Uniformed services of the United States
The
United States has seven
uniformed services as defined by Title 10 of the
United States Code:
*
United States Army*
United States Navy*
United States Marine Corps*
United States Air Force*
United States Coast Guard*
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps*
Public Health Service Commissioned CorpsFive of these comprise the
armed forces, four of which are within the
Department of Defense. The Coast Guard has both
military and
law enforcement duties, and is now under of the
Department of Homeland Security; however, Title 14 of the U.S. Code states that the Coast Guard is part of the military at all times. It is therefore the only branch of the military not under the control of the Department of Defense. The Commandant of the Coast Guard reports directly to the Secretary of Homeland Security. The Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and NOAA Commissioned Corps operate under military rules with the exception of the applicability of the
Uniform Code of Military Justice.
The
United States Armed Forces comprise five of the seven uniformed services.
Military
*
United States Army*
United States Navy*
United States Marine Corps*
United States Air Force*
United States Coast Guard*
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps (NOAA Corps) is a uniformed branch of the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which is under the
Department of Commerce.
*
Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC) is a uniformed branch of the
United States Public Health Service, which is under the
Department of Health and Human Services.
Members of the NOAA Corps and Public Health Service Commissioned Corps wear
uniforms that are basically derived from the U.S. Navy wardrobe, except that the commissioning devices, buttons, and insignia are unique. They are paid on the same scale as members of the military and wear similar insignia of rank. Both of these services consist only of
commissioned officers and have no enlisted ranks, although the Public Health Service will be introducing warrant officers later in 2006.
The distinction between a commissioned officer of a non-military
uniformed service and a
civilian is important under the
laws of war. Members of the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and the NOAA Corps are considered as non-combatants in accordance with the
Geneva Conventions, in Category V. The U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (a predecessor to NOAA) originally began commissioning its officers so that if captured while engaged in battlefield surveying, they could not legally be tried as
spies. The Public Health Service (PHS) traces its origins to a system of marine hospitals created "for the relief of sick and disabled seamen" by the U.S. Congress in 1798 and they adopted a military model of organization in 1871.
[United States Code. Title 5. Part III. Chapter 21. S 2101.][www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/history]*
Military of the United States
