The Military Appropriations Act that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed on June 30, 1941 gained recognition for D.O.s in the nation's military services. However, D.O.s were still excluded from the armed forces' medical corps.

After years of continuous pressure, the profession obtained a hearing before the Armed Services Subcommittee of the U.S. Senate in the mid-1950s. The hearing eventually resulted in legislation making D.O.s eligible for military commissions.

While the U.S. Public Health Service was accepting D.O.s and giving them the equivalent of military ranks, it was not until 1966 that D.O.s were accepted as physicians and surgeons in the branches of the military.

Today, D.O.s serve in all branches of the military. Lieutenant General Ronald R. Blanck, D.O., MC is the current Surgeon General of the Army and the Commanding General of the United States Army Medical Command.  General Blanck is the highest ranking osteopathic physician in the United States armed forces.