Cuts to Military Medical Force Included in Pentagon Budget

Patients at military hospitals and clinics can expect to see far fewer uniformed doctors when they go for appointments on base under a Defense Department plan to convert thousands of uniformed health care billets to civilian positions. President Donald Trump's proposed fiscal 2020 DoD budget introduces a proposal to eliminate "roughly 15,000" uniformed health care jobs within the services, converting them to civil service positions. The effort is part of an overall modernization strategy for the military health system, Pentagon officials said March 12 while unveiling the department's $545 billion proposed base budget. The proposal must be approved by the House and Senate, a process that's likely to stretch into late this year. Read more on about the plan on Military.com.