Smith, Tyler

Tyler Smith was born in Calgary, Alberta, a city that had a very deep tradition for the navy, in spite of its inland location.  One of the first steps he took in order to achieve his goal of joining the military was to join the sea cadets, a program that the navy sets up in order for children to learn about the navy.  Tyler started off as a reservist, meaning part time school and part time army.  As a reservist he found an even greater love for the navy by traveling to different places and learning new things.  Early training in the navy included learning firefighting techniques at sea; then he learned how to navigate the ship. Many other onboard duties followed, as he studied and prepared to learn the steps of the command chain.  Several exciting overseas deployments were next on the horizon, including a stint in east Africa battling Somali pirates, and Operation Caribbe, fighting drug smugglers in the Caribbean and South American regions.  He has additionally deployed to the Arctic, and is presently at the Canadian Forces College in Toronto, and it’s from there that he was able to take an afternoon to visit Crestwood, speaking to students in the Politics and World Issues classes.