Darcy Wood, WWC Ambassador, Greater Toronto Area (Toronto), Ontario
Like many of the Wounded Warrior Ambassadors, Darcy knew a call to service was in his future from a young age. In 1999, while attending a career fair at the University ofWestern Ontario, he came across the Royal Canadian Regiment 4th Battalion display and was instantly hooked.
He served for 4 years with the Reserve Unit 4RCR while attending school, then badged over to The Queens Own Rifles in Toronto upon his graduation. Darcy served with the Queens Own in their parachute company until his retirement from the military in 2014. While still involved, he acquired the Close Protection qualification through the Canadian Forces and subsequently deployed to Afghanistan in 2009 with the Close Protection Unit. During deployment, he was detailed as the personal bodyguard to General Vance, prior to Vances’ appointment to Chief of Defence.
Concurrent to his military service, Darcy was hired by the Toronto Police in 2005. He worked for several years in a uniform capacity before taking a year off for his Afghanistan deployment. Upon his return he worked in a divisional Major Crime office before achieving a position with the Emergency Task Force in 2014, where he continues to serve. Between his military deployment and years as a Toronto Police Officer, Darcy himself has been involved in numerous critical, high stress incidents, and sees first hand how much these incidents affect the mental health of all of those involved. Darcy recognizes the important need for tools and support for our first responders on a daily basis. He looks forward to working with Wounded Warriors Canada and bringing assistance and mental health awareness to Canada’s veterans and first responders.