3 ms·
As it turns out, USPS doesn’t fall under the statutory definition of a uniformed service: “ (5) The term “uniformed services” means— (A) the armed forces; (B) t
by cbfrench 5y ago
As it turns out, USPS doesn’t fall under the statutory definition of a uniformed service: “ (5) The term “uniformed services” means—
(A) the armed forces;
(B) the commissioned corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and
(C) the commissioned corps of the Public Health Service” (10 USC §101(a)(5)).
Apparently this has to do with the fact that both NOAA and PHS commissioned officers operate according to military rules (but are not generally subject to the UCMJ), while USPS employees (even in the Postal Inspection Service) do not.
(https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniformed_services_of_the_United_States https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniformed_services_of_the_Un...)
- dragonwriter 5y ago> Apparently this has to do with the fact that both NOAA and PHS commissioned officers operate according to military rules Specifically, the NOAA Commissioned Corps has its antecedent in Army (never returned after the Civil War) and Navy commissioned officers that worked with its predecessor civilian workers until 1900. There was a couple decades with no uniformed component, but a new and separate uniformed component was created in WWI, because part of the agencies work was battlefield survey, and under the law of war non-uniformed personnel captured doing that job would not be entitled to treatment as POWs, and would likely be executed as spies. The PHS Commissioned Corps seems to have come about originally because the PHS had an ex-military leader who thought military discipline was a good idea, but it does (among other functions) supply medical officers to serve with both the Coast Guard and the NOAA Commissioned Corps, neither of which (unlike the other uniformed services) have their own, so, I guess that provides some nexus.