Thank you, Mr. Strahl.
Through the chair to the committee, I'm glad you've drawn attention to the fact that we do have a significant contingent of Canadian Forces on the ground in Afghanistan in a new location, of course, in the north. In and around the capital, Kabul, as well as around Herat and Mazar-e-Sharif are the static bases where we're taking part in military training of various sorts to help professionalize and improve the capacity of the Afghan national security forces. Those include army and police.
We are imparting the skills and the type of discipline and professionalism that our soldiers themselves exhibit. I say with great pride and confidence that our soldiers are very good at it, because of the way they have advanced through the forces themselves, the type of personal hands-on approach they take, and the respect they show. I don't say this in the context of what other countries do, nor is this meant in any way as a reflection on recent events. It's simply to say that the Canadian soldiers have a very real way to bond with the trainees they're working with, so they do it well with police, and they do it well with military personnel.
I should note the fact that we have both municipal police and RCMP taking part in the training mission as well, and we're very grateful. Supported by the whole of government, our diplomats there in the capital in particular have been extremely helpful in this training mission.
To come directly to the issue of recent events, I'm concerned. I think we have to be concerned given the volatility and these very horrific recent events that have added to the tensions. As a result, we have taken certain precautions, additional security measures. There were efforts made some time ago to improve the filter, that is, the intake, of Afghan security recruits who are coming onto these bases, not just into the Canadian training mission, but across the larger NATO training mission in Afghanistan. All of this is done to improve the security atmosphere around the trainers. It's not to say for a moment that we can ever eliminate the risk, but we want to create the atmosphere that is most conducive to training while at the same time protecting our personnel there and enabling them to do this important work.
Is it having an effect, Mr. Strahl? Absolutely. The numbers have swelled to now over 300,000 since the focus has been placed on training. Canadians brought much of their combat experience from the south, from Kandahar, to that mission. Many of the trainers would have served in the combat mission, which was extremely useful, because they had achieved in some cases language skills, greater cultural sensitivity, and understanding of the overall dynamics, if you will, and tribal aspects of the country. So the numbers have increased, but so has the capability to independently plan, operate, and execute missions around the country, protecting their borders, their sovereignty, their people, and their villages.
So this will be, in my view, one of, if not the landmark accomplishment of Canada's contribution in Afghanistan—the security abilities of the Afghan national security forces that we would have contribution to in an enormous way.