I can understand that the titular head, the Surgeon GENERAL, would wear a uniform but I see no basis for an underling like the Assistant Secretary doing so. Especially since Levine never served in the regular military. Levine’s curriculum vitae and political appointment are Levine’s only qualifications.
There’s actually a whole corps of uniformed PHS people ... like I said, it goes back to the 1790s. They’re a regular uniformed service. Have been for more than 200 years.