Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I would like to start by congratulating our two witnesses who were recently promoted. Vice-Admiral McFadden was named Chief of the Maritime Staff, deservingly so. This is one promotion in an already distinguished career. He is just one step away from being Chief of Defence Staff. Perhaps one day we will see a sailor become Chief of the Defence Staff. For the moment, he is Rear-Admiral of the Maritime Forces. The commodore becomes rear-admiral and director of maritime strategy at headquarters. I want to congratulate both of you on your promotions.
I would like to ask questions about the presence of troops. Since you are in the armed forces, I will not ask you how many RCMP or CSIS officers there are. However, I'd like you to give me an idea of the number of troops.
A press release from National Defence on February 25 talks about the presence of troops. Does what we see here correspond to what is in Vancouver? Among other things, from the navy, there is talk of a frigate, two coastal defence ships, two patrol ships and 19 rigid hull inflatables. Naturally reservists in the Canadian Navy Reserves took part in the exercise.
Will the military equipment that I have just mentioned be identical to what's planned for the 2010 Olympic Games?