Mr. Chairman, honourable members, good afternoon.
I'm pleased to be here today with two of the commanding officers from Operation Athena, rotation 2--Colonel Omer Lavoie and Lieutenant-Colonel Simon Hetherington--to assist in your investigation into health services provided to CF personnel, with an emphasis on PTSD.
I had the honour and privilege to command Canada's military commitment in Afghanistan from November 1, 2006, until August 2007. I arrived in theatre halfway through rotation 2, shortly after the conclusion of Operation Medusa, an operation with which I know you are all very familiar. I stayed throughout the remainder of rotation 2 and all of rotation 3. This tour of nine months set the standard for future rotations of the joint task force headquarters. As you're likely aware, the units of the task force, such as the battle group, provincial reconstruction team, and the national support element, deploy for only six months.
During my time in theatre some soldiers under my command suffered physical injuries, others suffered mental injuries, and others paid the ultimate price, giving their lives for the mission and their country. Regardless of the injury sustained, I believe that each and every soldier received the best care possible. The medical services at every level, from forward operating bases through to the to the role 3 multinational medical unit at Kandahar Airfield, were focused on meeting the needs of soldiers operating in a combat environment.
Soldiers from all the units faced the prospect of physical injury. Whether it was an infantry soldier in close combat, a logistics soldier being ambushed in a resupply convoy, or a CIMIC operator interacting with Afghans, the vast majority of soldiers were in situations where they could have been injured. As a result, all those soldiers were under increased levels of stress during their deployment. How each soldier handled those stresses was, in my opinion, based on the training they received prior to deployment, the help they could expect from their buddies and the chain of command in theatre, as well as the assistance they could expect from the medical system. In hindsight, I believe we were successful in providing the support required by soldiers in this very harsh and demanding environment.
On leaving theatre each soldier participated in a decompression program. For the vast majority this was in Cyprus. At every opportunity, usually at medals parades, I stressed the importance of the decompression centre to the long-term health of returning soldiers. I spoke of the fact that many would not initially see the benefits of the stop in Cyprus, but the feedback that I had personally received from soldiers on rotation 1—that is the First Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry—was that the program was extremely valuable. I have to admit that in spite of my own words, as my chalk touched down in Cyprus I felt that it was the last place I wanted to be. However, in hindsight, the decompression did serve as a valuable service to me personally.
In summary, Canadian soldiers have operated and continue to operate in an exceptionally demanding and dangerous situation and environment in Kandahar. The chain of command and the Canadian Forces Medical Group have acknowledged the challenges faced by our soldiers. I believe that we're providing the assistance that soldiers need in order to deal with their wounds, be they mental or physical.
At this point I'll turn the floor over to Colonel Lavoie and to Lieutenant-Colonel Hetherington for their opening comments.