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customarily worn, shall wear a conventional white working uniform. A metal miniature corps device shall be worn on the left collar tip and a metal miniature grade mark shall be worn on the right tip of this uniform, each device being worn one inch from the front edge of the collar.

§ 21.223 Detail to States. Female officers detailed to State or local health departments while engaged in public health activities, consisting of home visiting or clinical work, may wear the uniform dress, if any, of the State public health department to which detailed, together with the garrison cap with miniature Public Health Service cap device on the left side and a miniature metal grade mark on the right side. While wearing State health department uniforms such officers shall wear the same collar-tip insignia as female officers on hospital duty.

§ 21.224 Change in uniform. In the event that changes in the uniform of the Women's Reserve, U. S. Naval Reserve, are prescribed, female officers of the Service may continue to wear any uniforms owned by them at the time they are notified of such changes for a period not to exceed two years thereafter, but uniforms acquired after such notification shall be in accordance with the prescribed changes.

Male and Female Officers

§ 21.231 Correspondence with uniforms of other commissioned services in certain cases. If officers of the Service are detailed for duty or serve as liaison officers with any other commissioned service, or perform such other assignments in such places or under such circumstances as would make the wearing of the uniform of another commissioned service more appropriate, the Surgeon General may direct that such officers shall wear the uniform prescribed for such other commissioned service, except that the Public Health Service insignia shall, in all cases, be substituted for the insignia of such other commissioned service other than appropriate insignia of grade and, in the case of an Army type uniform, other than the block letters "U. S.".

§ 21.232 Insignia. Public Health Service insignia shall be as follows:

(a) Corps device. An ornament of gold-colored metal or gold-colored lace or thread consisting of a fouled anchor and caduceus crossed as in the seal of

the Service, 1 inch high and 1 inch wide. Except when incorporated as part of the cap device, the corps device shall be so placed on the uniform that the staff of the caduceus is vertical and the anchor is pointing inward.

(b) Miniature corps device. A corps device 16 inch high and 1/16 inch wide.

(c) Cap device. An ornament of gold-colored metal or gold-colored lace or thread consisting of a shield with a chief with thirteen stars surmounted with a spread eagle, head dextral, with the whole placed on the corps device, with dimensions as follows:

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(e) Buttons. Buttons of the same composition and arrangement as on the corresponding article of uniform clothing of a commissioned officer of the Coast Guard, Women's Reserve, U. S. Naval Reserve, or other commissioned corps, with the corps device of the Public Health Service embossed on the button.

§ 21.233 Wearing of uniforms in time of war. In time of war, officers of the Service on active duty shall appear in uniform unless otherwise directed by the Surgeon General.

§ 21.234 Wearing of uniforms in time of peace. In time of peace, the Surgeon General shall from time to time designate those stations of the Service at which, and those areas, if any, in which, officers of the Service shall wear uniforms.

§ 21.235 Uniform of the day; generally. The Surgeon General shall from time to time prescribe the uniform of the day to be worn at particular stations of the Service or in particular areas at the seasons of the year and on dress occasions, and the Surgeon General may also prescribe the circumstances under which uniforms need not be worn.

§ 21.236 Uniform of the day; certain officers. Officers of the Service detailed

for duty with other commissioned services shall wear the uniform of the day most nearly corresponding to that worn by the unit with which such officers are serving.

§ 21.237 Wearing of uniforms; inactive, retired, or former officers. Unless authorized by the Surgeon General, officers of the Reserve Corps on inactive duty and retired officers shall not wear uniforms except on occasions of ceremony. The Surgeon General may, however, authorize an officer to wear the uniform of his grade for a period not to exceed 30 days following the termination of his commission, his transfer to inactive duty, or his retirement. 510, 58 Stat. 711; 42 U. S. C. 228)

Other Persons

(Sec.

