I also appreciate your comments about putting people first in everything that you do as commander of the Canadian Armed Forces. I know when we did our defence policy review consultations, we had over 50 round tables, and we heard loud and clear that the DPR has to be people-centric, that always our troops come first, and that we support them in recruiting, training, retention, and, of course, as they transition out back into civilian life when they leave the armed forces.
I have a lot of questions and, as the country song says, we've got a long way to go and a short time to get there, so I'm going to bounce around a bit with the different questions that I have and that I want to touch on.
I'm going to go back to what Mr. Garrison said about those who are currently deployed on Operation Impact in Iraq and Kuwait. It has been brought to my attention that there are some Canadian troops who are serving with U.S. command at Camp Arifjan who aren't getting the same pay and benefits as those who are stationed at other Kuwaiti bases as part of the Royal Canadian Air Force. I did send a letter to the Minister of National Defence last week on this issue, so I just wanted to make sure that you're aware of it as well, to ensure that they are treated the same way as all the rest of our troops are who are involved in this great mission.
We had General Hood here back in April when we were looking at air defence, and he told us in April that the current life extension program for our CF-18s means that we have a plane that will be able to serve our needs until 2025. Do you agree with that statement?