On 9/11 and through April 2003, Lieutenant Colonel Linda Jantzen served as the operations officer for 3rd Signal Brigade at Fort Hood, Texas, and, in this capacity, was responsible for the deployment of 16th Signal Battalion for service in Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, coordinating with its customers in theater, and overseeing new equipment fielding. Then, in March 2004, she herself deployed to Baghdad as the executive officer for 13th Signal Battalion and dealt most prominently with the planning, procurement and installation of fiber optic networks at Camps Victory, Falcon and Taji. "No one ever thought that a division signal battalion was going to install a commercial fiber optic network on a base camp," Jantzen said, "but that's exactly what we ended up doing." Among her unit's other accomplishments, she cited the success they achieved in "giving 1st Cavalry Division customers the same level of service, if not better, than they had in their offices at Fort Hood." Later on during her six-month tour in Iraq, Jantzen began working information operations for 1st CAV, focusing on democracy education and trying to synchronize the efforts of civil affairs, psychological operations and public affairs. In addition, she helped mentor Iraqi business women and, in a formal capacity, advised Iraqi soldiers who had been formed into an all-female military police unit. Upon redeployment, Jantzen became a military aide for Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland and, from this perspective, shares her insights on how the U.S. military can better communicate and work with politicians on Capitol Hill.

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