Uniformed services

The uniformed services are the armed forces plus the commissioned corps of NOAA and the Public Health Service, and each decides who is eligible for TRICARE.

Applies to: All TRICARE plans · All regions

One federal law, the military pay statute, defines the uniformed services as the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force, Coast Guard, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Public Health Service (37 U.S.C. 101). The “armed forces” are the same list without the last two.

TRICARE uses the term when it explains eligibility: TRICARE does not decide who qualifies. The sponsor’s uniformed service decides and reports it in DEERS. That is why a problem with your eligibility is fixed through your service’s personnel office or an ID card office, not through your TRICARE contractor.

Sources: 37 U.S.C. 101 and TRICARE’s eligibility page.