Meet Brad Barker

Addressing the Gunslinger mechanics in Afghanistan
Updating and thanking the Gunslinger aircraft mechanics on what their hard work was accomplishing during the surge in Afghanistan at Sharana Army Airfield.

I grew up on a farm & ranch and have served around the world in combat, so I know the value of hard work, adversity, a handshake, honoring your word, and teamwork. I strive to treat others based on my faith in God – not their political views. I share those values with Montanans who are ruggedly independent but also willing to help a neighbor.

I have been blessed with extremely diverse opportunities and experiences that I could never have accomplished without the support of my amazing wife, family, friends, and exceptional colleagues. Resilience, personal growth, and empathy for others comes from the challenges that we have faced together. We’ve dealt with the uncertainty of returning from each combat deployment, the loss of close comrades, a child with cancer, and multiple moves. After retiring from the Army, we were welcomed by this Montana community.

Through those opportunities, I have served for thirty years of combined leadership in the Army and private sector. I have led large Army units in multiple combat zones as an aviation officer, AH-64 Apache pilot, and Master Army Aviator in Iraq, Afghanistan, Korea, and the Balkans. During my last deployment as an aviation battalion task force commander, I led over 600 soldiers with 49 aircraft and associated ground equipment to provide aviation attack, security, logistical and medical support to over 35,000 US, Polish and Afghan soldiers and special forces across 13 provinces in Eastern Afghanistan.

After retiring from a little over 20 years in the Army in 2014, I served for two years as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) (Deputy Superintendent role) of Teton County School District in Wyoming with over 2,700 students in nine schools. I also had responsibility for all support functions to allow the superintendent to focus on teaching and learning. To resolve overcrowding, I executed a grade level reconfiguration study across the county, renovations, and developed a new 585 capacity K-5 elementary school to provide capacity for all students while preserving rural schools. After standing up the COO position and getting the new school shovel ready, I moved on to the private sector to explore opportunities as an entrepreneur.

My wife, Carla, is a veterinarian, and we have been married for over 25 years. We have grown together and have been blessed by four incredible children. Three have graduated from here – one through home schooling and two from Red Lodge High School. Our youngest will be a freshman at Red Lodge High School this coming year. My wife and I run multiple businesses and have both residential and commercial property. I have also served as a wrestling coach and as a trustee on the Red Lodge School Board for almost 5 years. I look at policy from a commonsense perspective because my wife and I work full time in business, participate in the community, and live in the real world. I have a vested interest in keeping Montana, Montana, and a place where our kids can prosper through their own hard work and raise their own families.

Academically, I have a Bachelor of Science in Mathematical Economics from the United States Military Academy at West Point, a Masters in Public Policy from Georgetown University, and a Masters in Military Studies from the United States Marine Corps University.

In the 2023 Legislature, I passed key legislation to address real issues in education, transparency, and supporting veterans. I fought to kill two bills that would have adversely affected water rights, and I supported tax cuts, a simplified tax code, and reducing restrictions on building affordable free market housing. I also introduced legislation to de-monopolize trash hauling, improve disaster recovery, study the statewide school funding model and explore the possibility of regional detention/incarceration facilities with State funding to help resolve Carbon County’s inability to detain most who break the law. I am a member of an interstate workgroup of state legislators to develop policy on artificial intelligence (AI) and an international workgroup consisting of US, German and Canadian state/provincial level legislators to develop policy for critical infrastructure security. I am also the only first term legislator serving as a committee chairman as the Chairman of the Consumer Committee.

All of these experiences have taught me the value of teamwork, listening, and humility. Achievements gained through games and hyper-partisanship are usually very short lived because the other side becomes fixed on reversing them to settle the score. That whiplash adversely impacts citizens and businesses. Thoughtful policy that can withstand the ebb and flow of political tides requires collaboration and consensus. That does not mean that we have to or will agree on everything. On the contrary vigorous, honest debate and the competition of ideas most often results in the best outcomes.