IHS Officers,
For those who were unable to attend last week’s Surgeon General’s Town Hall or who may have questions, following is a synopsis of what was discussed, with additional information added wherever it was available. The slide deck is attached. At this time, we do not have guidance on whether the recording will be made available.
Topic Areas
- Surgeon General’s Priorities
- Commissioned Corps Updates
- The future of the Commissioned Corps
Special Pays
The implementation of the new Health Professions Special Pay policy remains a priority for the Office of the Surgeon General and is still on track for May 2018. The draft policy is in the clearance process, now at the Assistant Secretary for Health level. The consolidated pays will require new agreements in replacement of the contracts under the legacy special pay system. These new agreements are not yet available. Clinical competency will be required in order for an officer to select the higher amount of special pay. Additional information and agreements will be shared as they become available. Regular listserv messages from the Corps are planned, and officers may monitor the CCMIS website for updates.
Social Media
Recent social media activity about the temporary delays in payments of special pays has drawn increased scrutiny and has demonstrated conduct that in some cases is incongruent with the core values of the Commissioned Corps. As officers in a uniformed service, we are on duty 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Even when not in uniform, we represent ourselves, our agencies, the Commissioned Corps, and our great Nation. Please ensure your communication, both verbally and in writing, always exemplifies the core values of leadership, service, integrity, and excellence.
Physical Fitness Standards
The new Height/Weight standards will go into effect on October 1, 2018. Officers will have a minimum of three months to report their verified height and weight to the Corps by September 30, 2018, through a process that will be communicated in the coming weeks. Officers who do not report their height/weight information will automatically be reported as NOT Basic Ready. Those who report the information, but are out of compliance based on the calculated Body Mass Index (BMI) will be taped to determine body fat percentage based on established Navy guidelines. Those who remain out of compliance will be given instructions on working towards meeting the standard over time, with specific guidelines designed to encourage healthy, safe weight management. The goal is not to be punitive, but to focus on health and wellness, maintaining a fit, deployable force, and “giving officers a pathway to be the best officers you can be.”
Partnerships
Veteran’s Administration (VA)
The Corps is meeting weekly with the VA. The newly selected VA Commissioned Corps Liaison, CDR Jill Breitbach, will report in April 2018.
Department of Defense Medical Evaluations Review Board (DoDMERB)
The Commissioned Corps is contracting with DoDMERB to complete the medical clearance reviews of applicants to the Corps, with the goal of leveraging the DoD’s resources to streamline the medical clearance process. A Corps officer will be detailed to DoDMERB in Colorado Springs, CO as the Commissioned Corps Liaison to DoDMERB.
Promotion Year (PY) 2018
Officers with documentation will not be held responsible for technical/IT challenges that cause an undeserved status of NOT Basic Ready.
The Commissioned Corps Moving Forward
Reforming the Commissioned Corps
The “ReImagine the Corps” initiative is now renamed “Reform the Corps”. The focus is on how to best fulfill our Public Health mission. Five priority areas will be administration, force management, restructuring the Corps, IT innovation, and updating policies.
Budget Language
Recent guidance to the Corps tells us to be more deployable, agile, and prepared. This is not the first time we have seen this type of language and questions of the value of the Corps, and we have withstood it; however, the questions and calls for review must be taken seriously. During his remarks, the Surgeon General mentioned that for the general public and many in the federal government, the picture of the Corps is as responders on the ground in Liberia for the Ebola mission and other responses; for most, the value of the Corps is tied to our deployability.
For the Indian Health Service, your value is also in the work that you perform every day in support of our important mission to raise the physical, mental, social, and spiritual health of American Indians and Alaska Natives to the highest level. The Corps is undergoing significant transition in many ways that are impactful to Corps officers. Uncertainty, questions, and concerns are understandable. Please do not hesitate to contact our office to give us the opportunity to provide information, clear up misunderstandings, and allay concerns whenever possible. Feel free to direct your questions and concerns to IHSCorpsInquiries@ihs.gov where it will be answered by a member of the Division of Commissioned Personnel Support (DCPS) team. Questions or concerns of a sensitive/personal nature may be directed to your respective Regional Commissioned Corps Liaison Office (below) or to me.
Division of Commissioned Personnel Support (DCPS) Liaison Contacts
| Region | IHS Area Covered | Liaison Office Contact | |
| IHS | Agency/Headquarters | CAPT Angela Mtungwa, Director
Mr. Maurice Sloan, Deputy Director |
Angela.Mtungwa@ihs.gov |
| Navajo | Navajo | LCDR Carol Cummins, Regional Liaison | Carol.Cummins@ihs.gov |
| Northern Plains | Bemidji, Billings, Great Plains | Ms. Robin Davidson, Regional Liaison | Robin.Davidson@ihs.gov |
| Southeast | Albuquerque, Nashville, Oklahoma City | LCDR Dodson Frank, HR Specialist
LCDR Karsten Smith, HR Specialist |
Dodson.Frank@ihs.gov |
| Southwest | Phoenix, Tucson | CAPT Stephen Navarro, Regional Liaison | Stephen.Navarro@ihs.gov |
| Western | Alaska, California, Portland | CDR Martha Wanca, Regional Liaison | Martha.Wanca@ihs.gov |
Thank you,
CAPT Angela Mtungwa
Director, Div. of Commissioned Personnel Support
Commissioned Corps Liaison
Office of Human Resources
Indian Health Service
301-443-5440