Medical facilities, where the promise was to be kept, were closed.

In the late 1980s, Congress and the Department of Defense started the process of closing military bases and medical facilities where the medical care promise was supposed to be kept. As a result the space, facilities, and the capabilities of the medical staff were substantially reduced, the Military Health Care System had to change, and TRICARE was born. As a result of downsizing efforts, 35 percent of the military hospitals that existed in the U.S. in 1987 had closed by 1997. Yet, the total number of people seeking health care through the MHSS has dropped far less — by only 9 percent. Ref: http://www.narmc.amedd.army.mil/kacc/Tricare/why_tricare.htm 58 MILITARY HOSPITALS or MEDICAL CENTERS CLOSED 17 MILITARY HOSPITALS DOWNSIZED TO CLINICS 26 STATES HAVE NO MAJOR MILITARY HOSPITALS