National Defence Committee on June 5th, 2008

[BGen G.J.P. O'Brien]

There are potentially some issues with those soldiers who are on medical pensions while continuing to serve as a reservist in a different class of service. The two pension programs, the superannuation programs, are different. But there is a rising dynamic where soldiers are retiring from the regular army and collecting their pensions while rejoining the reserve army and then serving as a reservist on full-time service. That is a rising dynamic we face in the army reserve and in the army itself today. So if there are medical pensions involved and they continue to serve, I can see there would be difficulties. But I'm not aware of any, nor do I think I could really provide any comment on that.

[Joe McGuire, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

You're not aware if this option is influencing the behaviour of the reservist one way or the other.

[BGen G.J.P. O'Brien]

No, sir.

[Joe McGuire, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

How many reservists are in the 2,500-man contingent in Afghanistan?

[BGen G.J.P. O'Brien]

Today, sir, there are 538 reservists serving with the task force, about 20%.

[Joe McGuire, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

And they're on front-line duty as well as base duty.

[BGen G.J.P. O'Brien]

Yes, sir. In fact, reservists are employed across the spectrum of our operations in Afghanistan, from the fighting echelon with the rifle companies through to the support and the command cells, including the strategic-level headquarters both in Kabul and for the coalition forces, so it's both in ISAF and the coalitions. Reservists serve everywhere.

[Joe McGuire, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

Are there many revolunteering to go back to Afghanistan?

[BGen G.J.P. O'Brien]

Absolutely, sir. There have been very few Afghan vets I've spoken to who have not said they wouldn't go back. Everyone would go back; in fact, we are now starting to have third-tour reservists going into Afghanistan.

[Joe McGuire, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

I know at least some provincial governments are ensuring that their civilian jobs are there when they get back. Is there a time limit on those jobs? What happens if somebody volunteers for two or three duties?

[BGen G.J.P. O'Brien]

I think the legislation is very complicated, and I would hate to tend to go that way in terms of this issue. I would like to describe for you the basic conditions applying to Afghanistan.

The tour lengths, including the pre-deployment training, the tour, and the reintegration leave at the end, go anywhere from 14 to 24 months, depending on the individual's availability, the job he would take in Afghanistan, and the position he has in Afghanistan as well.

The shortest opportunities are for our specialists, those in the civil-military cooperation roles. Some of our specialists will do roughly six months of pre-deployment training, followed by half a month's leave; then they do a six-month tour, and then come back for a month to a month and a half of leave. The basic shortest time is 14 months. It can be longer, depending on the job; it could be up to two years.

[Joe McGuire, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

Are you experiencing any complaints from employers with the set-up as it's unfolding?

[BGen G.J.P. O'Brien]

There have been some issues, but we have the Canadian Forces Liaison Council now fully integrated into our support paradigms for this new operationalization of the army reserve. They assist us in garnering support and representing individual reservists with their employers if there are difficulties.

The hardest hit, of course, are middle to small industries. When the sergeant reservist is going and he happens to be the shop foreman, the business takes a substantial hit. I don't think I could begin to lay out the number of issues; General Tabbernor may have an idea in terms of how many the CFLC has dealt with. Certainly the dynamic we face today--the use of more reservists and the employer dynamic--needs to be addressed a little more fully than it is today.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rick Casson]

Thank you.

We'll go over to Mr. Blaney.

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Lévis—Bellechasse, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I welcome you . This is the first time I have the chance to meet the chief of the cadets and reservists. In Lévis—Bellechasse, which is close to Valcartier and where I live, there are several air cadet corps, as well as land and navy cadets. Furthermore, the 6^th Field Artillery Regiment and the Chaudière Regiment are based in Lévis. Last week, we were celebrating the Normandy landing by holding an international event. I also had the chance to meet soldiers who took recently part in the mission in Afghanistan.

Before going any further, I'd like to mention one thing, especially for my colleagues. I've been told that the city of Edmonton has set-up a special program for reservists that will make sure they can keep their jobs and that will grant them generous conditions. If you have comments on that, I would like to hear them. I think that we should do what we can to facilitate the professional or civil life of reservists who have done several tours. I'd like to hear what you have to say about that.

Also, if you have some, I would like you to give me some data or statistics on the number of reservists that suffer from mental disorder, more specifically who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, and by category, if that's possible. If you have time left, I would like to know how long does the reservist stay on the army's paylist after he returns, when he goes back to his civil life after three or four months. What happens if an issue comes up? I would like, if that's possible, to get answers to that in the time I have.

[BGen G.J.P. O'Brien]

I'll start to answer some of them.

On your first question, in terms of employer support for reservists, this is absolutely a key aspect of what we face today. We have a national program called the Canadian Forces Liaison Council. It is a volunteer organization of rather senior influential members of Canadian society. They are supported by the military, by all of us.

They perform two functions. One is to advocate for support from employers to provide leave for reservists to take time off. The second aspect of what they do in particular is to advocate on an individual basis, if required, for a soldier with the employer.

The programs are nationwide. There are local programs instituted by the local chain of command. Some are more efficient or effective than others, but they all operate under this national umbrella. That is beginning to mesh with the various pieces of provincial legislation and federal legislation that are beginning to come into place to provide some legislative protection of reservists' employment during their time away.

In regard to the numbers of injuries and types of injuries, I cannot respond. That is more the purview of the medical core to respond to you at this point in time. Brigadier General Jaeger could provide that information.

Your last question, sir...?

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Lévis—Bellechasse, QC]

When a reservist returns to this country, how long after the mission does he go back to civilian life, and when problems occur, what happens?

[BGen G.J.P. O'Brien]

When he returns, he's entitled to some paid leave, so he's still inside the system for up to 60 days.

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Lévis—Bellechasse, QC]

Two months.

[BGen G.J.P. O'Brien]

He is still part of his unit, so he has an obligation to be a part of and parade with that unit on a regular basis, at least once a month, but more often once a week. So he is actively reintegrated into his military community right away.

Upon his return, he has to spend those three half days with his unit in terms of reintegration and processing, so that keeps the contact firm there, and then the requirements for his medical follow-ups post-leave are also monitored by that unit.

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Lévis—Bellechasse, QC]

And then he goes back to civilian life. Then when there is something, does he go to see a civilian physician or a military...?

[BGen G.J.P. O'Brien]

He would report that through the military chain of command. He'd be looked at by one of the casualty care centres and sent to a medical facility sponsored by DND.

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Lévis—Bellechasse, QC]

So then he's taken back in charge by the military in terms of services.

[BGen G.J.P. O'Brien]

Yes, sir.

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Lévis—Bellechasse, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.