Sir, thank you for the question.
The amplification of the strategic line of communication, in simplistic terms, is essentially the sustainment route that we use to maintain and support a force. So it is primarily based on materiel movement, equipment movement, and personnel movement.
Of course, there are some enabling pieces on that strategic line of communication in addition to the sustainment piece, and I can come back to that.
Specifically with respect to what a hub is, it's probably best to use an example. For instance, when this concept was put forward I was given the authority to trial the hub. The reality of doing operations essentially necessitated that we do that. So I have what I call a hub in Spangdahlem, Germany. We have good cooperation with the Americans. We're on an American air force base but very much hosted by the German government. We had an agreement in principle to operate sustainment from that base.
As an example, while the Afghan mission was running, we're all aware we had a capability in Camp Mirage, but in addition a lot of our materiel sustainment came through this hub. The importance of the hub is that while we are doing sustainment operations, it is there. Today it is about four people, and it does transshipment--relatively small, very agile, but it saves money.
The simple principle is, depending on the priority of demand--i.e., how time-sensitive things need to get to the operational area--if I can use a ship, that's cheaper. And if I can use the ship, cross-load it, and move it across to an air head and then fly it in for that last leg, that is the more effective way. So that is an example of how an existing hub is being used, as we speak.
You can also add other activities to a hub. So when you are doing a relief in place, a rotation of troops every number of months, you will end up putting a team in place to provide augmentation to that capability. And then based on the levels of activity, you will ramp up to provide additional capability or capacity. When you have a battle group rotating through for about a six-week time period, it is a pretty intensive timeline to do that.
One other aspect of the strategic line of communication is that we will also put other activities on that strategic line of communication. I mentioned rotation of troops. For instance, I mentioned the term, “third location decompression”. In the troop rotation piece we see a need to ensure that we have an opportunity for troops rotating from a high-combat, high-stress environment coming back to the normalcy of a Canadian domestic environment to have a period of days to transition and decompress. But it's really seen as part of the redeployment process. We will stand up a capability on the strategic line of communication to assist in the mental health and education piece, a little bit of relaxation, and very much a decompression intent.
Sir, I hope that answers the question.