About the Public Health Service
His Majesty's Public Health Service is the commissioned corps of the Sivadian Department of Health. It is responsible for promoting public health on Sivad and throughout the Orion Arm and in particular the containment of communicable disease and disaster relief.
The PHS is largely reserve force comprised of health professionals including doctors, nurses, pharmactists, technicians, dentists, researchers and santiation engineers.
Although it is funded by the Sivadian government, its mandate includes providing support to other worlds in distress when invited by host governments. Consequently a large proportion of its personnel are not Sivadian citizens.
Officers in the PHS wear uniforms when called to active duty. They are not usually held to military standards of discipline, but they do obey a clear military-style chain of command and rank structure. However, they are non-combatants and are armed only when necessary for self-defence.
Reserve members of the PHS may be called up in response to public health emergencies. They also participate in regular training exercises. For reservists, service in the PHS is always voluntary.
The PHS also operates the Civil Humanitarian Spacelift Reserve. Under this program, privately-owned ships may be called into service in response to natural or epidemiological emergencies. Participation in this program is also voluntary; the owners of the spacecraft are compensated while their ships are in use. Ships called up under the CHSR are forbidden from being used in military operations.
The Public Health Service is headed by the Surgeon General, who holds a rank equivalent to a Navy Vice Admiral.
