English: In this portrait Dr. Koop wears his formal uniform and sits in front of the American flag and the flag of the U.S. Public Health Service. Koop was the first U.S. Surgeon General in a generation to wear the Surgeon General's uniform, a uniform akin to that of a rear admiral of the Navy, though he is shown here as wearing the rank of vice admiral. He thought that wearing the uniform would help to restore morale and a sense of dignity to the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service, which the Surgeon General commands and which had been buffered by personnel cuts and uncertainty about its mission in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

This is a retouched picture, which means that it has been digitally altered from its original version. Modifications: Dust removed, levels adjusted, border cropped, etc..