National Defence committee  As someone who has suffered from physical and non-physical injuries over my 33 years, I can tell you that where we're at today in the Canadian Armed Forces is manifestly different from when I joined in 1984, or where we were when I did three tours to the Balkans in the mid-nineti

National Defence committee  Sir, from my perspective on the ground, whether it's our two C-130Js that are flying or the troops themselves—the training teams in Jordan, Lebanon, Q-West—we have really good troops. They're good people, and they're great fighters and operators when they have to be, as well. How

National Defence committee  Thank you for your question. We are there under the policy of one Iraq. The Kurdish security forces, or KSF, are part of the Iraqi security forces. It is a force, as far as we are concerned. Yes, northern Iraq is safe, as long as it is largely controlled. There are no areas the

National Defence committee  There are in the order of 70,000 PMF Shia militia groups. There's a significant number of them. The ones that concern us the most number about 30,000, groups like Kataib Hezbollah and those sorts of groups that are very closely aligned with Iran. They are a very big concern. In f

National Defence committee  I would echo your comments. The Kurds led the fight, and we helped them at the time and, you know, the Barzanis and the rest of it. We enjoyed a special relationship with them over the four-plus years that we fought alongside them and advised and assisted to push ISIS back. The

National Defence committee  Today we have about 40 people in Lebanon and just under 30 in Jordan. That's today, but these numbers flex. The thing I would point out is that for all of these environments, whether it's Iraq, Jordan or Lebanon, they're never static. They're always evolving. When we think of t

National Defence committee  Thank you for the question. I'd respectfully say that's beyond my purview and operational command.

National Defence committee  Yes, sir. I can tell you our commander is going to be there until December 2020 and General Carignan is going to hand off to the Danes, I think, to Denmark, at that time.

National Defence committee  Yes, sir, we will. There will be some adjustments to what we committed to when we commanded the mission—the helicopters, the additional three helicopters in Taji and the force protection company in Baghdad. We will take a fresh look at all of our commitments in light of no longer

National Defence committee  I can't speak in excruciating detail about that. I command 20 missions and that is one small part of one mission, but when I was there a month or two ago, I sat and had lunch with our officer who is in charge of the FET element, a PPCLI lieutenant, and I walked away very impresse

National Defence committee  From my experience, I'll tell a story about diversity from where I grew up in JTF2. A diverse force in the military improves the possibility of successful mission outcomes. There's no question about that. It's not just gender diversity. There are many forms of diversity: operatio

National Defence committee  Thank you for your question. The answer is no. Even our special forces aren't doing what we call in English “accompany”. They train, advise and assist. They don't accompany. On the side of the traditional armed forces, we obviously do not carry out operations with the Iraqis

National Defence committee  That's a very broad question, and I wouldn't be able to do it complete justice. At the tactical level, there is an enterprise that exists on the ground. It's called Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve. The nations that form that coalition share intelligence. In

National Defence committee  Yes, and we have a special relationship and we share special intelligence, if you will, and that's extremely helpful. That's probably among the most valuable. I am always concerned about the level of sharing, especially with our American counterparts. I have asked General McKenz

National Defence committee  Yes, exactly. It's a whole-of-government effort ultimately and goes right to the intelligence assessment organization within the Privy Council Office. It's absolutely more than just a military thing.