Surgeon General of the United States

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox official post The surgeon general of the United States is the operational head of the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC) and thus the leading spokesperson on matters of public health in the federal government of the United States. The surgeon general's office and staff are known as the Office of the Surgeon General (OSG), which is housed within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health.<ref name="OASHOrgChart">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The U.S. surgeon general is nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. The surgeon general must be appointed from individuals who are members of the regular corps of the U.S. Public Health Service and have specialized training or significant experience in public health programs.<ref>Template:USC - Appointment and tenure of office of Surgeon General; reversion in rank.</ref> However, there is no time requirement for membership in the Public Health Service before holding the office of the Surgeon General, and nominees traditionally were appointed as members of the Public Health Service and as surgeon general at the same time. The surgeon general serves a four-year term of office and, depending on whether the current assistant secretary for health is a commissioned corps officer, is either the senior or next-most senior uniformed officer of the commissioned corps, holding the rank of vice admiral.<ref name="grades">Template:USC - Grades, ranks, and titles of commissioned corps.</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Responsibilities

The surgeon general reports to the assistant secretary for health (ASH). The ASH may be a four-star admiral in the commissioned corps, and serves as the principal advisor to the secretary of health and human services on public health and scientific issues. The surgeon general is the overall head of the commissioned corps, a 6,500-member cadre of uniformed health professionals who are on call 24 hours a day and can be dispatched by the secretary of HHS or by the assistant secretary for health in the event of a public health emergency.Template:Cn

The surgeon general is also the ultimate award authority for several public health awards and decorations, the highest of which that can be directly awarded is the Surgeon General's Medallion (the highest award bestowed by board action is the Public Health Service Distinguished Service Medal). The surgeon general also has many informal duties, such as educating the American public about health issues and advocating healthy lifestyle choices.Template:Cn

The office also periodically issues health warnings. Perhaps the best known example of this is the surgeon general's warning label that has been present on all packages of American tobacco cigarettes since 1966.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A similar health warning has appeared on alcoholic beverages labels since 1988.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

History

File:Smoking and Health 1964 report cover.jpg

The landmark 1964 Surgeon General's report on Smoking and Health.

In 1798, Congress established the Marine Hospital Fund, a network of hospitals that cared for sick and disabled seamen. The Marine Hospital Fund was reorganized along military lines in 1870 and became the Marine Hospital Service—the predecessor to today's United States Public Health Service. The service became a separate bureau of the Treasury Department with its own staff, administration, headquarters in Washington, D.C., and the position of supervising surgeon, later surgeon general.Template:Cn

After 141 years under the Treasury Department, the Service came under the Federal Security Agency in 1939, then the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) in 1953, and finally the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).Template:Cn

Prior to 1970, the surgeon general was traditionally selected from career uniformed officers.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Today, the surgeon general is usually selected from the civilian community, who aligns more closely with the president's political party.<ref name=":0" /> The office is not a particularly powerful one, and has little direct statutory impact on policy-making, but surgeons general are often vocal advocates of precedent-setting, far-sighted, unconventional, or even unpopular health policies.

• On January 11, 1964, Luther Terry published a landmark report saying that smoking may be hazardous to health,<ref name="Fenster">Julie M. Fenster Template:Webarchive "Hazardous to Your Health" American Heritage, Oct. 2006.</ref> sparking nationwide anti-smoking efforts. Terry and his committee defined cigarette smoking of nicotine as not an addiction. The committee itself consisted largely of physicians who themselves smoked. This report went uncorrected for 24 years.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>
• In 1986, C. Everett Koop's report on AIDS called for some form of AIDS education in the early grades of elementary school, and gave full support for using condoms for disease prevention.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He also resisted pressure from the Reagan administration to report that abortion was psychologically harmful to women, stating he believed it was a moral issue rather than one concerning the public health.
• In 1994, Joycelyn Elders spoke at a United Nations conference on AIDS. She was asked whether it would be appropriate to promote masturbation as a means of preventing young people from engaging in riskier forms of sexual activity. She replied, "I think that it is part of human sexuality, and perhaps it should be taught."<ref>Leon Dash, "Joycelyn Elders: From Sharecropper's Daughter to Surgeon General of the United States of America", Washington Monthly, January–February 1997</ref> Elders also spoke in favor of studying drug legalization. In a reference to the national abortion issue, she said, "We really need to get over this love affair with the fetus and start worrying about children."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She was fired by President Bill Clinton in December 1994.

