OPINION: The 6,000 officers keeping America safe behind the scenes need a proven medical leader

Most folks wonder why the U.S. surgeon general wears a uniform. Until 2021, I did too. Then I interviewed the last five surgeons general for a project about the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. With the current nomination of the new surgeon general on the table, it’s crucial to understand the SG role in public health for us and our families.

But first, don’t confuse “public health” with “health care." The former affects the latter. As former surgeon general under President Trump, Vice Admiral Jerome Adams, M.D., explained to me; while health care is pulling someone from the river after they fall in, public health is making sure they don’t fall in in the first place. This is why public health is so important. Dr. Boris Lushniak, acting surgeon general under President Barack Obama, passionately says, “I'm spending money on ‘sick care’ in this country, we should call it that. ... And nowadays it amounts to something like $3.2 trillion a year for ‘sick care.' Comes to, if you do the math, $12,000 a person in the nation ... even the skeptics will say ... 50 to 75% is for preventable diseases.”

I’ve spent over two decades producing documentaries about public health issues. I’ve traveled to every continent in the world and worked in many developing countries. My PBS documentary, “Invisible Corps,” was an incredible symbol of what America is — we care for the health of our people and we want to help the world.

Remember the Ebola crisis? As health care workers from around the world were leaving Liberia fearful of Ebola, which was up to 70% fatal, Lushniak, as acting surgeon general, sent his team of Commissioned Corps officers to Monrovia, Liberia, to treat patients and stop the spread. Now dean of the School of Public Health at the University of Maryland, he remembers, “In our history, the most dangerous deployment we've ever been on. Going out into the field, taking care of patients for an incurable disease.” We must have a surgeon general who not only understands medicine, but understands the complete role of the office.

Prevention. Under the leadership of the SG, the Commissioned Corps has been doing that work for 200 years. And here’s the rub. If they are successful, no one ever hears about them. No one complains when they don’t get sick. We drink water without worry. We assume food in the grocery store is safe. Believe me, that is not the case in many countries.

My parents stopped smoking in the 1960s, mainly because Surgeon General Luther Terry issued a national report that smoking caused cancer. In 1964, 42% of adults in the U.S. were smokers. After many public health campaigns, spearheaded by the USPHS and surgeons general, the smoking rate in 2022 was just under 12%.

Remember when COVID testing was crucial? Then-Surgeon General Adams and the former assistant secretary for health under President Donald Trump, Dr. Brett Giroir, came together to solve the problem. Giroir explains: “The Corps solved the testing problem in a weekend, establishing nationwide drive-through testing sites in days.”

We must have a surgeon general who is a medical leader, a working M.D., and we cannot cut these public health resources and expect a better outcome. No other investment is as crucial or critical to our country.

There are over 6,000 USPHS Commissioned Corps officers in 800 locations across the U.S. and around the world that need a strong, effective surgeon general. When the next wildfire or flood or terrorist attack or pandemic hits, don’t you want this kind of leadership and a service of uniformed health professionals there, on call, 24/7, 365.

Chris Schueler is an Emmy Award-winning documentary producer of over 30 national and international documentaries. He can be reached via his website at www.ChristopherProductions.org.