Sir, I could start by answering your question. First of all, I would say that I'm sure we won't have any rude or unpleasant questions, and I think we share your concerns about the quality of care our soldiers get. It's in everyone's best interest that the soldiers who serve this country do in fact get proper care while they're deployed, and more specifically when they get home.
My comments on this question would be very much based on my time as a brigade commander in Canada and as the commander of Land Force Western Area. In those cases it was exceptionally important for me that everyone had an opportunity to interface with a mental health professional when they returned from Canada.
I'm not sure if you're aware there is a program in place where between three and six months following redeployment everyone must go through--that is the aim of the program--a detailed interview with a mental health specialist.
The aim of that, in my mind, is twofold. One is it allows people to have that opportunity, after they've come home, after things have settled a bit, to be able to get some feedback from a mental health specialist. But perhaps even more important than that, because there has been in the past a stigma for people who are looking for mental health care, this in fact makes sure that every member who has deployed, regardless of rank or trade, is essentially forced to sit down with a mental health specialist.
I think in some ways that actually removes the stigma. People don't have to put up their hand any more and say “I'd like to go and speak to a psychiatrist”. In fact, we make sure that each one of those individuals does have an opportunity to go and speak to a psychiatrist. So there's no more stigma about going to the clinic. Everyone does that. What happens behind the door with that mental health specialist is clearly between the individual and that professional.