This true by legal and practical definitions. The term military means "the armed forces of a country." The armed forces of the United States include: Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and Space Force per U.S.C. Title 10. The armed forces are also considered part of the uniformed services.
The Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service is a uniformed service, not a military one. Serving in the Commissioned Corps is considered military service per U.S.C Title 38. Thus, honorably dishcarged Corps officers are considered veterans by law and are eligibel for a DD-214.
One way to think about it is that the USPHS Commissioned Corps is not a military service (NOUN), but serving in the Commissioned Corps honorably is deemed military service (VERB).
Practically speaking, the USPHS Commissioned Corps isn't trained to shoot, move, and communicate across a battlefield (or water), so it doesn't make sense on a practical level to identify it as military. The Commissioned Corps is trained on basic uniformed service etiquette and protocols like standing at attention, saluting, rank structure, promotion ceremonies, etc. It is mostly trained on underserved and military healthcare, emergency and disaster response, and public health leadership.
So, who cares? It's helpful to understand the Corps's identity amongst all 8 uniformed services. The layperson might see a Corps officer and assume he or she is military not recognizing the USA has an a dedicated health service for its citizens. It's also important for officer morale within the Corps to clearly understand their role amongst the services.
Now for the fun part. All of this applies most of the time. Confused yet? Read this next article to find out when exactly the USPHS Commissioned Corps is considered a military service (noun, not verb).
When USPHS officers are detailed to an armed force (most commonly the Coast Guard), federal law treats them as military personnel, and they’re subject to the UCMJ. OPM also confirms veterans’ preference for that service. Essentially, during time detailed/assigned to one of the armed forces, USPHS officers are performing active military service. Here are some of the sources/citations:
Parity while on detail (42 U.S.C. § 213(a))
The statute lists qualifying circumstances, including “on detail for duty with the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard;” and then states officers “be entitled to all rights, privileges, immunities, and benefits now or hereafter provided under any law of the United States in the case of commissioned officers of the Army or their surviving beneficiaries on account of active military service"
Citation: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/213
UCMJ applies while serving with an armed force (10 U.S.C. § 802(a)(8))
“Members of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Public Health Service, and other organizations, when assigned to and serving with the armed forces.”
Veterans’ preference (OPM Vet Guide)
Under “Public Health Service,” OPM lists: “Commissioned officers performing active service: Under individual detail for duty with the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard; YES.”
Citation: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/veterans-services/vet-guide-for-hr-professionals/
That’s why a USPHS officer on an armed forces detail is treated as an active-duty military officer during that assignment.
I wasn’t sure if you ever completed the follow-up article since I don’t see it so wanted to provide these clarifications.
A couple of points on this very confusing issue. The federal code does define military service as active duty in a uniformed service with honorable discharge. The term military is synonymous with armed forces. However, all medical personnel in all branches are designated as non-combatant by the Geneva Convention a card we all carried for ID.