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ARMED FORCES

The United States Armed Forces comprise five of the seven uniformed services.

Military




OTHER UNIFORMED SERVICES


Members of the NOAA Corps and Public Health Service Commissioned Corps wear Uniform s that are basically derived from the US Navy wardrobe, except that the commissioning devices, buttons, and insignia are unique. They are paid on the same scale as members of the military and wear similar insignia of rank. Both of these services consist only of Commissioned Officer s and have no enlisted ranks.

The distinction between a commissioned officer of a non-military uniformed service and a Civilian is important under the Laws Of War . Members of the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and the NOAA Corps are considered as non-combatants in accordance with the Geneva Conventions , in Category V. The U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (a predecessor to NOAA) originally began commissioning its officers so that if captured while engaged in battlefield surveying, they could not legally be tried as Spies . The PHS originally started as a Hospital Service or Mariners, and they adopted a Naval-System of orginization.


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