The U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force also have officers overseeing medical matters in their respective services who hold the title Surgeon General, of their respective services, while the surgeon general of the United States is surgeon general of the entire nation.Template:Cn

The insignia of the surgeon general, and the USPHS, use the caduceus as opposed to the Rod of Asclepius.Template:Cn

Service rank

The surgeon general is a commissioned officer in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, one of the eight uniformed services of the United States, and by law holds the rank of vice admiral.<ref name=grades/> Officers of the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps are classified as non-combatants, but can be subjected to the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and the Geneva Conventions when designated by the commander-in-chief as a military force or if they are detailed or assigned to work with the armed forces. Officers of the commissioned corps, including the surgeon general, wear uniforms that are modeled after uniforms of the United States Navy and the United States Coast Guard, except that the commissioning devices, buttons, and insignia are unique. Officers in the U.S. Public Health Service wear unique devices that are similar to U.S. Navy staff corps officers (e.g., Navy Medical Service Corps, Supply Corps, etc.).

The only surgeon general to actually hold the rank of a four-star admiral was David Satcher (born 1941, served 1998–2002). This was because he served simultaneously in the positions of surgeon general (three-star) and assistant secretary for health (which is a four-star office).<ref name="satcher">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> John Maynard Woodworth (1837–1879, served 1871–1879), was the first holder of the office as "supervising surgeon."

