Since I want to pursue a career in medicine, I've been intrigued by the position of the Surgeon General. I was wondering, what branch of the military is the Surgeon General from?
The U.S. Surgeon General is actually not a part of any specific military branch. Rather, the Surgeon General is the head of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (USPHS), which is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. This includes all six branches of the military, as well as the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps and the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.
The Surgeon General is appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the Senate for a four-year term of office. While the USPHS operates under the Department of Health and Human Services, they wear uniforms and hold ranks similar to the Navy - the Surgeon General is a vice admiral, for example. It's worth noting that the USPHS Commissioned Corps is not a branch of the military, but they can be militarized and support military operations in times of war or during a national emergency.
To pursue the position of U.S. Surgeon General, you would ideally have a robust background in public health and medicine. Most Surgeons General are physicians, but they've also often held other prominent positions in public health. The role itself largely involves providing information to the public regarding ways to improve personal and public health, as well as overseeing the operations of the USPHS Commissioned Corps.
To build up your qualifications for this position, I'd recommend building up your medical expertise, rather than focusing on the military dimension of the job. If you're looking for ways to pursue your passion for medicine while still in high school, check out this blog post from CollegeVine, which lists a range of medical internships and summer programs for high schoolers: https://blog.collegevine.com/medical-internships-for-high-school-students/
Good luck with your future endeavors in the noble field of medicine!
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