Lieutenant-Colonel Guillaume Paquet

Commanding Officer – 431 Air Demonstration Squadron

Lieutenant-Colonel (LCol) Guillaume Paquet was born and raised in Saint-Quentin, New Brunswick, and joined the Canadian Armed Forces in March 2004.

In 2006, LCol Paquet began his pilot training at 2 Canadian Forces Flight Training School (2 CFFTS) in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, where he flew the CT-156 Harvard II aircraft. The following year, he earned his pilot wings on the CT-155 Hawk Jet Aircraft and was posted to Cold Lake, Alberta, to complete the Fighter Lead-In Training at 419 Squadron (Sqn).

In 2009, LCol Paquet returned to 2 CFFTS and became a Qualified Flight Instructor where he obtained an A Category instructor qualification and performed the duties of standards and training officer. In 2012, he was selected to join the Snowbirds where he flew the 8 Jet as a solo pilot.

LCol Paquet was posted to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 2014 where he served as a ground school instructor at the United States Air Force Advance Instrument School. In 2016, he returned to Canada and joined the Long-Range Patrol community in Greenwood, Nova Scotia. In 2018, after completing his flight training on the CP-140 aircraft, he was posted to 405 Squadron where he served as the Squadron Operations Officer, as well as the Aircrew Flight Commander. In 2023, LCol Paquet was posted to 404 Long Range Patrol and Training Sqn as the Aircrew Flight Commander.

LCol Paquet was promoted to his current rank in July 2023 and posted to the Canadian Joint Operations Command in the Directorate of Joint Capability Development under the responsibility of the Director General Readiness.

During his career, LCol Paquet deployed to several locations in support of anti-submarine warfare missions to include Iceland, Norway, Scotland, and Italy. In 2018 and 2019, he deployed to El Salvador in support of Operation CARIBBE, Canada's contribution to the U.S.-led enhanced counter-narcotic operations in the Caribbean Sea and the Eastern Pacific. In 2020, he deployed to Japan in support of Operation NEON, Canada’s contribution to support the execution of United Nations Security Council sanctions imposed against North Korea. In 2023-2024, he returned to Japan in support of Operation NEON as the Canadian Liaison Officer and Operations Officer working with the United States Navy alongside eight other nations, to include: the United States, France, Germany, South Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.

Throughout his career, Lieutenant-Colonel Paquet accumulated over 5000 flying hours in diverse types of military and civilian aircrafts. He is a graduate of the Canadian Forces College Joint Command and Staff Program and has a Master’s of Defence Studies from the Royal Military College of Canada.

LCol Paquet, along with his very patient and supportive wife Linn, and his daughter Sofia, are excited to be back in Moose Jaw to reunite, once again, with the Snowbirds family for a few more years.