§ 21.241 Persons authorized to wear similar insignia. Employees of the Public Health Service while wearing uniforms in accordance with regulations of the Surgeon General approved by the Administrator, members of the United States Cadet Nurse Corps, or persons authorized by the Surgeon General to wear a uniform similar to the uniform of members of the United States Cadet Nurse Corps may wear Public Health Service insignia, or insignia similar thereto. (Sec. 510, 58 Stat. 711; 42 U. S. C. 228)

§ 21.242 Wearing of certain insignia, or of ornamental jewelry resembling insignia. Persons not in uniform and not representing themselves to be commissioned officers of the Public Health Service or members of the United States Cadet Nurse Corps may wear ornamental jewelry resembling Public Health Service insignia, or may wear the corps device, or cap device, or miniatures thereof, in honor of a commissioned officer of the Public Health Service or a member of the United States Cadet Nurse Corps. (Sec. 510, 58 Stat. 711; 42 U. S. C. 228)

SUBPART M-DECORATIONS

AUTHORITY: §§ 21.251 to 21.253, inclusive, issued under sec. 212 (d), 58 Stat. 689; 42 U. S. C. 213 (d).

§ 21.251 Military, naval, or foreign government decorations—-(a) Decorations evidencing service. For service in time of war or service in any theatre of operations under circumstances and conditions comparable to service performed by members of the armed forces, commissioned officers of the Service shall be authorized to wear medals, ribbons, or

decorations authorized to be worn by members of the armed services to signify such service, such authorization to be governed by the same rules and regulations as are prescribed for the armed forces. No decoration evidencing participation in a particular campaign or engagement shall be worn unless an officer was or is detailed to one of the armed services and was or is assigned to a unit awarded such decoration. No officer shall be entitled to wear a decoration awarded by any of the armed services to their members to signify service in time of peace unless an officer was or is detailed to one of the armed services and is authorized by the service to which detailed to wear such decoration.

(b) Decorations evidencing personal merit. Commissioned officers may be awarded, and may accept and wear, milimedals tary ribbons, decorations, or awarded by the United States or by a foreign government for personal merit or achievement under the same circumstances as may now or hereafter be provided by law in the case of members of the armed forces of the United States.

§ 21.252 Wound or service chevrons; overseas service bars. Commissioned officers who served with the Army during World War I may wear on an Army type uniform, with respect to such service, the wound or service chevrons as prescribed by the Army (see 10 CFR, 1944 Supp., 709.27). One overseas service bar is authorized to be worn by commissioned officers on an Army type uniform, as prescribed in Army regulations (see 10 CFR, 1946 Supp., 709.27 (d)), for each period of 6 months of active service outside the continental limits of the United States or in Alaska from December 7, 1941, to September 2, 1946, both dates inclusive.

§ 21.253 Other medals, ribbons, or badges. Commissioned officers may wear medals, ribbons, or badges awarded to them by the Treasury Department. The distinctive badges adopted by military, hereditary, and patriotic societies composed of persons or descendants of persons who served in the armed forces of the United States or in the Service during the Colonial wars, the War of the Revolution, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Civil War, the SpanishAmerican War, the First World War, and the Second World War, respectively, may be worn on all occasions of ceremony by commissioned officers who are

regular members of such organizations and entitled by their rules to wear such decorations.

SUBPART N-DISCIPLINE

AUTHORITY: §§ 21.261 to 21.322, inclusive, issued under sec. 215, 58 Stat. 690; 42 U. S. C. 216.

General Provisions

§ 21.261 Applicability. The provisions of this subpart shall apply to all commissioned officers, whether on leave, active duty, or retired, except that they shall not apply to officers on detail pursuant to section 214 of the act to the extent that this subpart may be inconsistent with the special service in which they are engaged. Officers detailed for duty with other commissioned services shall be subject to the laws for the government of the service to which detailed. During the effective period of any Executive order declaring the Service to be a military service and prescribing that the commissioned corps shall be subject to the Articles of War or to the Articles for the Government of the Navy, disciplinary action may be initiated, prosecuted, and completed either in accordance with the provisions of such order or in accordance with the provisions of this subpart.

§ 21.262 Orders of superior officers. Officers are required to observe and promptly to obey the lawful orders of the Surgeon General and all other official superiors. Such orders may be written or oral, but all countermanding orders shall be in writing unless the original order was oral and is countermanded by the officer who issued it.

