Colonel Guyette was commissioned from the United States Naval Academy in May 2004 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Aerospace Engineering. After completing The Basic School and flight school, he reported to VMFA(AW)-224 at MCAS Beaufort, SC for duty as a Hornet pilot. Deploying twice to USPACOM in 2008 and 2010, Captain Guyette served in multiple F/A-18 maintenance, operations and aviation safety leadership roles, and was selected for transition to the F-35 program in 2010. In February 2011, Captain Guyette reported to Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Marines as a Forward Air Controller (JTAC), and deployed to Helmand Province, Afghanistan as part of OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM and OPERATION EASTERN STORM. Captain Guyette embedded at the squad and platoon levels, conducting infantry combat operations in the Marjeh, Sangin and Kajaki districts.
Captain Guyette then reported to MAG-13 at MCAS Yuma in April 2012 to stand up the VMFA-121 Green Knights, the world’s first operational F-35 squadron. That December, he became the first operational pilot qualified to fly the F-35, training with VMFAT-501 at Eglin AFB, and was selected to attend the US Naval Test Pilot School in Patuxent River, Maryland in 2014, with follow-on orders to join the VX-23 F-35 Integrated Test Force. As a Salty Dog, he executed high risk Developmental Test as the lead test pilot for multiple programs in the F-35A, B and C models, ashore and at sea aboard USS AMERICA and ESSEX. Selected during this time to serve as a Service Chief Fellow at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, he continues to provide engineering support and operational perspective to multiple advanced technology DARPA projects.
Major Guyette then joined the VMFAT-501 Warlords in Beaufort, SC in 2018, training new U.S. Marine, British and Italian F-35B pilots as an Instructor Pilot and the Executive Officer. He also continued to contribute to development of the F-35 high angle of attack flight control system and teamed with the U.S. Air Force to build the first FAA-certified F-35A and F-35B Level III flight demonstration profiles.
In June 2020, Major Guyette reported to the VMFA-242 Bats in Iwakuni, Japan, serving as the Executive Officer on the team transitioning from the F/A-18D to the F-35B. In October 2021, Lieutenant Colonel Guyette flew as lead test pilot for the F-35B demonstration team aboard the Japanese Ship IZUMO, re-establishing Japanese aircraft carrier-based fighter aviation. LtCol Guyette also flew the F-35B Level III Flight Demonstration at the 2022 Singapore Air Show before returning to Yuma and Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron One (VMX-1).
At VMX-1 Lieutenant Colonel Guyette served as the Chief Operational Test Director and Chief Test Pilot for Operational Test and Evaluation of all U.S. Marine Corps Aviation and C2 platforms. During his tenure, he qualified as a UH-1Y helicopter pilot, developed tactics, techniques and procedures for Nodal Expeditionary Advance Base Operations (EABO), and led the test team tasked with operationalizing advanced warfighting capabilities in the F-35B, MV-22B, UH-1Y, AH-1Z, CH-53K and MQ-9A.
On February 1, 2024, Lieutenant Colonel Guyette assumed command of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 214 – The Black Sheep. During his command, the Black Sheep deployed twice to USPACOM, integrating with allies and partners in Australia, the Philippines, Japan, and South Korea. They also demonstrated multiple “first-of” austere EABO capabilities with the F-35B and led the first fleet operations teamed with unmanned Collaborative Combat Aircraft. He was selected for VMX-1 command while deployed with The Black Sheep.
Colonel Guyette holds an MS in Systems Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School and an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has flown over thirty-five types of military airplanes and helicopters and was named the 2018 MCAA John Glenn Marine Test Pilot of the Year, and the 2018 MCAA Michael Hough Acquisition Officer of the Year. His military awards include the Bronze Star with Combat Distinguishing Device, the Meritorious Service Medal with two gold stars, the Navy Commendation Medal with two gold stars, and the Combat Action Ribbon.