I would say a couple things, sir. First of all, I'll speak from what I hear from the men and women in uniform. This, to them—and they tell me this—is a visible, tangible sign that they'll get the tools to do the job they need to do. We have had a bonding between the air, land, and sea forces as a result of this Afghanistan mission, because they are all there in Afghanistan, as perhaps you saw, although the navy is not in as primordial a role. They have had a bonding that shows, and their appreciation for each other and for what each part—air, land and sea—brings to the Canadian Forces to give one effect for Canada, which we haven't seen in the Canadian Forces in decades, for sure....
They see the C-17 as a sign; it's the tool they need to do the job. It is coming, it is coming quickly, and it's coming because they need it. For them it is a morale issue that is huge.
Second, simply from being able to do that mission, or missions similar to it, or missions around the great expanse of Canada, the C-17, as I mentioned earlier, gives us a flexibility and an agility, particularly at the front end, when we own the aircraft.
Obviously, as you get into longer timeframes, you can perhaps rely more on leased aircraft, although there are some limitations, as I also mentioned earlier. But at the front end of any mission, such as the ice storm where I was, here in eastern Ontario, or the Red River Valley flood, where in the first several days we were trying to get large numbers of men and women and equipment into the area to help Canadians during what was the worst time in their lives, the C-17 and the strategic lift gives us a flexibility and an agility we simply do not have right now. It helps set conditions for success, and in a place like Afghanistan, whilst helping to increase the probability of success of the mission we have been asked to do, it also helps us in a very real way reduce the risk to the men and women who are involved in implementing the mission.