During his 34 years in the Air Force and Air National Guard, Barents distinguished himself as a pilot and a leader. Between 1970 and 2000, he flew with the Air National Guard while also serving as senior vice president of sales and marketing for Cessna, and general manager of the company’s Citation Division. He then moved Learjet as president and CEO where he prepared the company  for sale to Bombardier in 1991. Barents oversaw the rollout of the Lear models 45 and 60, before moving to Galaxy Aerospace where he served as partner and CEO between 1996 and 2001. Under his watch, Galaxy introduced the first super midsize business jet. Barents also negotiated the company’s sale to General Dynamics. In 2003, he joined the board of Aerion Supersonic to develop the AS2, a supersonic business jet designed to fly 10 to 12 passengers at speeds reaching match 1.4. He retired as Executive Chairman and CEO of Aerion in 2018.