The new policy will be phased in over a period of 12-18 months. A committee to develop this timeline is being formed. The PPAC is seeking a medical officer to represent medical officers on this committee. Volunteers, including junior officers, are encouraged.

Item 1. Daily Uniform Wear
Order the daily wear of a prescribed Corps uniform while on extended active duty for all officers, except for officers detailed to DOD and USCG who may at the will of the Department, allow for wear of that service's distinctive uniform; for officers enrolled as a JRJ/SRCOSTEP; or for local or programmatic exceptions which require application for a uniform waiver through the Director of the Office of Commissioned Corps Operations (OCCO).

Item 2. Phase-in/out of current Corps uniform options
Adopt the official uniform policy and regulations for wear and appearance of the Naval Working Uniform (NWU). After the complete phase-in by the Navy Task Force Uniform Board (TFUB), the (Working Integrated Project Team) WIPT recommends an 18 month phase-in or a date to be determined by the Office of the Surgeon General (OSG), of the NWU, with the phase-out of the Corps' working khaki, winter working blue, and tropical working uniforms to match the same time line (although not specifically stated, this would presumably include a phase out of the current woodland pattern BDU worn by PHS officers except as potentially needed for tactical environments until such time as the Navy adopts and produces a new tactical uniform). It is the understanding of this WIPT that Navy needs may alter or change phase-in/out and the policy revision should be flexible to reflect that need to change as well.

Item 3. Alignment of current Corps uniform regulations with regulations of the Navy
Align current Corps policy with that of the Navy to permit only the wear of the Navy pull-over sweater or cardigan (Currently the Navy does not have a cardigan sweater in its uniform inventory so presumably the cardigan will be eliminated all together) and to use the measurements of placements of the rank insignia, Corps devices, ribbons, name tags and other uniform items to that of the Navy. The current Marine Corps olive drab sweater authorized with the BDU will also be phased out. The wear of the Navy pullover sweater will also create a requirement for a leather nametag to be worn by PHS officers on the sweater. Presumably Navy uniform regulations will be used for guidance on the appearance of this leather nametag. This option is intended to will create less confusion among officers who purchase items from the Navy Exchange. It creates a "one-stop-shopping" for all uniform items. This policy will be rewritten to match all uniforms identical to both the Navy and the Corps to one standard, that of the Navy.

Item 4. Uniform Allowance
Increase the amount of the uniform allowance to match that of the Armed Forces. (37 USC 415(a) authorizes members of the Armed Forces to receive a one time uniform allowance of $400. The Armed Forces are also authorized, under 37 USC 416, an additional $200 for specific criteria, as specified in 10 USC 2106 and 2107). This requires concurrence from the Assistant Secretary of Legislation and perhaps Office of Management and Budget. It presently is unclear whether current officers who have already received a uniform allowance will receive any additional payment or if the new uniform allowance of $400 will apply only to future officers. In addition it remains to be determined if current officers will be eligible for the additional $200 payment for specific criteria as noted above.

Item 5. Wear of Ribbons and Medals (PHS and non-PHS)
Allow for wear and display of all ribbons and medals earned by an officer in the Corps, in another uniformed service, and in another Federal agency or department. This proposal would continue to disallow for State specific ribbons and medals earned in the National Guard, ribbons and medals from State militias, Civil Air Patrol, USCG Auxiliary, Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) and Junior ROTC (JROTC). A formalized order of precedence will be established for placement of ribbons and medals. One major change officers need to be aware of is that the wear of association ribbons and medals are not authorized (Commissioned Officers Association, Association of Military Surgeons of the United States, Reserve Officers Association and the Society of American Military Engineers) are not authorized except for when actually attending a meeting or conference. This is consistent with current Navy uniform regulation.

