MD are subject to the

requirements prescribed by the Surgeon General for the Washington, D.C.

metropolitan area. This policy does not apply to officers on assignment to

State or local health departments or on international assignments.

II. INTRODUCTION

The Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the

Administrator, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) is

designated a Local Uniform Authority (LUA) and, as such, is authorized to

prescribe the uniforms that may be worn by all officers assigned to CDC or

ATSDR. The uniform chosen by the LUA as the uniform for general performance

of duties is known as the Uniform of the Day. In keeping with the policy of

the Surgeon General, the number of prescribed uniforms has been kept to a

minimum. Detailed information about uniforms can be found in Commissioned

Corps Personnel Manual (CCPM) Pamphlet No. 61. A list of the most frequently

asked questions about uniforms and the answers is attached.

III. REFERENCES

A.CCPM 26.3, Instruction 1: General Information on Uniforms and Appearance.

B.CCPM 26.3, Instruction 2: Directive to Wear the Public Health Service

Uniform.

C.CCPM 26.3, Instruction 4: Uniforms for Male Officers

D.CCPM 26.3, Instruction 5: Uniforms for Female Officers

E.CCPM Pamphlet No. 61: Information on Uniforms

IV. REQUIREMENTS

A.Owning and Wearing the Uniform

All CDC commissioned officers are expected to own a PHS uniform and to wear

their uniform each Wednesday, on special occasions and when meeting with

officers of other uniformed services. Officers who wish to wear the uniform

more often are encouraged to do so. All officers on a detail (i.e., leave

without pay, reimbursable, or nonreimbursable) should wear their uniform on

appropriate days (i.e., Wednesday) when on duty at CDC in Atlanta, at CDC

field stations, or in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.

B.Uniform Wear Season, Changeover Dates, and Uniforms of the Day

The Spring-Summer Uniform wear period is April through September. The

Fall-Winter Uniform wear period is October through March. The changeover

dates are the first Monday in April and the first Monday in October,

respectively. The Service Dress Blue Uniform, which all officers are required

to own and maintain, may be worn at any time and under any circumstances.

Other uniforms may be worn only as prescribed in this section or in the

Attachment.

Effective the first Monday in April, the Uniform of the Day for the

Spring-Summer period is the Summer White Uniform. Officers may also elect to

wear the following alternatives: Summer Blue ( " Salt and Pepper " ), Summer

Khaki, Working Khaki, or Indoor Duty White. Officers on temporary duty (TDY)

to the Washington, D.C. area are to wear the appropriate Uniform of the Day

for that locality as prescribed by the Surgeon General and generally

published in the Commissioned Corps Bulletin.

Effective the first Monday in October, the Uniform of the Day for the

Fall-Winter period is either Service Dress Blue or Service Dress Blue Sweater

(SDBS). An authorized option to the Service Dress Blue Uniform is the Blue

Windbreaker Jacket (BWJ) in lieu of the Service Dress Blue coat. Metal rank

insignia are worn on the BWJ. Officers also may elect to wear the following

alternatives: Winter Blue, Winter Working Blue, Summer Blue ( " Salt and

Pepper " ), or Summer Khaki. The Army Black V-neck Sweater is authorized for

wear with the Summer Blue and Summer Khaki uniforms.

C.Covered Areas

The LUA can determine those areas, such as a complex of several buildings and

grounds including parking areas, that officers may transit out-of-doors but

consider themselves indoors for purposes of meeting uniform requirements. The

following metropolitan Atlanta work areas are designated Covered Areas (i.e.,

areas in which hats need not be worn):

·All buildings within the Clifton Road campus

·All buildings within the Chamblee campus

·The ATSDR Cluster in the Executive Park complex

(i.e., Buildings 31, 33, 35, and 37)

·The remainder of CDC-leased space in the Executive Park complex

·All CDC-leased buildings within the Corporate Square complex

·The area between the Stanford, Vanderbilt, Yale and buildings in

the Koger Center complex

Any transit to other areas, or any transit in which a vehicle is used,

requires an officer to be covered. The same general guidelines as above apply

to officers assigned to CDC field stations.

Attachment

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1. When can the Service Dress Blue uniform be worn?

