Responding on behalf of the department, and also to bring in my colleagues from Foreign Affairs, it's important to point out that this training mission in particular has been developed in very close collaboration with our friends at Foreign Affairs. Since last August we've been working together to build this mission collectively so that the equipment they would provide would come with Canadian military trainers. There has been very tight coordination throughout all of that.
In terms of your specific question on our expertise, Canada, and the Canadian armed forces in particular, has decades of experience providing training assistance. I must point to the military training and cooperation program, which is run under the Department of National Defence, which has been training thousands and thousands of members of various militaries closely allied, partnered, and associated with Canada over the past decades.
As one example, approximately 1,276 Ukrainian service members have received training under this program alone. Ukraine became a member of the MTCP, the military training and cooperation program, back in 1993 shortly after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. It has a very extensive 22-year history with Ukraine just as one example.
Another example I would point to is the two plus years' experience we had in Afghanistan under Operation Attention. Canada, the Canadian armed forces in particular, was in a very difficult position, training in a country still at war and training individuals who were largely illiterate and innumerate. We managed to do a unique job of training kandak after kandak, battalion after battalion, of Afghan security forces. We have a long and trusted history of that.
Next I would point out that Canada obviously has a long history with NATO. As a founding member of NATO, we clearly understand NATO principles, NATO procedures, and NATO's way of doing business. We are able to work with our allies very effectively. We are complementary to our allies and we easily liaise with our allies. We speak each other's language, in other words. That brings great benefits to our partners in this particular venture in Ukraine since the long-term goal is to help the Ukrainians transform their military from a Soviet-style military to a western-style military. I can think of no country better suited to do that than Canada.
Thank you.