W-1 to W-4 but does not currently use these ranks. Unlike their United States Armed Forces counterparts, Commissioned Corps officers do not require their rank appointments and promotions to be confirmed by the United States Senate, and only require approval from the president. Officers serving as assistant secretary for health and the surgeon general however, do require senatorial confirmation due to their status as senior federal officials. Rank flags Flag officers of the Commissioned Corps are authorized to use rank flags. When the Department of Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary for Health is a Commissioned Corps admiral, he or she is authorized use of the flag of the Assistant Secretary for Health as a four-star rank flag. The Commissioned Corps vice admiral serving as Surgeon General of the United States uses the flag of the Surgeon General as a three-star rank flag, while the Commissioned Corps rear admiral serving as deputy surgeon general uses the deputy surgeon general's flag as a two-star rank flag. Other Commissioned Corps rear admirals use a two-star assistant surgeon general flag, and Commissioned Corps officers at the rank of rear admiral (lower half) use a one-star assistant surgeon general flag. Officer specialty rates The members of the commissioned corps number over 6,000 officers in 11 professional categories: Dentist Dietitian Engineer Environmental health officers Health Services Basic and Applied Science Dental Hygiene Healthcare Administration Health Information Technology Medical Laboratory Science Optometry Physician Assistant Podiatry Public Health Psychology Social Work Nurse Medical Officer Pharmacist Scientist Therapist (including physical, occupational, speech, respiratory) Veterinarian The Health Services Officer (HSO) category comprises over 50 allied health specialties, including audiology, social workers, physician assistants, optometrists, statisticians, computer scientists, dental hygienists, medical records administrators, medical technologists and others. Uniforms Commissioned Corps officers wear uniforms similar to those of the United States Navy and the United States Coast Guard with special Public Health Service insignia. Their service dress blues, summer whites, and service khakis are modeled after the Navy's, and their operational dress uniform was modeled after the Coast Guard's. When attached to another uniformed service, a Commissioned Corps officer is subject to the grooming standards of that service for uniform appearance. Because of the close relationship between the Commissioned Corps and the Coast Guard, a Commissioned Corps officer is on assignment with the Coast Guard is required to wear the same service uniforms as commissioned Coast Guard officers, although still wearing