Antoine Labranche is from Dunham, Quebec, in the Eastern Townships.  He is in the Canadian Air Force, and is a currently serving member of the CAF, which he joined in 2006.  After going through the various levels of pilot and survival training, Major Labranche was sent on his first deployment as part of Operation Impact, which saw him journey to Erbil, Iraq in 2017-18.  It was at a time when ISIS/Daesh was still active and threatening the region’s stability; fighting that non-state actor presented many challenges, including the particular risk of being taken hostage.  Less than a year later, Major Labranche was deployed to Mail, to take part in Operation Presence.  Conflict had broken out in Africa’s Sahel region, and Canadians and their UN allies worked to create and maintain stability in that region too, one that required significant use of Canada’s helicopters.  Major Labranche witnessed firsthand the dangers and difficulties inherent in United Nations peacekeeping operations in the mission to Mali.  He has also deployed to Belgium as part of Canada’s NATO commitment, and he has been in Canada’s Far North multiple times, where he worked with the Arctic Rangers and kept Canada’s Arctic bases supplied.  Major Labranche attended the Canadian Forces College in Toronto in 2024-2025 and in April of 2025 he visited Mr. Scott’s Sociology class.