Item 6. Badges (Skill, Qualification, Identification)
Authorization for wear of any skill, qualification or identification badge earned in another uniformed service or in the Corps. Exceptions to wear on the PHS uniform will be enlisted badges that are not permitted for wear on that specific uniformed service officer's uniform. officers will be permitted to wear a maximum of two breast badges (e.g., Department of Health and Human (HHS) Services ID Badge, Recruiter Badge, Officer in Charge Badge) and two skill or qualification badges (e.g., Field Medical Readiness Badge (FMRB), Flight Nurse, Parachutist). Policy will also include review of other uniformed services regulations on wear of foreign skill badges.

Item 7. Badges: 1st Proposal for New Badge - PHS Aviation Medicine Flight Wings
Keep current policy of authorizing only the U.S. Air Force Flight Surgeon or Flight Nurse Wings to be authorized for wear for graduates of the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine Course and wear of DIHSIUSMS Flight Wings only while detailed to that specific billet or locations.

Item 8. Badges: 2nd Proposal for New Badge or Modification of Current Insignia - Category Specific Badge
Disapprove recommendation to create a category specific identification badge or allow modification of current insignia to allow for immediate recognition of an officer's professional category.

Item 9. Badges (Uniformity)
Change the FMRB (currently the only PHS skill badge) from pewter to gold in order to align with other sea service traditions.

Item 10. Personal Appearance and Grooming Standards
Follow the personal appearance and grooming standards of the Navy, specifically, to remove the authorization for wear of the beard except for persons diagnosed with pseudo-folliculitis barbae and to continue authorization for mustaches as defined in Navy regulations. Phase-out of the beard should begin within 3 months of incorporation of policy with complete phase-out within 12 months of incorporation of policy. This will also align Corps regulations with Navy regulations on other grooming and personal appearance standards such as tattoos, body piercing and mutilation, hair length, cosmetics and jewelry.

Item 11. Local Uniform Authority
Assign the OSG as the sole CONUS Local Uniform Authority (LUA). CONUS does not typically include assignment to Alaska (It also does not typically apply to or Hawaii either although it is not specifically referenced in the memorandum) Officers assigned to Alaska and Hawaii are likely to retain their current uniform prescribing authority. The LUA for officers assigned to non-HHS organizations is not as clearly defined.

Item 12. Discipline for Improper Wear
If an officer continues to continually wear the uniform improperly after repeated guidance, more formal disciplinary methods may be employed, including Letter of Reproval, Letter of Reprimand, and Referral to the discipline and administrative review board, where an officer may be recommended for discipline up to and including termination. Authority to take such action would reside with the ASH, the Surgeon General, the Heads of HHS OPDIVs/STAFFDIVs, regional offices, or their designees, or the Director of the Office of Commissioned Corps Operations. No set number of infractions at each level that would warrant elevation to the next level is defined. Supervisors and the above named individuals would have the authority to decide the appropriate level as a result of specific violations or failures to remediate.

Item 13. Uniform Advisory Committee
Establish a Uniform Advisory Committee (UAC) to address new issues with uniform policy and regulations, to convene every 2 years. In addition the UAC can be convened as needed to address urgent uniform, personal appearance or grooming standard matters.

Item 14. Authorization for Routine Wear of the BDUs
Allow for authorization for once per week wear of the BDU. Exceptions would be noted for high or senior level meetings, testimony on Capitol Hill or any other formal setting (e.g., Promotions, Award Ceremonies, Retirement Ceremonies or Change of Command Ceremonies) where a Service uniform or Service Dress Blue uniform would be appropriate. Specific day will be chosen by Local Uniform Authority (LUS) to ensure uniformity. The LUA for all Continential US (CONUS) officers assigned to DHHS agencies would become the OSG as noted in Item 11 above. Wear of the BDU by officers outside CONUS or in Agencies outside DHHS would be determined by their current LUA.

Item 15. Service Blues (a.k.a. Salt and Pepper)
Eliminate the Service Blue ("Salt and Pepper ") uniform as an authorized PHS uniform.