Major Bruce “Pux” Barnes is an Affiliate Instructor with the School of International and Area Studies, University of Oklahoma.  He earned an M.A. in History / War Studies in 2007 from The Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston, Ontario, and a Specialized Honours B.A. in History from Glendon College, York University, Toronto, Ontario, in 1989.  He is also a graduate of the United States Air Force Command and Staff College, Maxwell Air Force Base, 2008.  Current areas of academic interest include westward expansion in North America during the 19th Century and Canada-United States relations during the early Cold War.

A senior officer in the Canadian Air Force, Major Barnes is a Command and Control Doctrine Analyst with the Canadian Forces Aerospace Warfare Centre, located at 8 Wing, Trenton, Ontario.  From 2005 – 2009, he was on an exchange tour with the United States Air Force, posted to Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City.  An Evaluator/Instructor Mission Crew Commander at the 552nd Air Control Wing, Major Barnes commanded combat crews on the E-3 Sentry aircraft, commonly known as the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS).

Major Barnes joined the Air Cadets in 1979, graduating to the Air Force Reserves in 1985 and transferred to the Regular Air Force in 1989.  After more than 30 years in uniform, he has accumulated over 3000 flying hours in various aircraft including gliders, propeller / jet trainers, and the AWACS, in operations over five continents.  Military life has seen him live in three counties, performed military duties in 22 counties and experienced extremes in temperature from -54C to +51C (-62F to 124F).

Major Barnes has been posted to a number of places around the world, including Geilenkirchen, Germany (1997-2001) where he flew on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) AWACS.  This tour included over 200 United Nations (UN) and NATO peace support missions over the Former Yugoslavia and 25 combat missions over Kosovo during Operation Allied Force (1999).  During 2007 – 2008, Major Barnes deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan with the US Air Force, where he flew 30 combat missions supporting NATO and Coalition stability operations for Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.

During his tour of duty at the Canadian North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) HQ in Winnipeg, Manitoba, (2001-2005) he was on duty in the Air Operations Centre on 11 September, 2001 during the terrorist attacks on the United States.

Happily married for almost 20 years, Major Barnes lives in Southern Ontario with his talented wife, Anna-Lisa, and his two very smart girls, Moira and Chlöe.