I. whereas President Poroshenko declared on 14 July 2014 that Russian military staff officers were fighting against Ukrainian forces alongside separatist rebels and that a new Russian missile system had been established to combat the armed forces of Ukraine;

L. whereas President Poroshenko declared on 14 July 2014 that Russian military staff officers were fighting against Ukrainian forces alongside separatist rebels and that a new Russian missile system had been established; whereas, according to NATO sources, Russia has allegedly been sending main battle tanks, artillery and other weapons to the rebels, and allowing mercenaries from Russia to cross the border to join rebel militias;

L. whereas President Poroshenko declared on 14 July 2014 that Russian military staff officers were fighting against Ukrainian forces alongside separatist rebels and that a new Russian missile system had been established; whereas, according to NATO sources, Russia has allegedly been sending main battle tanks, artillery and other weapons to the rebels, and allowing mercenaries from Russia to cross the border to join rebel militias;

Today, 90 per cent of military staff officers have post-secondary degrees; 50 per cent have graduate degrees.

(Return tabled) Question No. 953 Hon. Ralph Goodale: With regard to the Canadian Armed Forces: (a) how many active members are currently enlisted in the Canadian Forces, broken down by (i) Royal Canadian Air Force, (ii) Royal Canadian Navy, (iii) Land Forces, (iv) location of current deployment, for each of (i) through (iii); (b) what is the net change in strength of each branch since 2006; (c) how many Canadian Forces members are officers and how many are non-commissioned members; (d) of the officer ranks, how many are senior officers and how many are general staff; (e) of the active Canadian Forces members, how many are employed in ...[+++] (i) the trades of the combat arms, namely artillery, armoured, or infantry, (ii) non-combat roles; (f) of the active Canadian Forces members deployed during the combat mission in Afghanistan, how many were employed in (i) the trades of the combat arms, (ii) in a supporting or logistical role; (g) how many public servants are currently employed by the Canadian Forces, broken down by location of employment; and (h) since 2006, what is the yearly change in strength of (i) the regular force, (ii) the reserve force, (iii) civilian employees of the Department of National Defence?

One of the things we've heard is that because the staff officers haven't been in the field—and I think you are an exception to that because you've been close to some action fairly recently, so I certainly wouldn't put you in that category—there's a feeling on some of the bases we've been to that people in Ottawa are so removed from the day-to-day experiences of the soldiers in the field that that they don't have a good grasp of what's happening on the ground.