Is the Surgeon General a member of the military?
No. No more so than the Attorney General or the Postmaster General is. He or she is the head of the United States Public Health Service , which is one of the smallest of the federal uniformed services . It provides medical and dental services to underserved areas, among other things.
Cecil Adams on Why does the U.S. surgeon general wear a uniform? The U.S. Surgeon General is not a military officer. The Army, Navy, and Air Force each has a Surgeon General, and these are military officers, but they’re not nearly so famous as the U.S. Surgeon General.
friedo
March 15, 2003, 6:12am
5
I thought there isn’t any Postmaster General these days.
friedo writes: “I thought there isn’t any Postmaster General these days.”
The Postmaster General was considered a member of the Cabinet until President Nixon reorganized the United States Postal Service.
There is still a Postmaster General : the incumbent is John E. Potter.
friedo , you are probably thinking of the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970 , which transformed the Post Office Department from a Cabinet-level executive department into the United States Postal Service , “a self-supporting postal corporation wholly owned by the federal government,” as a result of which the Postmaster General left the Cabinet:
The Post Office Department was transformed into the United States Postal Service, an independent establishment of the executive branch of the Government of the United States. The mission of the Postal Service remained the same, as stated in Title 39 of the U.S. Code: “The Postal Service shall have as its basic function the obligation to provide postal services to bind the Nation together through the personal, educational, literary, and business correspondence of the people. It shall provide prompt, reliable, and efficient services to patrons in all areas and shall render postal services to all communities.”
The new Postal Service officially began operations on July 1, 1971. At that time, the Postmaster General left the Cabinet, and the Postal Service received:
Operational authority vested in a Board of Governors and Postal Service executive management, rather than in Congress.
Authority to issue public bonds to finance postal buildings and mechanization.
Direct collective bargaining between representatives of management and the unions.
A new rate-setting procedure, built around an independent Postal Rate Commission.
Title 39, the Postal Reorganization Act, also vested direction of the powers of the Postal Service in an 11-member Board of Governors. Nine members (the Governors) are appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. They serve staggered nine-year terms, and no more than five Governors may belong to the same political party. Governors are chosen to represent the public interest generally, may not represent specific interests using the Postal Service, and may be removed only for cause.
The nine Governors appoint the Postmaster General, who is the chief executive officer of the Postal Service and who serves at their discretion, and these 10 people select the Deputy Postmaster General. All are voting members of the Board of Governors, which directs the exercise of the powers of the Postal Service, reviews its practices and policies, and directs and controls its expenditures. The nine Governors alone approve rates and classification changes following a recommendation by the Postal Rate Commission. The entire, 11 member Board determines when rates and classification changes become effective. The Postmaster General appoints all officers of the Postal Service.