This manual, Department of the Army Pamphlet DA PAM 600-4 Army Medical Department Officer Professional Development and Career Management September 2018, outlines officer professional development and career management programs for each of the Army Medical Department's six corps. Although it does not prescribe a path of assignments and educational opportunities that will guarantee success, it does describe the full spectrum of developmental opportunities and programs that officers can expect throughout their careers. In addition, this pamphlet provides guidance on leader development concepts and responsibilities, information on opportunities for Army Medical Department command positions, offers detailed information on development and management of Reserve Component Army Medical Department officers, and outlines Army promotion policy including special considerations for Army Medical Department officers. This pamphlet applies to the Regular Army, the Army National Guard/Army National Guard of the United States, and the U.S. Army Reserve, unless otherwise stated. During mobilization, procedures in this publication can be modified to support policy changes as necessary. This pamphlet provides guidance to commanders, assignment officers (AOs), mentors and individual officers concerning leader development to include the duties, responsibilities, and roles of commissioned and warrant officers of the Army Medical Department (AMEDD) in support of the U.S. Army and Department of Defense (DOD). It should also be used as a general guide to plan assignments, education, and training for optimum military service by each AMEDD officer. The AMEDD is unique in terms of commissioned officer human resource management, because it and the other special branches are not formally integrated into OPMS, which provides the framework for HRC officer career management programs and policies. The AMEDD officer, like their basic branch-managed counterparts, is highly skilled and trained in his or her specialty. However, the primary difference stems from the specialized nature of modern health care, which requires developing single, highly specialized skills rather than the multiple skills identified in the "dual track" concepts of OPMS. As the Army has sought to inculcate a sense of professionalism throughout the Total Force, per Army Doctrine Publication 1, the AMEDD constitutes a diverse group of "dual professionals" who balance identification as a health care professional and as a member of the profession of arms. As an organization, the AMEDD must value the contributions and career development of health care providers as clinical subject-matter experts while ensuring core Army operational proficiency. The AMEDD must also vigilantly monitor health care professionals, as natural tensions some-times exist between the profession of arms and medicine. The mission of the AMEDD is to provide health services for the Army and, as directed, for other agencies, organizations, and the other Services. Since the Medical Department was established, in 1775, six officer corps or branches have been developed to provide the leadership and professional expertise necessary to accomplish the broad Soldier support functions implicit to the mission. Success in accomplishing the AMEDD mission lies in teamwork among all health professionals while providing optimum health care to Soldiers, their Families, and other beneficiaries. The key to the distinctive human resource management system of the AMEDD is the corps. The AMEDD is com-posed of six corps. The separate nature of the many disciplines within the six corps, comprising the total health care delivery system, dictates some diversity in approach to managing the personnel within that system. Although separate and unique, the six corps cannot effectively function apart from one another, due to the commonality created by the mission.