This is a complete list of vice admirals in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps . The rank of vice admiral (or three-star admiral), ranks above rear admiral (two-star admiral) and below admiral (full admiral, or four-star admiral) in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.
There have been 12 vice admirals in the history of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. Of these, 9 achieved that rank while on active duty and 3 were promoted upon retirement in recognition of meritorious service. All 12 were directly commissioned into the regular corps, with 10 commissioned into the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (direct) and 2 commissioned into its predecessor, the Marine Hospital Service (MHS). 8 were originally civilians who were appointed to the regular corps and to grade upon taking office, 3 were active duty officers appointed to grade after leaving office, and one was a civilian appointed to the regular corps at four-star rank upon initial assumption of office.
All admirals in this list are indexed by the numerical order of their promotion to that rank, or by an asterisk (*) if they did not serve in that rank while on active duty in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps or were promoted to four-star rank while on active duty in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. The listed date is their initial promotion to vice admiral, which may differ from their entry in the U.S. Public Health Service register. The year commissioned is taken to be the year the officer was directly commissioned which may precede the officer's actual date of commission by up to two years. Each entry lists the admiral's name, date of rank, active-duty position held while serving at three-star rank, [lower-alpha 1] number of years of active-duty service at three-star rank (Yrs), [lower-alpha 2] year commissioned and source of commission, [lower-alpha 3] number of years in commission when promoted to three-star rank (YC), [lower-alpha 4] and other biographical notes. [lower-alpha 5]
# | Name | Photo | Date of rank | Position [lower-alpha 1] | Yrs [lower-alpha 2] | Commission [lower-alpha 3] | YC [lower-alpha 4] | Notes [lower-alpha 5] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Julius B. Richmond | ![]() | 13 Jul 1977 |
| 4 | 1977 (direct) | 0 | (1916–2008) Director, Head Start, 1965–1967. [1] |
2 | C. Everett Koop | ![]() | 21 Jan 1982 |
| 7 | 1982 (direct) | 0 | (1916–2013) Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health, 1981–1982. |
3 | Antonia C. Novello | ![]() | 9 Mar 1990 |
| 3 | 1990 (direct) | 0 | (1944– ) Commissioner, New York State Department of Health, 1999–2006. First woman to serve as Surgeon General. |
4 | Joycelyn Elders | ![]() | 8 Sep 1993 |
| 1 | 1993 (direct) | 0 | (1933– ) Resigned, 1994. Director, Arkansas Department of Health, 1979–1981. First African American to be Surgeon General. |
5 | David Satcher | ![]() | 20 Jan 2001 |
| 1 | 1998 (direct) | 3 | (1941– ) [lower-alpha 6] Assistant Secretary for Health, 1998–2001. |
6 | Richard H. Carmona | ![]() | 5 Aug 2002 |
| 4 | 2002 (direct) | 0 | (1949– ) Democratic nominee for U.S. Senator from Arizona, 2012. |
7 | Regina M. Benjamin | ![]() | 3 Nov 2009 |
| 4 | 2009 (direct) | 0 | (1956– ) |
8 | Vivek H. Murthy | ![]() | 18 Dec 2014 |
| 6 | 2014 (direct) | 0 | (1977– ) Co-Chair, COVID-19 Advisory Board, 2020–2021. First surgeon general of Indian descent; and first to serve two nonconsecutive terms. |
9 | Jerome M. Adams | ![]() | 5 Sep 2017 |
| 4 | 2017 (direct) | 0 | (1974– ) Health Commissioner of Indiana, 2014–2017. |
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.
The United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps is the uniformed service branch of the United States Public Health Service and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. The commissioned corps' primary mission is the protection, promotion, and advancement of health and safety of the general public.
Admiral is a four-star commissioned officer rank in the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, and the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps with the pay grade of O-10. Admiral ranks above vice admiral and below fleet admiral in the Navy; the Coast Guard and the Public Health Service do not have an established grade above admiral. Admiral is equivalent to the rank of general in the other uniformed services. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps has never had an officer hold the grade of admiral. However, 37 U.S.C. § 201 of the U.S. Code established the grade for the NOAA Corps, in case a position is created that merits the four-star grade.
A rear admiral in the uniformed services of the United States is either of two different ranks of commissioned officers: one-star flag officers and two-star flag officers. By contrast, in most other countries, the term "rear admiral" refers only to an officer of two-star rank.
Vice admiral is a three-star commissioned officer rank in the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps, with the pay grade of O-9. Vice admiral ranks above rear admiral and below admiral. Vice admiral is equivalent to the rank of lieutenant general in the other uniformed services.