§ 21.263 Officer in charge; designation. The officer in charge of a station shall have authority over all officers serving with him and shall enforce Service regulations and issue and enforce such lawful orders as he may deem necessary for proper administration of the station. As used in this subpart, "officer in charge" means the officer so assigned by the Surgeon General.

§ 21.264 Officer in temporary charge; designation. An officer in charge shall designate an officer assigned to his station to act as the officer in temporary charge in the event of his absence, disability, or death. Such designation may be made without regard to rank or professional category.

§ 21.265 Officer in temporary charge; authority. An officer in temporary charge shall make no substantial changes in the regular routine of the station unless such changes are found to be necessary from conditions of emergency or changed circumstances. Any order making such change together with the reasons therefor shall be entered in the files of the station over the signature of the officer in temporary charge.

§ 21.266 Official correspondence. All official communications written by officers relative to matters of official business shall be forwarded through the officer in charge.

§ 21.267 Furnishing information. No officer shall publish or furnish for publication any official reports of current statistics of the operations of the Service or any information concerning the Service without authority from the Surgeon General; nor shall an officer publish or offer for publication any article dealing with professional subjects or the policy of the Service unless the article shall have been submitted to and approved by the Surgeon General or his designated representative. No reports or information concerning the Service shall be volunteered to the press without the consent of the officer in charge, to whom representatives of the press shall be referred when requesting information.

§ 21.268 Letters of recommendation. No officer shall give any letter of recommendation with respect to any article of manufacture or on behalf of any firm or corporation.

§ 21.269 Outside employment. No officer on active duty shall render any professional services for remuneration except with written approval of the Surgeon General.

§ 21.270 Reporting when detailed. An officer detailed for duty to another agency of the Government shall report by letter, telegram, or in person to the head of such agency or to the chief officer of the particular service to which detailed.

§ 21.271 Misconduct. The following actions or conduct shall constitute grounds for disciplinary action pursuant to this subpart:

(a) Wilful disobedience of the lawful orders of a superior officer.

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(1) Conviction of a felony or an offense involving moral turpitude.

(j) Wilful submission of false information in application for appointment or in any proceeding of the Service.

(k) Abusive treatment of subordinate officers or employees, of patients or beneficiaries of the Service, or of members of the public in their dealings with the Service.

(1) Absence without leave.

(m) Violation of any regulation prescribed for the government of the Service.

§ 21.272 Summary punishment—(a) Officer in charge. The officer in charge may impose upon an officer subject to his authority the following punishment for misconduct during any period when the latter was so subject: (1) Private reprimand; and (2) suspension of privileges pending immediate report of such misconduct to and instructions from the Surgeon General.

(b) The Surgeon General. After a determination by the Surgeon General that an officer has been absent without leave, he shall deduct from the annual leave accumulated by such officer two days for each day or fraction thereof of absence. If an officer is absent without leave for 30 or more days during a calendar year, the Surgeon General may recommend to the Administrator that the commission of such officer be terminated and if the Administrator approves such recommendation, the commission of such officer shall be terminated. If the Surgeon General so determines, he may refer any case of absence without leave to a board of investigation for investigation and recommendations in accordance with the provisions of this subpart.

(c) Recording of action taken. Any action taken pursuant to this section

shall be entered on the service record of the officer. Such entry shall include the date and nature of the offense and the action taken.

§ 21.273 Leave of absence during pendency of charges. An officer authorized to grant leave of absence shall not grant leave to an officer against whom charges are pending, but requests for leave at that time shall be referred to the Surgeon General for action.

§ 21.274 Grievances. If any officer shall consider himself agrieved by another officer and shall fail to secure an adjustment of the matter to his satisfaction, he may report such fact in writing through the officer in charge to the Surgeon General.

Boards of Investigation

§ 21.281 Order to appear before board; time limitations. When an officer is charged by his superior officer, or by any responsible person or persons, with conduct constituting a ground for disciplinary action under this subpart, he may be ordered to appear before a board of investigation, but no officer shall be so ordered to appear or punished for any offense connected with the Service committed more than one year before the issuance of such order. Any period during which an officer is outside the continental United States or in Alaska or any period during which discovery of the offense was prevented by the giving of false information by or in behalf of an officer shall not be counted as part of such one-year limitation.

