The Commissioned Corps Readiness Force (CCRF) is a cadre of U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) officers uniquely qualified by education and skills, who can be mobilized.

In times of extraordinary need during disaster, strife, or other public health emergencies and in response to domestic or international requests, to provide leadership and expertise by directing, enhancing, and supporting the services of the PHS and other DHHS Operational Divisions (OPDIVs), other U.S. government agencies, and/or other respondents."

The CCRF was created by the Office of the Surgeon General (OSG) in 1994 to improve the DHHS ability to respond to public health emergencies.

Operational management for the CCRF was transferred to the Office of Emergency Preparedness (OEP) in October 1997, at which time a CCRF Workgroup was established to develop a mission statement and operations plan.

Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the anthrax attacks, OEP became the Office of Emergency Response (OER) and was transferred to the fledgling Department of Homeland Security. CCRF was concurrently transferred back to OSG in March 2003. CCRF was subsequently subsumed under the new Office of Force Readiness and Deployment (OFRD) in 2004.

For more information, please download the Basic Readiness Requirements or go to the OFRD Home Page.