Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli has reiterated his proposal to reinstate military hospitals, stressing that Türkiye is the only NATO member having no military health care system.
“How tragic it is that Türkiye is the only country within NATO that does not have a military hospital. This situation marks an unacceptable historical deficiency in the face of the greatness and operational capability of our glorious army,” Bahçeli said in his weekly speech in parliament on June 30.
He first raised this issue in an address in October 2025 with a strong call to the government to reinstate the hospitals, closed in the aftermath of FETÖ’s coup attempt in 2016.
A total of 32 military hospitals and one rehabilitation and care center directorate in 26 provinces across Türkiye were officially brought under the control of the Health Ministry in August 2016, as part of the restructuring process within the military following the failed coup attempt.
“Reinstating military hospitals is of vital importance,” Bahçeli said, underlining that military medicine is a very specific area and that all the armies should develop one. He also described opening military hospitals as a matter of national security.
“It is impossible for civilian health systems and hospitals to fully meet these unique needs of our army, such as combat surgery and rear-guard logistics,” he said. “However, the military health care system puts forward a completely distinct response and mobilization readiness during times of war and conflict.”
