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U.S. Public Health Service Official Clarifies Stance On Uniforms

Service members model the Modified Service Dress Blue Sweater. The Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service requires that members wear either the sweater or a windbreaker.
Commissioned Corps of The U.S. Public Health Service
Service members model the Modified Service Dress Blue Sweater. The Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service requires that members wear either the sweater or a windbreaker.

We got an e-mail this morning from Lt. Cmdr. Kyle Lyons of the U.S. Public Health Service, asking that we straighten out a mess we created with our post on sweaters and windbreakers Monday.

Lyons says we missed his intention: The newsletter item we picked up on was only aimed at reminding Commissioned Corps officers that they shouldn't be seen in public wearing shirt sleeves. It wasn't, he said, a directive to always don a sweater or windbreaker in 100-degree heat.

And Lyons also stressed that Corps officers have another alternative: the Service Dress Jacket. For a detailed guide on the uniforms of the Public Health Service, check this out.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Joe Neel is NPR's deputy senior supervising editor and a correspondent on the Science Desk.