Brad Barker is an American public servant from the state of

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

who has served as a member of the

Montana House of Representatives The Montana House of Representatives is, with the Montana Senate, one of the two houses of the Montana Legislature. Composed of 100 members, the House elects its leadership every two years. Composition of the House In the event that the parti ...

from the 58th district since 2023.

Early life and career

Barker was born in Altus, Oklahoma, raised on a farm and ranch near

Snyder, Oklahoma Snyder is a city in Kiowa County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,301 at the time of the 2020 Census. History The community of Snyder was established in Oklahoma Territory, just south of Mountain Park in 1902. The founder was ...

, and graduated from high-school in Snyder. He left Oklahoma for the

United States Military Academy at West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as commissioned officers in the United States Army. The academy was founded ...

at 17 years old and graduated in 1994. Upon graduation, he received his commission as a second lieutenant in the United States Army as an aviation officer. Brad served over 20 years in multiple command and staff assignments up through Aviation Battalion Task Force Command in Afghanistan with over 600 personnel and 49 aircraft. Over the course of his career, he served in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. In addition, he served as a military advisor to the Deputy Secretary of Defense for Military Personnel Policy at the Pentagon in 2005. Brad is a master army aviator rated in the UH-1 (Huey), OH-58 A/C (Kiowa), AH-64A (Apache) and AH-64D (Longbow) with multiple deployments to Afghanistan, Iraq, the Balkans and Korea. He also received four

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious a ...

s and three

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establi ...

s for leadership in combat. He moved to Jackson, Wyoming, after his retirement from the US Army and was selected as the chief operating officer of

Teton County School District Number 1 Teton County School District No. 1 is a public school district based in Jackson, Wyoming, United States. Geography Teton County School District No. 1 serves all of Teton County (in previous eras, this excluded the Yellowstone National Park por ...

. He served from 2014 until 2016.

Montana House of Representatives

Barker serves on the Agriculture, Taxation, Transport, and is the chairman of the Interim Legislative Consumer committees. He helped author legislation to increase literacy rates among children in 2023 and held a press conference alongside Governor

Greg Gianforte Gregory Richard Gianforte ( ; born April 17, 1961) is an American politician, businessman, and software engineer serving as the 25th governor of Montana since 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Gianforte served as the U.S. representativ ...

on the issue of education.

Electoral history

References

Republican Party members of the Montana House of Representatives People from Altus, Oklahoma 1970s births Living people 21st-century members of the Montana Legislature {{Montana-politician-stub