I just had confirmed that the Netherlands took delivery of our Chinook choppers in 1996.
I will always remember being on the tarmac in Afghanistan in 2002 and 2008 and seeing the Chinook helicopter with a faded-out portrayal of our flag on the tail. Again, in the past we were in a situation because of short-sightedness, the same sort of short-sightedness we are trying to avoid in thinking through this purchase.
Pilots and technicians will have to be trained on this platform. Is the air force ready to undertake this, and how much effort will it entail?