Dear Commissioned Corps Officers,
There have been a number of questions from Commissioned Corps officers about the annual USPHS Scientific & Training Symposium hosted by the PHS Commissioned Officers Foundation for the Advancement of Public Health (COF). The Assistant Secretary for Health recently signed a co-sponsorship agreement with COF to codify the role of the Commissioned Corps as it relates to the Symposium. As outlined in the co-sponsorship agreement, COF and the Commissioned Corps will be substantively involved in the planning efforts for the COF Symposium to include the agenda and speakers.
Commissioned Corps officers are permitted, as a function of their official duties, to be assigned to various planning committees established by COF for the Symposium. In addition, Surgeon General chartered groups (e.g., the Surgeon General Honor Guard, the Surgeon General Music Ensemble) are permitted to perform and participate at the Symposium as long as they receive funding from their Agency to attend or are on permissive TDY.
COF is responsible for the primary logistics of the meeting – selecting the venue, paying for conference facilities, advertising the Symposium, coordinating and implementing the Symposium agenda, providing food, sharing information with the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH) during the planning process, and covering any other Symposium event expenses.
One day during the Symposium will be set aside as Category Day. Commissioned Corps officers, under the guidance of the respective Public Health Service Chief Professional Officer, and COF staff will develop and implement a Category specific agenda that address Category and Commissioned Corps specific training needs and public health scientific interests. The joint OASH and COF planning committee will be primarily responsible for the selection and approval of all abstracts and agenda items including abstracts submitted by Commissioned Corps officers.
The Surgeon General as the National Uniform Authority has designated that Commissioned Corps officers attending this event must wear the prescribed uniform of the day. If officers have not received funding from their Agency to attend or are not on permissive TDY, they must take annual leave to attend, but they must wear the prescribed uniform of the day.
Respectfully,
RADM Erica Schwartz, MD, JD, MPH
Deputy Surgeon General