Daniel Hoyt was born in Paris, Ontario in 1988.  He grew up in that small town, and by the time he finished with high school he was ready to find new horizons, so he joined the Canadian Forces as a reservist in 2005.  He ended up as an artillery officer, and in that capacity it is his job to provide fire support to infantry and other soldiers in the field, acting as the “sharp end of the foreign policy stick”.  Major Hoyt has taken part in numerous deployments, including Operation Unifier in support of Ukraine.  That was followed by a deployment to Latvia – a deployment that Major Hoyt embarked upon in view of the threats faced by the friends he made in Ukraine, and the places he now saw under attack as conflict with Russia escalated.  Major Hoyt visited Crestwood in March 2025, as his year of study at the Canadian Forces College was underway.  He shared with Crestwood students the realities of military life, from his time in the field to his time in the classroom.  He also commented on the mental health stressors facing current CAF soldiers, as well as the important role of military families and supportive spouses in particular.