Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you very much, General MacKay and Colonel Downes. Thank you for your service. Thank you for being here and for your important work.
I want to touch upon an issue that you addressed briefly in the written submissions, and that's our reserves.
This committee has received evidence from other witnesses on the state of our reserves. Mr. Robillard just made a comment in terms of the difficulties for people transitioning from civilian to military life. For reservists it can be even more challenging to do this repeatedly, especially for reservists who are employed in overseas combat operations. A significant percentage of folks who fought in Afghanistan were, I'm told, reservists.
Are there special considerations, special factors, for reservists with respect to mental health? What is the suicide risk? Is the transition to civilian life on an ongoing basis, on a repeated basis, a positive factor, or does it represent an additional challenge that has its own complexities?