National Defence committee  It will be our pleasure.

National Defence committee  In fact, to put the last couple of questions in context, MTBI and PTSD are some of the elements of a much broader set of mental health issues in the military. They're not negligible, but they're a small set of a broader range of mental health issues. We make a fairly large investment.

National Defence committee  Thank you for the clarification. Yes, indeed we do research on...we do that loop back and look at factors of resiliency in the military. We do surveys as to what factors contribute to more resilient members from a mental health perspective. I'll let Dr. Dursun expand a little on this.

National Defence committee  One of the things we've done is that we've set up a comprehensive program to analyze vehicle damage from IEDs, and then to analyze the casualties. It's identifying the weaknesses, if there are any, in our vehicles, to be able to better protect the vehicles and therefore prevent injuries.

National Defence committee  It's a little bit of all of that. Let me explain how we are focusing our investments here in Canada. We work with the surgeon general and the CMP, the chief of military personnel, to understand the requirements on their side. They are the providers of services and they are the ones who face the problems that our military members experience.

National Defence committee  There is a very broad set of skills and competencies. Again, we work with the Chief of the Defence Staff, the CDS, to understand the requirements in the theatre of operation. There are health issues, but of course there is a much broader set of issues in terms of operations. For example, General Beare, when he was in Afghanistan, needed support from the science and technology community to help stand up the training programs for the local forces.

National Defence committee  The chief of military personnel will be able to answer that next week.

National Defence committee  If I may, Mr. Chair, we provide the evidence base for decisions to be made by the persons responsible, in this case the surgeon general and chief of military personnel. We do not develop policy, but we provide the evidence base that is then used—

National Defence committee  Right. We are a provider of knowledge, not a provider of services, and the chief of military personnel—

National Defence committee  The DRDC has developed unique research facilities to replicate the effect of blasts at different levels. In the first days of Afghanistan, when everyone realized that the IEDs, the improvised explosive devices, were creating more damage than we were hoping they would create, we reallocated our workforce, reshaped our workforce, to focus on the problem of, number one, vehicle protection: can we improve the armour on those vehicles to reduce on the outside shell the damage created by IEDs?

National Defence committee  If I may, Mr. Chair, I'd like to reposition the role of DRDC, Defence Research and Development Canada. DRDC is a research organization. We perform research in support of the requirements of the surgeon general and chief of military personnel of DND. Our role is to provide the evidence base, not to deliver programs per se.

National Defence committee  Mr. Chair, thank you for the invitation to appear in front of the committee to contribute to this important study, the study of the care of ill and injured in the military. If you'll allow, Mr. Chair, I'll switch between French and English. As Assistant Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, I am responsible for providing timely and relevant advice on science and technology to the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces.

National Defence committee  Defence Research and Development Canada, DRDC, leverages other organizations' expertise, knowledge, and resources so that collaborations with partners create a more networked research environment. DRDC anticipates S and T and defence security challenges, and acts as the catalyst for an innovative defence and security research sector in Canada.