National Defence committee  It is close to the core, and in that way I think there's a definite asset that Canadians bring to the table when they walk in the door. I have truly seen that among very young and junior soldiers, in the way they approach people, in the way they conduct themselves in working in d

National Defence committee  We respect the diversity. We're at a stage in the army now that is truly something to be proud of, in the sense of the debates that occurred in the nineties are a thing long past. In fact, if you were to hear somebody talk in a way...we would invite them to leave, because we are

National Defence committee  Sincerely?

National Defence committee  We know that if we're going to go to the door, in any environment you pick, we're going to work with other government departments. The challenge we now have is that without the real-time operation, the same way we had in Afghanistan, everybody is extremely busy. We don't have al

National Defence committee  Absolutely. In terms of what we do, we train soldiers, which is a wonderful way of being gender neutral.

National Defence committee  I don't know. My job is that of a coach. I use this analogy out on the field, that I train what's on the bench. That which is within the context of the army, that's my focus. I train those people. The general manager and the director of player recruitment, they've got that part.

National Defence committee  I can't pull out the numbers specifically. I profess that I'm not certain. This is about--

National Defence committee  I didn't hear that. I'm sorry.

National Defence committee  They're not training for COIN in the Afghan sense of what you had assumed in Kandahar. They're training to trainers, mentors, and advisers and capacity-builders. It is a training missions, so we are preparing them with those skill sets. They're going into an environment where th

National Defence committee  Yes, it is.

National Defence committee  Yes, sir, absolutely. We do that now and, in fact, if a reservist is available for the AOC, that reservist is welcome to be loaded on the course. And we do that on a number of other fronts. We also cater to it in that way I mentioned, doing regular and reserve training to the sa

National Defence committee  Yes. As part of the healthy review process, we're going through another level of review right now to make sure that our awarding of equivalencies, if you will, is fair and based on an individual's level of service and the skill sets they bring in. That's a constant thing. There

National Defence committee  Absolutely. There is a piece of doctrine, a book called Canada's Army, that underlines the values. Without describing the entire book, it is mandatory reading for all. We use it as the cornerstone of what we expect. We expect Canadian soldiers, wherever they go, to represent that

National Defence committee  That's an excellent question. As an example, a number of years ago the Granatstein report highlighted that the officer corps didn't have degrees and needed more formal education, which would be beneficial to the officer corps. The army—the Canadian Forces—embarked on a delibera

National Defence committee  That is an hypothetical question, madam, and it is very far removed from my responsibilities. There are a lot of initiatives discussed on a daily basis. And it's important that the senior leadership of the Canadian Forces, the civilian members of the department and our politica