42 U.S.C. § 206 — Assignment of officers

(a) Deputy Surgeon General. The Surgeon General assigns one commissioned officer from the Regular Corps to run the Office of the Surgeon General, act as Surgeon General when the Surgeon General is absent, disabled, or the office is vacant, and do other duties the Surgeon General assigns. While serving this role, that officer is called the Deputy Surgeon General. (b) Assistant Surgeons General. The Surgeon General assigns eight commissioned officers from the Regular Corps to lead, respectively: the National Institutes of Health, the Bureau of State Services, the Bureau of Medical Services, the Coast Guard's medical office (as Chief Medical Officer), the Service's dental office (Chief Dental Officer), its nursing office (Chief Nurse Officer), its pharmacy office (Chief Pharmacist Officer), and its sanitary engineering office (Chief Sanitary Engineering Officer). While serving, each is called an Assistant Surgeon General. (c) Creation of temporary positions as Assistant Surgeons General. (1) With the Secretary's approval, the Surgeon General can create special temporary Assistant Surgeon General positions when needed to properly staff the Service. Officers from either the Regular Corps or the Ready Reserve Corps can be assigned to these temporary posts, and while serving they're also called Assistant Surgeon General. (2) Except as this paragraph allows, the number of these temporary positions can't, on any day, exceed 1 percent of the highest number — over the previous 90 days — of Regular Corps officers on active duty plus Ready Reserve Corps officers on active duty for more than 30 days. If that 1 percent limit is exceeded on any day, then for up to one year afterward, the number of temporary positions can only be brought back down through officers resigning, retiring, dying, or moving to a lower-grade position — not through forced removal. (d) Designation of Assistant Surgeon General with respect to absence, disability, or vacancy in offices of Surgeon General and Deputy Surgeon General. The Surgeon General names which Assistant Surgeon General will act as Surgeon General if both the Surgeon General and Deputy Surgeon General are absent, disabled, or their offices are vacant.