National Defence committee  He is still part of his unit, so he has an obligation to be a part of and parade with that unit on a regular basis, at least once a month, but more often once a week. So he is actively reintegrated into his military community right away. Upon his return, he has to spend those three half days with his unit in terms of reintegration and processing, so that keeps the contact firm there, and then the requirements for his medical follow-ups post-leave are also monitored by that unit.

National Defence committee  When he returns, he's entitled to some paid leave, so he's still inside the system for up to 60 days.

National Defence committee  In the army, the medical files will follow the soldier. As a soldier deploys to his unit, the paperwork that comes with him will come with his medical file. It follows him throughout his tour and is returned with the soldier back to his unit. So there is care of the file from start to finish.

National Defence committee  I think the legislation is very complicated, and I would hate to tend to go that way in terms of this issue. I would like to describe for you the basic conditions applying to Afghanistan. The tour lengths, including the pre-deployment training, the tour, and the reintegration leave at the end, go anywhere from 14 to 24 months, depending on the individual's availability, the job he would take in Afghanistan, and the position he has in Afghanistan as well.

National Defence committee  There have been some issues, but we have the Canadian Forces Liaison Council now fully integrated into our support paradigms for this new operationalization of the army reserve. They assist us in garnering support and representing individual reservists with their employers if there are difficulties.

National Defence committee  I'll start to answer some of them. On your first question, in terms of employer support for reservists, this is absolutely a key aspect of what we face today. We have a national program called the Canadian Forces Liaison Council. It is a volunteer organization of rather senior influential members of Canadian society.

National Defence committee  There are potentially some issues with those soldiers who are on medical pensions while continuing to serve as a reservist in a different class of service. The two pension programs, the superannuation programs, are different. But there is a rising dynamic where soldiers are retiring from the regular army and collecting their pensions while rejoining the reserve army and then serving as a reservist on full-time service.

National Defence committee  No, sir.

National Defence committee  Today, sir, there are 538 reservists serving with the task force, about 20%.

National Defence committee  Yes, sir. In fact, reservists are employed across the spectrum of our operations in Afghanistan, from the fighting echelon with the rifle companies through to the support and the command cells, including the strategic-level headquarters both in Kabul and for the coalition forces, so it's both in ISAF and the coalitions.

National Defence committee  Absolutely, sir. There have been very few Afghan vets I've spoken to who have not said they wouldn't go back. Everyone would go back; in fact, we are now starting to have third-tour reservists going into Afghanistan.

National Defence committee  Certainly, in the army reserve the full sense of family is now involved, whether it's the regimental family or the individual family. There is a much greater inclusion in the pre-deployment and post-deployment interviews and processes that are involved. The Military Family Resource Centres are expanding quite broadly to service reserve families and reserve communities.

National Defence committee  I think the dynamic is exactly the same. I think post-traumatic stress syndrome affects every person the same way. I think the difference is the environment in which the person finds himself. A regular force member is often living within the base in his community and is much closer to the community, with large numbers of people around him who are thoroughly socialized to PTSD and will recognize those issues earlier than perhaps a reservist living in a town, working in a factory, where he's not near his fellow soldiers.

National Defence committee  It's very much as General Tabbernor has laid out. More specifically, once the reservist is coming out of theatre, he follows exactly the same decompression leave and returns with the unit he's deployed with. Once he is returned, he's required to do a mandatory three half days' reintegration time with his unit, during which he'll do an initial medical.

National Defence committee  Absolutely. It has certainly been evolving, and it is getting better every day. But there is absolutely a plan in place. Once a reservist has returned, it is the responsibility of the reservist's unit itself to make sure he is getting the proper follow-up. If a problem is identified, he is handed over to the appropriate authorities within the casualty management system.