As regards Afghanistan, I work on the basis of what is needed today and what the Commander of the Expeditionary Forces asks me to provide. So, I am providing support to him on a day-to-day basis. The people who are in theatre are carrying out an operational campaign. In order to get the equipment to them quickly, I ask the expeditionary forces to give me an accurate assessment of the ammunition, rations or any other supplies they may require to carry out their campaign for the next week, two weeks or three weeks, a month, and so on. My minimum deadline is therefore three days, which is the time needed to get the equipment over there quickly.
However, from a strategic perspective, working with the Chief of the Defence Staff, I'm looking at what is happening not only in Afghanistan, but across the globe. What's going to happen in the next two, five, ten, fifteen or twenty years? Are we equipped to deal appropriately with a possible crisis? We propose certain options to the Government to ensure that we can meet its expectations.
So, we plan on a global scale, and my role is to facilitate forces deployment across the globe. For example, if a mission is being carried out in Africa, I have to ascertain what the best way of getting in there is. Getting into a country requires a great deal of time and effort. Memoranda of understanding have to be signed with the various countries concerned, and securing the necessary clearances may take several months.
In terms of support, I have to be ahead of the ball; I have to be proactive. If there were to be a mission in Africa, in the Caribbean, in Haiti, in the Pacific region or somewhere else, how would we get in there? I determine what the best points of entry are to countries across the globe where we have to deploy our forces, either by sea or by air.