TheUnited States has eight federaluniformed services thatcommission officers as defined byTitle 10 and subsequently structured and organized by Titles10,14,32,33, and42 of theU.S. Code.
The uniformed services are:[9]
Each of the uniformed services is administratively headed by afederal executive department and its corresponding civilianCabinet leader.
Department of the Army (DA)
Department of the Navy (DON)
Department of the Air Force (DAF)
The order of precedence within theDepartment of Defense is set by DoD Directive 1005.8 and is not dependent on the date of creation by theU.S. Congress.
Prior to 1967, the Coast Guard was part of theDepartment of the Treasury. In 1967, it became a part of theDepartment of Transportation. In 2002, it was placed under theDepartment of Homeland Security. During times of war, it may be transferred to theDepartment of the Navy, under the Department of Defense.
The Corps is headed by theSurgeon General of the United States. The corps may be detailed to the armed forces by order of the president.
The NOAA Corps was created as the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps, a component of theUnited States Coast and Geodetic Survey, on 22 May 1917. It was removed from the Coast and Geodetic Survey and became a component of theEnvironmental Science Services Administration (ESSA) as the Environmental Science Services Administration Corps (ESSA Corps) upon the establishment of ESSA on 13 July 1965. The ESSA Corps became the NOAA Corps as a component of NOAA when ESSA was abolished and NOAA simultaneously was created on 3 October 1970. Under all three names, the corps has been an element of theDepartment of Commerce throughout its existence. The corps may be detailed to the armed forces by order of the president.
The eight uniformed services are defined by10 U.S.C. § 101(a)(5):
The term "uniformed services" means—
(A) the armed forces;
(B) the commissioned corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and
(C) the commissioned corps of the Public Health Service.
The six uniformed services that make up the armed forces of the United States are defined in the previous clause,10 U.S.C. § 101(a)(4):
The term "armed forces" means the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force, and Coast Guard.
All eight uniformed services are subject to the provisions of10 U.S.C. § 1408, theUniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act.[10]
Six of the uniformed services make up the armed forces as defined by Title 10, five of which are within the Department of Defense. The Coast Guard is part of the Department of Homeland Security and has both military andlaw enforcement duties. Title 14 states that the Coast Guard is part of the armed forces at all times, making it the only branch of the military outside the Department of Defense. During a declared state of war, however, thePresident of the United States or U.S. Congress may direct that the Coast Guard operate as part of the Department of the Navy.[11] The Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, along with the NOAA Commissioned Corps, operate under military rules with the exception of the applicability of theUniform Code of Military Justice, to which they are subject only when militarized by executive order or while detailed to any component of the armed forces.[12]
Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces are all members of the military who serve in a reserve capacity. TheNational Guard is an additional reserve military component of the Army and Air Force, respectively, and is composed of National Guard units, which operate under Title 32 and under state authority as theArmy National Guard andAir National Guard. The militia that later became the National Guard was first formed in theColony of Virginia in 1607 and is the oldest uniformed military force founded in theNew World. The National Guard can also be mobilized by the president to operate under federal authority through Title 10. When acting under federal direction, the National Guard is managed by theNational Guard Bureau, which is a joint Army and Air Force activity under the Department of Defense,[13][14][15] with a 4-stargeneral[13][14] from the Army or Air Force appointed as its top leader. However, in federal service, command and control of National Guard organizations will fall under the designated geographic or functional combatant commander. The National Guard serves as a reserve component for both the Army and the Air Force, and can be called up for federal active duty in times of war or national emergencies.[13][14]
Commissioned officers of the PHSCC and NOAA Corps wearuniforms that are derived from U.S. Navy and Coast Guard uniforms, except that the commissioning devices, buttons, and insignia reflect their specific service. Uniformed officers of the PHSCC and NOAA Corps are paid on the same scale as members of the armed services, with respective rank and time-in-grade. Additionally, PHSCC officers are covered by theUniformed Services Employment and Re-employment Rights Act and theServicemembers Civil Relief Act (formerly the Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act). The PHSCC and NOAA Corps consist of commissioned officers only and have nowarrant officer ranks orenlisted ranks.
Commissioned officers of the PHSCC and NOAA Corps may be militarized by order of the president.[16] Because they are commissioned officers, they can be classified asprisoners of war (POW) under theGeneva Conventions if captured by abelligerent entity. The PHSCC traces its origins toa system of marine hospitals created byAn Act for the relief of sick and disabled seamen, passed by Congress in 1798; it adopted a military model of organization in 1871.[17][18] TheCoast and Geodetic Survey (USC&GS), a predecessor to NOAA, originally began commissioning its officers so that if captured while engaged in battlefield surveying, they would be protected under thelaw of armed conflict and could not be tried or executed asspies. The USC&GS Commissioned Officer Corps became the Environmental Science Services Administration Corps (ESSA Corps), upon the creation of theEnvironmental Science Services Administration on 13 July 1965, then became the NOAA Corps upon the creation of NOAA on 3 October 1970.
TheUnited States Maritime Service is a federal uniformed organization within theDepartment of Transportation, that is no longer structurally organized. As such, they are not officially listed a federal uniformed service, as defined by U.S. law. However under the authority of thepresident and thesecretary of transportation, the service still commissions officers to serve as administrators and instructors at theUnited States Merchant Marine Academy and thestate maritime academies.[19] Commissioned officers of the Maritime Service cannot be deployed or assigned to anothermilitary service, and thus are not subjected to the Uniform Code of Military Justice. While the chances a Maritime Service officer being captured by an enemy is unlikely, they would be classified as POWs under the Geneva Conventions if they were.
Informational notes
Citations
| |||||||||||||
| Leadership |
| ||||||||||||
| Components |
| ||||||||||||
| Structure | |||||||||||||
| Operations andhistory |
| ||||||||||||
| Personnel |
| ||||||||||||
| Equipment |
| ||||||||||||
| Leadership |
|  | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Major commands | |||||
| Auxiliary | |||||
| Structure | |||||
| Personnel and training |
| ||||
| Uniforms and equipment | |||||
| History and traditions |
| ||||
| Leadership |  | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Structure |
| ||||||||||
| Personnel and training |
| ||||||||||
| Equipment | |||||||||||
| History and traditions |
| ||||||||||
| Leadership |  | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Structure |
| ||||||||||
| Personnel and training | |||||||||||
| Uniforms and equipment | |||||||||||
| History and traditions |
| ||||||||||
| Leadership |
|  | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Structure |
| ||||||||||
| Locations |
| ||||||||||
| Personnel and training | |||||||||||
| History and traditions |
| ||||||||||
| Leadership |  | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Organization |
| ||||||||
| Personnel | |||||||||
| Uniforms and equipment | |||||||||
| History and traditions |
| ||||||||
| Battles and operations |
| ||||||||
| Secretariat staff offices |
|  |
|---|---|---|
| Public Health Service |
| |
| Human services agencies | ||
| Programs | ||
| Deputy Secretary of Commerce |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs | ||
| Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security | ||
| Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property | ||
| Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade | ||
| Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere | ||
| Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology | ||
