Overseen by the Surgeon General, the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) Commissioned Corps is a unique and specialized uniformed service of more than 6,000 highly qualified public health professionals. Driven by a commitment to public service and health equity, these officers serve in essential leadership, clinical, scientific, and operational roles across the Nation’s Federal Government. Public Health Service officers represent a wide range of professional disciplines, including physicians, nurses, pharmacists, scientists, engineers, and other public health specialists. Learn more here.
Job Opportunities for USPHS Commissioned Corps officers at CMS
Opportunities at CMS can vary greatly in the type of work being completed. The background of the officers currently working for CMS range from nurses and pharmacists to therapists and dieticians just to name a few.
If you are a current Public Health Service officer, or have an application that is professionally boarded, please note that every announcement on USAJOBS has a specific section on how an officer or candidate should apply.
If you would like to be included on future hiring workshop invitations or job announcement emails, please send a request here.
Interested in joining the USPHS Commissioned Corps?
Are you ready to make an impact? The USPHS Commissioned Corps offers rewarding career for public health professionals who have a desire to protect our nation’s health and serve those most in need. Find more information on the application requirements and process here.
Learn more from current USPHS Commissioned Corps officers at CMS:
Meet CAPT Todd Alspach
"After more than two decades in uniform, and nearly a quarter century answering the call of public health, I have reached a conclusion that once felt so distant that it seemed inconceivable: “it is time to hang up the uniform.”
Let me take a step back to recap my journey: I was living in Arlington, TX in 2002 and had never heard of the U..S Public Health Service until I came in contact with a former co-worker’s next door neighbor’s cousin, who enlightened me to this career possibility. Five months later, I was commissioned and off to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in Connecticut. Over the course of my career, I have served in the Bureau of Prisons, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and CMS, before returning to the FDA and then ultimately finishing my career at CMS, which I consider my professional home. Along the way, I had the privilege of serving as the Health Services Professional Advisory Committee Chair, Team Commander of Regional Incident Support Team 8, Agency Awards Board Chair, All Category Lead for Category Day at the Commissioned Officers Foundation Symposia, and as a Voting Member of the Medical Laboratory Scientist Professional Advisory Group. At various points I was involved with the U.S. Public Health Service, Ensemble, Rapid Deployment Forces 3, local Commissioned Officer Association branches and other affiliations.
It takes a village to make a career, and I am blessed to have met and worked with many phenomenal officers along the way. I am equally grateful for the unconditional support of my wife and kids, whom I can’t thank enough. At times it feels like it’s truly more than I deserve.
I have spent the vast majority of my career taking pride in mentoring my fellow officers and taking on new roles across an array of diverse programs. From laboratory benches and regulatory inspections to leadership roles overseeing national programs and serving in liaison capacities, I enjoyed the upward progression to CAPT and nontraditional path my career took. Whether advancing laboratory quality standards, overseeing multimillion-dollar Medicaid systems, leading strike teams during COVID-19, or directing a PHS chartered group, I found fulfillment in helping others and the sustained impact over a career transcending multiple positions and agencies.
Now I realize I have to reinvent myself one last time and transition from the uniformed to the civilian world. It is time to decide how to use the time still given to me. That may include a return to CMS, going back to my laboratory roots, or something off the beaten path. Whatever comes next, I’ve learned you can’t always look straight ahead to see what’s in front of you. The one thing I am certain about is I will definitely find more time to hike, bike, and ski here in the Colorado mountains.
With all this said, to the officers still serving, drawing inspiration from my hikes on Colorado’s 14’ers, I encourage all of you to continue to climb fearlessly. The continuation of the PHS mission demands your strength. But also remember: your career is a chapter, not the whole story. Success measured only in rank or recognition is incomplete. Your true measure lies in integrity, in service, and in the people who stand stronger because of your leadership. Don’t just try to make a point or a mark but instead make a difference.
I am profoundly grateful for the privilege of serving in the USPHS. When I leave the uniform on September 1, I will do so confident in the officers who follow and thankful the bar was set at just the right height for me to clear it."
Todd Alspach CAPT, United States Public Health Service
Deputy Director, CMS, Center for Program Integrity (CPI)
Division of Quality and Compliance
