(opinion) Medical cuts could cause irreversible damage

https://www.militarytimes.com/opinion/commentary/2019/06/13/medical-cuts-could-cause-irreversible-damage/

Medical cuts could cause irreversible damage

By: Michael Cowan    10 hours ago

Change is a constant in the military. Military medicine has undergone numerous sea-changes over the past four decades, including the switch from a drafted force to an all-volunteer force, downsizing, the development of the TRICARE system, the implementation of TRICARE for Life, and now — more downsizing.

Through to the present, the system has handled all these challenges successfully (some smoother than others). In these past evolutions, there was sufficient time and flexibility for the system to absorb the changes without damaging its foundations. However, veterans of these exercises, myself included, are concerned the magnitude and timeline of today’s proposed changes are too great to absorb without fundamental damage to its infrastructure.

DoD’s FY 2020 budget is calling for the elimination of 18,000 medical billets, or about 20% of the force. While DoD has provided few specifics, the stated goals are to streamline the Military Health System (MHS), empower the Defense Health Agency to expand and execute its assigned mission, and move excess medical manpower resources to enhance warfighting “lethality” while improving the delivery of health care to MHS beneficiaries. These objectives seem sound and reasonable and deserve to be fully supported. The question is, will the plans — as outlined — accomplish those missions?

My college physics professor was fond of stating that a 20% change in a physical system was a threat to the system itself. The current proposal to implement a 20% reduction in forces without compensating resources represent an existential threat to military medicine.
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