Daniel
Bradfield

Summary

I've spent the last decade securing billions in funding from Congress and building strategic relationships on Capitol Hill. Most recently, I led congressional outreach that secured $24 billion in defense appropriations and $12.9 billion for strategic priorities in the 2025 House Reconciliation bill. Before that, I served as the Washington liaison for a major combatant command, representing the organization across all congressional offices and delivering nearly $2 billion in additional funding across two fiscal years. I translate complex organizational priorities into legislative wins through data-driven strategy and stakeholder engagement.

Impact

Experience

1. 2025-Present

   Legislative Affairs

   U.S. Strategic Command · Washington, DC

   • Led preparations for the Commander's confirmation, expertly navigating 14 Member of Congress office calls and resulting in a flawless confirmation hearing less than 12 hours after a major Presidential nuclear policy shift.
   • Revamped the Legislative Affairs data review process using AI to identify hundreds of Congressional statements, legislation, and press releases pertinent to command missions, streamlining workflow and reducing senior leader engagement preparation time by 40%.
   • Developed/executed a strategic congressional outreach plan communicating USSTRATCOM priorities, securing an increase of $12.9 billion for strategic nuclear forces in the House 2025 Reconciliation bill.

2. 2022-2025

   Legislative Affairs

   U.S. Indo-Pacific Command · Washington, DC

   • Served as the Department of Defense's (DoD) primary lead in securing the Guam H-2B Visa waiver extension through 2029, preventing multi-year construction delays and saving the government billions of dollars in contract expenses.
   • Advocated for critical organizational defense priorities during a challenging fiscal year, securing $884M above the baseline budget request for programs including the Guam Defense System via Defense Appropriations and Supplemental Funding Bills.
   • Served as the sole legislative affairs liaison in Washington, District of Columbia during a critical transition period, successfully representing the organization across 541 congressional member offices and all national security committees in the House of Representatives and Senate.

3. 2021-2022

   Barrow Fellow

   Marine Corps University · Quantico, VA

   Show the military equivalent

   • Earned the General Barrow Fellowship for Strategic Competition, being one of only 25 students selected across the Department of the Defense.
   • Excelled in graduate-level Joint Professional Military Education (JPME) I curriculum, achieving a 3.77 Grade Point Average (GPA) covering Security Studies, War Studies, Warfighting, and Leadership.

4. 2018-2021

   Program Budget Development

   Air Force HQ A8 · Washington, DC

   • Drove an eight-member panel to develop budgetary requirements for a $17.5 billion installations portfolio supporting $270 billion in infrastructure across 170 bases.
   • Managed 21 Program Budget Review (PBR) programs and 219 projects, leading 28 PBR issues and successfully reversing Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) budget cuts to preserve $4.5B for installations and personnel.
   • Served as an advisor for the stand-up of the United States Space Force (USSF), facilitating the transfer of six installations, 56 units, and $347 million in obligation authority for garrison support.

5. 2008-2018

   Civil Engineer Officer

   U.S. Air Force · Alaska, North Dakota, South Carolina, Qatar

   • Oversaw the stand-up of an Air Expeditionary Group (AEG) supporting 37 aircraft and 3,000 personnel, synchronizing $12.4M in Air Force, Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force (SPMAGTF), and coalition Air Force Contract Augmentation Program (AFCAP) support to achieve initial operational capability and the deactivation of a second installation, crafting a facility caretaker contract to ensure successful End of Mission activities.
   • Recognized multiple times for outstanding leadership and performance including as as the wing's 2017 Company Grade Officer of the Year, leading my flight to win Operations Flight of the Year for Air Forces Central Command, the 2015 Lance Sijan Junior Officer Award for AF Central Command, the 2014 Shaw AFB Company Grade Officer of the year, and the 2011 Grand Forks AFB Compnay Grade Officer of the Year.
   • Built $32M in Aerial Port of Demarcation (APOD) project packages that supported 96,000 passengers, 13,000 aircraft, and 97 tons of cargo annually to enable key Area of Responsibility (AOR) missions.

Skills

Education and certifications

Service record

Branch

U.S. Air Force

Rank

Lt Col

Years served

18

Specialty / MOS

Civil Engineer

Security clearance

Top Secret SCI