TD Barnes

Thornton D. “TD” Barnes is a distinguished author, entrepreneur, and former military intelligence specialist whose life’s work bridges Cold War espionage, advanced aerospace development, and political commentary. Born in Dalhart, Texas, and raised on a ranch near Clayton, New Mexico, Barnes entered public service early, graduating high school in Oklahoma before enlisting in the U.S. Army. He spent a decade in uniform, specializing in intelligence operations, missile systems, and radar electronics during the height of the Soviet threat.

After his military career, Barnes became a key figure in America’s top-secret aerospace initiatives. He supported the CIA’s A-12 Project OXCART and stealth programs at Area 51, as well as NASA’s X-15 rocket plane, the NERVA nuclear rocket, and five atomic bomb tests at the Nevada Test Site. He later contributed to spaceflight programs from the civilian side, including work with Apollo-era capsule systems while stationed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

Politically, Barnes served as a delegate to the Oklahoma Republican Convention (1976) and Colorado Republican Convention (1980), gaining firsthand insight into the nation’s shifting ideological landscape. In civilian life, he led a successful oil and gas exploration company for over four decades, also venturing into uranium and gold mining.

Barnes is the longtime president of Roadrunners Internationale, an association of former CIA and Air Force personnel from Area 51, and serves as Director Emeritus of the Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame. His contributions have been recognized in documentaries on National Geographic, the History Channel, and numerous intelligence and aerospace publications.

His published works include The Secret Genesis of Area 51, CIA Station D – Area 51, and the Space: The Final Frontier series, along with multiple historical and speculative fiction titles, including The EMP Survival Series and The UFO Phenomenon.

Barnes’s most recent nonfiction includes The Woke Movement, Sanctuary Nation, The Russia Gate Conspiracy, and The Hunter Biden Laptop — part of his sweeping political series, The Potomac Swamp, chronicling America’s cultural and ideological flashpoints in the post-Trump era. Many of his books have been approved by the CIA for sale in the Agency’s EAA store at Langley, VA.

He resides in Henderson, Nevada, where he continues to write, speak, and consult on topics ranging from intelligence history to the future of American political identity.