Talk:Uniformed services of the United States

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[edit] Coast Guard in time of war

I'm aware that control of the Coast Guard passes to DoD in time of war, but I'm not sure if it passes to the Navy specifically. Also, which branch of government decides to transfer control of the service? Congress? The president? Both in concurrence? The way it's currently stated is ambiguous. For the time being, I'm adding the "citation needed" tag. --Impaciente 03:52, 18 November 2006 (UTC)

Besides the seven services listed, why aren't the many other uniformed services of the United States listed? For example, within the United States Department of the Interior there are uniformed members of the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In the United States Department of Agriculture there are uniformed members of the United States Forest Service (several different types of Park Rangers, for instance). Perhaps other operating units of the DOI and USDA also have uniformed members. Perhaps other U.S. Cabinet-level departments have uniformed members as well. Why are none of these uniformed services of the United States listed? Is it simply because they are not naval-ranked like the NOAA Commissioned Corps or the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps? Is it because they don't operate under military rules? (If so, shouldn't the title "Uniformed services of the United States" be qualified by some statement that indicates this limitation to the definition?) Or is there some other distinction?

Courtneymitchell 05:58, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

The definition comes direct from U.S. law, specifically Title 10 of the U.S. Code. I will update the article to state this. Isomorphic 06:34, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

Thanks, I'm new to this process and appreciate the kindness. What a remarkable phenomenon is Wikipedia! I'm still interested in the other U.S. services that use uniforms such as the U. S. Park Service Park Rangers, the United States Park Police, USDA Forest Service rangers, Game Wardens, the United States Border Patrol, etc., their corresponding pay rates and rankings. The seven military services articles were very satisfying in scope and thoroughness. I'm still looking for something comparable for the other uniformed services, some of whom have extensive military training, carry weapons and put their life on the line every day.

Also of interest is the appearance of CIA operatives in Naval uniforms within the popular culture in such movies as "The Hunt for Red October" and "Clear and Present Danger". Is this a real practice and does it come from a reason to protect them against being captured as spies in a similar manner that was given for uniforming a non-military service such as the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (in Wikipedia's ariticle Uniformed services of the United States)? Courtneymitchell 17:13, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

I don't know how you could work groups like the Forestry Service or Border Patrol into this article. This article covers the groups that are formally considered "uniformed". You could put in a sentence or two explaining that while other federal services wear uniforms, they are not considered uniformed services for the purposes of Title 10. I can't answer your question about the CIA. International law stresses wearing a uniform as part of the definition for a legal combatant. So if the CIA officer is wearing a U.S. uniform, acting as an agent of the U.S. government, would it matter that he isn't actually a military officer? I don't know. I also have no idea if the CIA would do something like that; movies rarely resemble reality. Isomorphic 07:26, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

You're confusing "military," the people that fight wars with "law enforcement" who while they wear uniforms are civilians. It always makes me cringe to see police officers saluting, they're not entitled to by law. The Coast Guard, while it operates in Peacetime as a civilian law enforcement agency by law, under wartime becomes part of the Department of Defense. Presently, there are Coast Guard units in the Iraqi Theatre of Operations. Very good explanation of the rationale behind the other two services, I also want to note the CIA really are spies so they're not covered under the Geneva Convention under any circumstances anyway.