Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to the witnesses for being here this morning.
I would like to talk about the raison d'être of the reserves. As a civilian, I remember being surprised to learn that reserve soldiers serve on the front line. I guess I had the idea, not knowing any better, that they were in the background. After learning that they're on the front lines and in deployments, particularly internationally, it's even more of a concern to me when I read they are not always trained properly or have the proper equipment. I am concerned about the personal risk to our reserve soldiers when they are serving.
I'd like you to talk a little about the raison d'être for reserve soldiers. Will it always be the case that we rely on reserve soldiers for our front lines, or is this something that has just historically evolved?