Thank you, Chair, and thanks to all of you for appearing before the committee.
Thanks to all the Canadians serving in the armed forces for the work you do here for the Canadians, as well as across the world.
I think we all wish that Canada could have evacuated more people. As mentioned, Canada evacuated 3,700 people and I want to take the opportunity to thank you for making sure that we could get those 3,700 members out. Thank you to all the National Defence people who supported the evacuation air bridge effort.
I think it's worthwhile for the committee members to understand the reality on the ground and the barriers that existed when we talk about staying longer or doing more earlier, in terms of evacuation flights.
Can you walk us through some of the challenges and the barriers that you were facing there?