• Insignia
• PHSCC Collar Device.png

  US Public Health Service Collar Device

• CAP DEVICE UNMOUNTED PHS.PNG

  US Public Health Service Cap Device

• US PHS O9 insignia.svg

  The stars, shoulder boards, and sleeve stripes of the surgeon general

List of surgeons general of the United States

Template:Legend

Template:Abbr	Portrait	Name Template:Small	Term of office			Appointed by Template:Small	Template:Abbr
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1	File:John M. Woodworth.jpg	John M. Woodworth Template:Small	March 29, 1871	March 14, 1879	Template:Ayd	Ulysses S. Grant Template:Small	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2	File:Surgeon General John B. Hamilton.jpg	Commodore John B. Hamilton Template:Small	April 3, 1879	June 1, 1891	Template:Ayd	Rutherford B. Hayes Template:Small	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Hamilton Wyman">Template:Cite news</ref>
3	File:Walter Wyman, ca. 1898 (B026910).jpg	Commodore Walter Wyman Template:Small	June 1, 1891	November 21, 1911	Template:Ayd	Benjamin Harrison Template:Small	<ref name="Hamilton Wyman"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
4	File:Rupert Blue 3.jpg	Commodore Rupert Blue Template:Small	January 13, 1912	March 3, 1920	Template:Ayd	William Howard Taft Template:Small	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
5	File:Hugh S. Cumming.jpg	Rear Admiral Hugh S. Cumming Template:Small	March 3, 1920	January 31, 1936	Template:Ayd	Woodrow Wilson Template:Small
6	File:Thomas Parran, Jr., photo portrait as surgeon general.jpg	Rear Admiral Thomas Parran Jr. Template:Small	April 6, 1936	April 6, 1948	Template:Ayd	Franklin D. Roosevelt Template:Small
7	File:Rear Admiral Leonard Scheele.jpg	Rear Admiral Leonard A. Scheele Template:Small	April 6, 1948	August 8, 1956	Template:Ayd	Harry S. Truman Template:Small
8	File:Leroy Edgar Burney, photo portrait as surgeon general.jpg	Rear Admiral Leroy E. Burney (1906–1998)	August 8, 1956	January 29, 1961	Template:Ayd	Dwight D. Eisenhower Template:Small
9	File:Luther Terry photo portrait as surgeon general.jpg	Luther Terry Template:Small	March 2, 1961	October 1, 1965	Template:Ayd	John F. Kennedy Template:Small
10	File:William H. Stewart, photo portrait as surgeon general.jpg	William H. Stewart Template:Small	October 1, 1965	August 1, 1969	Template:Ayd	Lyndon B. Johnson Template:Small
–		Rear Admiral Richard A. Prindle Template:Small	August 1, 1969	December 18, 1969	Template:Ayd	Richard Nixon Template:Small	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
11	File:Jesse Leonard Steinfeld, photo portrait as surgeon general.jpg	Jesse L. Steinfeld Template:Small	December 18, 1969	January 30, 1973	Template:Ayd		<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
–	File:Rear Admiral S. Paul Ehrlich, Jr.jpg	Rear Admiral S. Paul Ehrlich Jr. Template:Small	January 31, 1973	July 13, 1977	Template:Ayd		<ref>Template:Cite report</ref>
12	File:Julius Richmond, Surgeon General official photo.jpg	Vice Admiral Julius B. Richmond Template:Small	July 13, 1977	January 20, 1981	Template:Ayd	Jimmy Carter Template:Small	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
–	File:1980 John C Greene in Official United States Rear Admiral Uniform.jpg	Rear Admiral John C. Greene Template:Small	January 21, 1981	May 14, 1981	Template:Ayd	Ronald Reagan Template:Small
–		Edward Brandt Jr. Template:Small	May 14, 1981	January 21, 1982	Template:Ayd
13	File:C. Everett Koop, 1980s.jpg	Vice Admiral C. Everett Koop Template:Small	January 21, 1982	October 1, 1989	Template:Ayd		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
–	File:James O. Mason USPHS.jpg	Admiral James O. Mason Template:Small	October 1, 1989	March 9, 1990	Template:Ayd	George H. W. Bush Template:Small
14	File:VADM Antonia Novello.jpg	Vice Admiral Antonia Novello Template:Small	March 9, 1990	June 30, 1993	Template:Ayd		<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
–	File:RADM Robert A Whitney Jr.jpg	Rear Admiral Robert A. Whitney Template:Small	July 1, 1993	September 8, 1993	Template:Ayd	Bill Clinton Template:Small
15	File:Joycelyn Elders official photo portrait.jpg	Vice Admiral Joycelyn Elders Template:Small	September 8, 1993	December 31, 1994	Template:Ayd		<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
–	File:Audrey Manley, DHHS official bw photo.jpg	Rear Admiral Audrey F. Manley Template:Small	January 1, 1995	July 1, 1997	Template:Ayd
–	File:J. Jarrett Clinton Portrait.jpg	Rear Admiral J. Jarrett Clinton Template:Small	July 2, 1997	February 12, 1998	Template:Ayd
16	File:David Satcher official photo portrait.jpg	AdmiralTemplate:Efn David Satcher Template:Small	February 13, 1998	February 12, 2002	Template:Ayd		<ref name="satcher"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
–	File:RADM Kenneth P. Moritsugu, USPHSCC.jpg	Rear Admiral Kenneth P. Moritsugu Template:Small	February 13, 2002	August 4, 2002	Template:Ayd	George W. Bush Template:Small	<ref name="Moritsugu">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
17	File:Richard carmona.jpg	Vice Admiral Richard Carmona Template:Small	August 5, 2002	July 31, 2006	Template:Ayd		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
–	File:RADM Kenneth P. Moritsugu, USPHSCC.jpg	Rear Admiral Kenneth P. Moritsugu Template:Small	August 1, 2006	September 30, 2007	Template:Ayd		<ref name="Moritsugu"/>
–	File:Steven K Galson.jpg	Rear Admiral Steven K. Galson Template:Small	October 1, 2007	October 1, 2009	Template:Ayd		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
–	File:Donald L. Weaver official portrait.jpg	Rear Admiral Donald L. Weaver Template:Small	October 1, 2009	November 3, 2009	Template:Ayd	Barack Obama Template:Small	<ref name="Benjamin confirmed"/>
18	File:Regina Benjamin official portrait.jpg	Vice Admiral Regina Benjamin Template:Small	November 3, 2009	July 16, 2013	Template:Ayd		<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Benjamin confirmed">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="start">Template:Cite newsTemplate:Dead link</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
–	File:RADM Boris Lushniak acting Surgeon General.jpg	Rear Admiral Boris Lushniak Template:Small	July 17, 2013	December 18, 2014	Template:Ayd		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
19	File:Vice Admiral Vivek H. Murthy, USPHS.jpg	Vice Admiral Vivek Murthy Template:Small	April 22, 2015	April 21, 2017	Template:Ayd		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
–	File:Sylvia Trent-Adams Official Portrait.jpg	Rear Admiral Sylvia Trent-Adams Template:Small	April 21, 2017	September 5, 2017	Template:Ayd	Donald Trump Template:Small	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
20	File:Jerome Adams 2019.jpg	Vice Admiral Jerome Adams Template:Small	September 5, 2017	January 20, 2021	Template:Ayd		<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
–	File:RADM Susan Orsega (two-star).jpg	Rear Admiral Susan Orsega Template:Small	January 20, 2021	March 24, 2021	62 days	Joe Biden Template:Small	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
21	File:Vivek Murthy, Surgeon General (profile).jpg	Vice Admiral Vivek Murthy Template:Small	March 25, 2021	January 20, 2025	Template:Ayd		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
–	File:Rear Admiral Denise Hinton (two-star).jpg	Rear Admiral Denise Hinton Template:Small	January 20, 2025	Incumbent	Template:Ayd	Donald Trump Template:Small

See also

• Chief Medical Officer (Ireland)
• Chief Medical Officer (United Kingdom)
• Chief Public Health Officer of Canada
• Medical Officer of Health
• Surgeon General
• Surgeon General of the United States Air Force
• Surgeon General of the United States Army
• Surgeon General of the United States Navy

External links

• Official website of the U.S. Surgeon General
  • Previous Surgeons General
• Reports of the Surgeon General from the National Library of Medicine's "Profiles in Science"