And by the way, once we've put the equipment into their hands and they get to try it and use it, we encourage a culture of spirited and passionate debate.
I've just returned from Afghanistan and Wainwright, and I keep in very close contact with your army, which I have the privilege to lead right now. And trust me when I say that an increasing number of soldiers have come up and made those two points very clear. They are not shy.
We have a large number of boots, and you'll forgive me if I don't mention the specific types because then whoever made them will yell at me afterwards. I would say most of the types of boots--we're talking about the tan desert boots for the soldiers--are pretty damn good, but there is one particular brand which is a pain in the foot, absolutely. It's not good, and so we're going to do all we can to replace that right away. You can follow up, at your discretion of course, but we're on top of that one.
The modular vest was designed. It was recently introduced. As a matter of fact, we're still in the process of introducing it. It was designed for circumstances that perhaps were predominant two or three years ago. An enormous amount has changed.
Accordingly, C Company of the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry has been given a chunk of cash by me to go out and try out two or three different modular systems. The single best exemplar we have of how to do it right will be the young men and women who are using this stuff in combat operations.
However, having said that--and I don't want to sound like a bureaucrat, because I ain't one--it will still probably take a year or two to try to get a better modular vest in the hands of the soldiers because of the scale and quantities that are involved. Having said this, I've heard opinion from a large number of soldiers, each of whom has a particular vest in mind. Through you, I would like to remind all members of the army that we are an army, and they will actually wear the issue kit unless we say otherwise.