Without question, all of the assets that you've described have proven invaluable in saving lives and helping to accomplish the mission itself, but always in concert with the fundamental skills that exist within the Canadian army, the skills acquired conducting a range of peace-building missions that look a great deal like Afghanistan in the decade prior to the deployment to Kandahar.
From what I've been able to observe, the increased capacity to see into all places in Kandahar province.... I've been in the room when a UAV has saved a life and contributed to terminating a life that would in turn create an operational effect that contributes to victory—and for a comparatively small amount of money, which is I suppose one of the striking pieces about this.
In many respects, the answer is obvious to many: these new kinds of assets are some of the very ones I was referring to earlier—they are new to Afghanistan but are not specifically useful only there, and they are the capabilities and assets that we want to retain for whatever comes next.
It's also revealed a great deal about the value of one particular branch of the army that I think had been one of those ones that, in our referring to the issue of balance, had fallen into the dark corners of the Canadian Forces, and that is the artillery. The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery, both regular and reserve, provides the kind of training that can produce soldiers qualified to handle this sort of equipment, partly because the motto of the Royal Canadian Artillery is “Ubique”; they are everywhere. They are trained to control the battle space in all its dimensions and in every aspect, from one corner to the other, and to be able to see into all dimensions and all aspects of it. They provide timely information to commanders that will enable them to make informed decisions about how they should apply fire, how they should manoeuvre, or how they should conduct a negotiation with a key leader.
Therefore, the people—and I come back to my opening remarks—who man the UAVs and the ISR capability are largely gunners. It has raised new questions about the importance of maintaining the artillery profession of the Canadian army still at the forefront of the army of the future.