Afghanistan committee  Thanks very much, Mr. Chair. Indeed, I like the term “game-changer”. I think the investment we made 10 to 15 years ago in acquiring a C-17 fleet has really contributed to our ability to be a global military. I reflect back on the mission in Mali— three years ago —where we wer

Public Accounts committee  I don't think you'd find that detail in the OAG report, but specifically in the MAP.

Public Accounts committee  I can tell you my plan for 10 squadron, which is the training unit for fighter pilots. Over the next two years, we're going to be running serial courses for flight training and the fighter weapons instructor course. It's really important that we continue to run the fighter weapo

Public Accounts committee  My assessment is that it's going to take us approximately five to seven years to grow the crew force. Again, a lot of the considerations are in the future. We have to stave off the attrition we're experiencing today. We're getting at that as a priority in terms of some of the ret

Public Accounts committee  There's no outsourcing costs that I could think of that would relate to the current plan.

Public Accounts committee  I manage the O and M costs that are attributed to force generation on a yearly basis, so that's reflected in the monies that get allocated to me as the commander.

Public Accounts committee  Each year, I have to make a case for the yearly flying rate for all of the fleets, and we've had support to fund that full YFR demand. That's a number that will continue to grow as we introduce more fleets.

Public Accounts committee  What we find when we interview those who choose to leave is that, at the decision point for that particular individual, it's often a family issue. We often say in the air force, “We recruit the individual, but we must retain the family.” We find that, unless there's a degree of

Public Accounts committee  Absolutely, we can provide that to you. I would make perhaps one point that I haven't had a chance to make in the context of technicians. We have in our defence policy a growth of 200 positions to support the transition to the advanced fighter. Within those 200, approximately 10

Public Accounts committee  Those numbers will be phased in to support the introduction of the advanced fighter.

Public Accounts committee  That's correct.

Public Accounts committee  Sorry, of those 200, just over 100 of those additional 200 positions will be on the technician side. Some will be other support trades and the like, so it's not—

Public Accounts committee  Yes, indeed. With the fighter renewal initiative and the contracting of second-line maintenance, we're going to be moving approximately 200 serving members forward into first line. You're going to see a significant increase in technicians on the flight line fixing aircraft. We b

Public Accounts committee  I don't have the historical data in front of me. We could certainly provide that to you. In looking forward, regarding some of the things we've done to optimize the production of technicians within the Canadian Armed Forces, specific to the fighter force I would draw your attent

Public Accounts committee  It's not a specific initiative, but you may recall the OCTP program. Certainly, we're very inclined to consider the enrolment of individuals, a small cohort perhaps, under the old OCTP officer to cadet training program, now known as CEOTP program for individuals who come into our