Bob Barrett attended Syracuse University and served two tours in Vietnam with the U.S. Army, attaining the rank of major. He worked at the United States Army War College as its public affairs and communications officer and was offered the position of military aid to President Ford at the start of his administration, where he carried the "nuclear football," or nuclear codes. After his work in the White House, Barrett played a crucial role in developing the Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan; the Ford Presidential Library in Ann Arbor, Michigan; and the Betty Ford Center for drug and alcohol rehabilitation in Rancho Mirage, California.