The training for Afghanistan has been centred and focused on leadership of the Canadian Forces, from General Hillier all the way down to the lowest-ranking folks. We have tried our very best to prepare the soldiers for Afghanistan in several ways. We had a fair amount of experience operating in Kabul, so it was easy to teach the soldiers about the local conditions.
One of the new initiatives we brought into the army was the creation of the Canadian Manoeuvre Training Centre in Alberta. All troops that are destined for Afghanistan go through that centre, so we're able to practise many of the skill sets they will need in Afghanistan.
I'd like to reassure the committee that it's not just combat they're practising; they're also practising interacting with locals and conducting shuras and PRT activities. We've put a lot of effort into that, and each and every soldier is trained to the best standard we can.
As I told the soldiers from 2 Brigade who were deploying, “I can only give you about 60% of the training you need. You have to get in the theatre and see it yourself. We want you to learn and adapt when you get there.” One of the last messages I left with them was, “Please learn each and every day from everything you see and adjust as you go along.”
I'm immensely confident in the training system we have put together for our soldiers going to Afghanistan.