War College Professor 'Wants to Be a Millionaire'

The Newport-based Naval War College's Cmdr. Kyle Barrett will appear on "Who Wants to Be A Millionaire" on previously taped episodes scheduled to air Wednesday, Jan. 5, and Thursday, Jan. 6 at 5 p.m. on WLNE (ABC). 

According to a "Millionaire" spokesperson, the Middletown resident and professor of strategy for the War College has served in the U.S. Navy for 22 years, traveled to 22 countries, and flown jets from aircraft carriers. He and his wife Meg have moved 17 times throughout their marriage and despite his world travels, they have never taken a honeymoon.

Barrett told "Millionaire" that he would love to make some Millionaire money to finally take Meg to Australia or New Zealand for a long and overdue honeymoon. The Barretts have two sons – Taylor, 19, and Drew, 16.

The TV show's producers described Barrett as "self-admittedly very competitive" and said he jokes that no one likes to play Trivial Pursuit with him anymore.

For Barrett, both his career in teaching strategy and his hobbies might have prepared him well for the high stakes competitive play on "Millionaire" today; Barrett is also a very accomplished Bridge player and is about to become a "Life Master" from the American Bridge League, according to the show spokesperson, who also noted the honor is the most highly sought level of Bridge achievement.

Besides taking that honeymoon he and his wife never had, Barrett told producers that he hopes his winnings will help pay for college for his sons, as well as a buy-in to the "World Series of Poker."

Hosted by the Emmy Award-winning and East Providence native Meredith Vieira, Millionaire can be seen locally on WLNE (ABC), weekdays at 5 p.m. At 5:30 p.m., the show airs episodes from previous seasons.

Viewers tuning in today will also notice some format changes to the show, currently in its ninth season. The hot seat is gone and the game is now divided into two rounds. According to production notes, Round One's questions 1-10 are now randomized, with the money values attached to the questions shuffled and hidden. In the first round, simple questions can be worth as much as $25,000 and hard questions can be worth as little as $100, or anything in between.

View the Naval War College's complete article by clicking here.

View ABC's weekly promotional video here.