for the US Army MC are: Medical proficiency 9A—Determination is on a basis of individual merit by TSG’s Classification Board. Medical proficiency 9B -- Certification by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) in a particular specialty or subspecialty. Medical proficiency 9C -- Completion of formal subspecialty training to meet the ABMS requirement of an approved residency or fellowship in a recognized teaching center. Medical proficiency 9D -- Successful completion of the first year (internship) of an approved GME training program. Medical proficiency 9E -- Intern in an approved first year GME training program which, upon successful completion, will result in the Medical Proficiency of 9D. While an intern, the officer will be awarded the AOC specialty in which he/she is training with the medical proficiency skill identifier of 9E. Medical proficiency 9F -- Fellow in an approved fellowship GME training program. The branch skill code is appended to the MC officer’s AOC. For example, “60H9C” designates a board-eligible, but not yet board-certified, Army cardiologist. Licensures, boards, credentials, and special pays All Army MC officers are required to hold a state medical license in at least one U.S. state and to fulfill all requirements necessary for maintaining it. (No federal physician holds a “federal medical license” to practice.) Younger MC officers are typically not boarded as they have not yet taken specialty training, but as they advance in their careers, board-certification becomes a virtual necessity for promotion to the rank of lieutenant colonel and higher. The Army's Surgeon General maintains a Central Credentials Quality Assurance System (CCQAS) in which practitioner credentials files are monitored and validated at the local medical treatment facility (MTF) level. In addition to the basic pay and allowances available to all officers, a continuation pay program and a variety of bonuses and entitlements under the Officer Special Pay Program keep Army physician pay competitive with civilian practitioners and allow for voluntary physician retention in the active force. The continuation pay program is tied directly to the maintenance of a state license and a board-certification bonus encourages MC officers to maintain active board certification by taking a re-certification exam every 10 years. Specialty pays incentivize the various specialties and sub-specialties with sliding rates and a variety of contracts (generally 2, 3, or 4 years) are available after any basic educational obligation has been fulfilled. Career assignment fields U.S. Army physicians serve in one of three general career