WHEREAS, Congress explicitly designated in Section 101(3), Title 37, United States Code, the Commissioned Corps of the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) as one of the uniformed services of the United States, along with the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard; and

WHEREAS, Section 5 of the original 1919 Act of Congress which chartered The American Legion does not specifically refer to "the Armed Services" but to "the military or naval services...of the United States..." ; and

WHEREAS, The PHS Commissioned Corps has been recognized as a sister service by the Reserve Officer Association (ROA), the Retired Officer Association (TROA), the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States (AMSUS), and the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME); and

WHEREAS, PHS Commissioned officers are committed to The War On Terrorism, AL Resolution 169, 2005, working daily in Anti-Bioterrorism and WMD Incident Management; and

WHEREAS, PHS Commissioned officers serve in a wartime hostile environment when ordered to do so, similarly to members of the Merchant Marine Service who were deemed eligible to join the American Legion for periods of wartime service; and

WHEREAS, The Military Coalition (TMC) has successfully worked with Congress and various states to eliminate legislative distinctions in benefits between the armed forces and the uniformed services; and

WHEREAS, PHS officers are called to serve along with the military and naval services of the United States Armed Forces in wartime missions during times of international conflict, as during World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf War, Kosovo, Desert Shield/Storm, and all other major conflicts since the creation of the Commissioned Corps in 1889; and

WHEREAS, USPHS Regular Corps Officers are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate in the same process as military and naval services of the United States Armed Forces; and

WHEREAS, USPHS officers deploy regularly in the service of their country, including the more than 60% of the total Commissioned Corps strength deployed to the World Trade Center attacks on 9/11/2001, anthrax attacks in 2001, Southeast Asia tsunami relief in 2005, and Hurricanes Katrina/Rita/Wilma in 2005; and

WHEREAS, The mission of the PHS Commissioned Corps is to provide highly-trained and mobile health professionals who carry out programs to promote the health of the Nation, understand and prevent disease and injury, assure safe and effective drugs and medical devices, deliver health service to Federal beneficiaries, and furnish health expertise in time of war or other national or international emergencies; and

WHEREAS, By order of AL Resolution 80, 2002, and AL Resolution 184, 2004, that adequate Department of Defense medical personnel, to include graduates of the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences (USUHS) and members of the Commissioned Officer Corps of the Public Health Service, should be retained on active duty to provide health care for active duty and retired military personnel and their dependents; and

WHEREAS, USUHS was created by Congress under the Department of Defense in 1972 to provide the Uniformed Services of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) with a cadre of dedicated, career medical officers who would ensure continuity, leadership, and medical readiness for the medical corps; due to both the extensive military training provided only in the multi-Service environment and the extraordinary retention rates of the USUHS graduates (averaging at least 18.5 years), USUHS has met or exceeded the goals set by Congress (AL Resolution 71, 2002); and

WHEREAS, By order of AL Resolution 163, 2004, The American Legion did urge Congress to continue its determination to retain and expand USUHS as a continued source of healthcare professionals dedicated to careers of service in the Army, Navy, Air Force, and the United States Public Health Service; and

WHEREAS, Commissioned Corps officers routinely provide mental and physical health care to the active duty Armed Forces and veterans, currently administer the DOD health care system serving all uniformed services family members and retirees; and provide emergency health care and sanitation in times of federal and international disaster; and

WHEREAS, Included in the numerous peacetime and wartime missions of the PHS are law enforcement in its many facets to include seizure and prosecution for violations of various Food, Drug, Medical Device, and Environmental Protection Acts; and

WHEREAS, Since inception of the Public Health Service in 1798, and the PHS Commissioned Corps in 1889, PHS officers have been injured or lost their lives alongside of US Armed Forces in defense of the United States; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, By The American Legion in National Convention assembled in Salt Lake City, Utah, August 2006, That the Commissioned Corps of the United States Public Health Service be recognized as eligible for membership in The American Legion; and, be it finally

RESOLVED, That Resolution No. __: Change in Eligibility of Membership in The American Legion, put forth during the 88th National Convention of The American Legion, August 2006, modify the American Legion membership requirements to include not only the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard of the United States Uniformed Services, but also the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps of the United States Uniformed Services.

Final version, 3/21/2006
CDR Kevin B. Milne, USPHS