§ 21.282 Convocation. A board of investigation may be convoked by order of the Administrator or the Surgeon General. Such order shall indicate the time and place of assembly.

§ 21.283 Composition. The board of investigation shall consist wholly of commissioned officers of the Service and of not less than three members, who shall be appointed by the Administrator upon recommendation of the Surgeon General. The members of the board shall, if practicable, be equal or senior in rank to the accused officer and shall, if practicable, include at least one officer of the same profession as the accused officer.

§ 21.284 Punishment. The board shall hear the case and make a report of its findings. If the accused officer is found guilty, the board shall make rec

ommendations as to punishment which shall be limited to the following:

(a) Dismissal from the Service.

(b) Reduction of grade, with a specific recommendation with regard to promotion credit and seniority in the grade to which reduced.

(c) Loss of seniority with a specific recommendation with regard to promotion credit.

(d) Official reprimand by circular letter.

(e) Official reprimand by the Surgeon General.

(f) Any combination of the punishments prescribed in the preceding subdivisions (b), (c), (d) and (e).

In

§ 21.285 Service representative. connection with any proceeding before a board of investigation, the Surgeon General shall detail an officer of the Service, not liable to be summoned as a witness, to prepare a statement of the charges and specifications against the accused officer and to act in the interest of the Government as Service representative before the board. The Service representative shall not be a member, and shall be independent of the control, of the board. The Service representative shall investigate all the circumstances of the case. All persons connected with the Service shall furnish the Service representative with such information within their knowledge as he may request. He shall have the right to be furnished with such instructions and papers or copies thereof as may be necessary for his guidance.

§ 21.286 Notice of charges; right to counsel. When charges are preferred against an officer for the investigation of which a board of investigation is ordered, the officer shall be furnished a copy of such charges and the specifications thereof and shall be notified that he may, if desired, have counsel to aid in his defense.

§ 21.287 Presiding officer. The senior officer of the board shall be the presiding officer. He shall (a) preserve order, (b) decide upon matters relating to the routine of business, (c) request the presence of witnesses, (d) administer oaths as required, and (e) adjourn the board from day to day. He shall be authorized at any time to order the exclusion from the room of any person other than the members of the board, the re

corder, the stenographer, the accused and his counsel, and the Service representative, and to order a closed session limited to members of the board for the purpose of deliberation upon objections to questions and evidence and upon the validity of challenges and pleas, and of formulating its findings and recommendations. Should any member of the board object to a decision of the presiding officer, the question shall be submitted to and decided by a majority vote of the board.

§ 21.288 Recorder. The junior officer of the board shall be recorder. Under the direction and control of the board it shall be his duty (a) to record the proceedings, (b) to append original documents (or authenticated copies thereof) to the record, (c) to have custody of the record and all documents submitted to the board, (d) to assist the board in systematizing the information it may receive, (e) to render the board such assistance as will enable it to present the facts to the convoking authority, (f) to read the charges and specifications when the accused is arraigned, (g) if practicable, to read the record of the proceedings of the preceding session at the opening of each session, (h) as may be directed by the presiding officer, to prepare and send out requests to witnesses to appear and testify, and (i) in conjunction with the presiding officer, to authenticate the proceedings by his signature.

§ 21.289 Stenographer. Stenographic assistants shall be employed to record the testimony.

§ 21.290 The record. Except as otherwise provided, the entire proceedings of the board shall be fully set forth in the record, which shall be signed by the presiding officer and the recorder. Such record shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed except for the purposes of the proceedings, but the accused and his counsel shall be permitted access to the record for the purpose of preparing the defense of the accused in such proceedings.

§ 21.291 Oath of board members. When the board assembles, the recorder shall read the order convoking it. Such order shall be read in the presence of the Service representative, the stenographer, the accused officer, and his counsel. The recorder shall then administer the following oath to each member of the board: "I do solemnly swear (or

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