Frankly one of my lost perks as a current serving member of the RAF is access to military hospitals...that's because they are all gone!!! Over 25 years I've had minor ops for sporting injuries, wisdom teeth, etc at Halton, Ely, Nocton Hall and Wroughton..all now closed. To be honest with you the I find the "atmosphere" of a modern officers' mess run by contractors has all the ambiance of a motorway Travel Lodge with food provided by an attached Happy Eater! I fondly remember those traditional messes with loyal and ancient local staff with a "no problem, sir" attitude and bars full of flying suits putting the world to rights. Now, despite the stirling efforts of some excellant mess staff, it seems it is just too difficult within the contract to do all those special things that made an RAF mess a special place. I just can't see filling the bar with WIWITRAFs dragging the Nintendo generations back to the bar. Your welcome to it if that's what you want.
The USA do it right. Full facilities for their vet's and full facilities for those still serving!!!