The Service Dress Blue Uniform may be worn year round, when in travel status,

while attending official meetings, representing PHS, participating in

ceremonial activities, or in other appropriate circumstances. All officers

are required to own and maintain a Service Dress Blue Uniform.

2.What is the difference between the Service Dress Blue Sweater Uniform and

the Service Dress Blue Uniform?

The Service Dress Blue Sweater (SDBS) Uniform is worn during normal office

work at the duty station. It is the same as the Service Dress Blue Uniform

except the sweater is worn instead of the jacket. A necktie is required with

both uniforms. The Blue Windbreaker Jacket is an authorized optional outer

garment with the SDBS. Also, male and female officers may wear the Blue

Garrison Cap with the SDBS. The White Combination Cap may be worn with either

uniform. Female officers may wear the Beret or White Combination Cap with

either uniform.

3.Some officers wear a uniform with a long sleeve dark-blue shirt that has an

open collar. Is this an appropriate uniform?

Yes. The uniform described is the Winter Working Blue Uniform. Unlike the

Winter Blue uniform, the Winter Working Blue Uniform does not require a tie.

The Winter Working Blue uniform is also worn without ribbons. Because it is

considered a working uniform, it may only be worn in situations where other

uniforms would be unsafe or become unduly soiled. It should only be worn off

a site between the officer's duty location and his/her place of residence.

4.What is the Indoor Duty White Uniform? Isn't it the same as the Summer

White Uniform?

The Indoor Duty White Uniform may be worn by officers assigned to duties in

clinical or laboratory settings. It is the same as the Summer White Uniform

but without ribbons. The Indoor Duty White is a working uniform and is not

appropriate for wear when circumstances indicate that a service uniform

should be worn, such as meetings scheduled in advance withofficial visitors

or members of the general public.

5.When is the " Salt and Pepper " uniform worn?

The Summer Blue Uniform, also known as the " Salt and Pepper " (i.e., short

sleeve white shirt and dark blue trousers/belted skirt as in the Service

Dress Blue Uniform), may be worn in Atlanta and at field stations year round.

6.When are the formal uniforms, the ones that look like civilian evening

dress, worn?

There are two formal uniforms: Formal Dress and Dinner Dress. The Formal

Dress Uniform may be worn at appropriate formal evening functions (i.e.,

white tie). The Dinner Dress Uniform may be worn at appropriate dinner and

social functions (i.e., black tie). The Dinner Dress Uniform must conform to

the appropriate season.

7.When can the black V-neck sweater be worn?

The Army Black V-neck Sweater is a component of the Service Dress Blue

Sweater (SDBS) Uniform and may be worn whenever it is appropriate to were the

SDBS Uniform. The Army Black V-neck Sweater is an optional item of wear with

the following seasonal uniforms: Summer Blue, Summer White, and Summer Khaki.

The Army Black V-neck sweater may also be worn with the Indoor Duty White,

Winter Blue, and Winter Working Blue uniforms. It is not authorized for wear

with the Service Dress Blue uniform.

8.Can soft shoulder boards be worn with the shirt to the " Salt and Pepper? "

No. Soft shoulder boards are only worn with the white shirt of the Service

Dress Blue Uniform or with the Army Black V-neck Sweater. Hard shoulder

boards must be worn with a uniform that requires shoulder boards and has a

shirt as the outer garment, such as the Summer Blue Uniform ( " Salt and

Pepper " ) and the Summer White Uniform.

9.If a female officer has both the skirt and the slacks of the uniform, which

is appropriate to wear?

Either. If a female officer has both a skirt and slacks, the officer may

choose which to wear.

10.Since certain items are prescribed for wear with the various uniforms and

others are prohibited, when is the CDC identification badge worn?

The CDC identification badge must be worn with the PHS uniform while on the

duty station premises. The badge should be clipped to the pocket or lapel or

on a chain around the neck. However, badges must be removed when leaving the

duty station premises.

11.Does a uniform have to be worn when traveling in space available status?

No. A uniform is not required for space available travel.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--

FOIA Home | Significant FOIA's | Contact Us

CDC Home | Search | Health Topics A-Z

This page last reviewed Sat Apr 14 14:55:03 PDT 2001

URL: http://www.cdc.gov/od/foia/policies/unfrm-f.htm

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

FOIA(Freedom of Information Act) Office