Deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from February to November 2003, Major Steven Bower initially commanded Charlie Company, 311th Military Intelligence (MI) Battalion, part of 3rd Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division, and then mid-tour transferred over to become the civil-military operations center (CMOC) intelligence officer and division G2 representative for the remainder of his time in country. A direct support MI company plussed up from 40 to 120 soldiers during wartime, Bower's company was tasked with collecting and analyzing information and with providing the brigade with an internal intelligence asset. To accomplish this, Charlie Company was comprised of a headquarters section, a ground surveillance radar platoon, an analysis unit, a human intelligence section and a counterintelligence section. Bower also had the Remotely-Monitored Battlefield Sensor System (REMBASS) and he discusses the myriad ways his company supported the ground invasion phase of OIF. Upon transitioning to the CMOC, Bower became responsible for physical security and intelligence collection there. In addition, he served as the liaison officer to a civil affairs (CA) battalion, which he also discusses in detail. In dealing with CA, Bower said that he learned a great deal about how they operate and the challenges they face, often being asked to serve two masters in a sense. "It's very difficult from their perspective to go in and build rapport and trust with the local populace; and once they get this information," Bower said, "they don't want to come to their intelligence person and tell them what's going on - and especially not to me, because I was not from their unit. I was an outsider. If it comes back around that you're the judicial team and the head judge finds out you've been telling secrets on him, your ability to work in that community is really hampered." As Bower noted, "Part of their schooling seems to be not to talk to the intelligence personnel. They fear that if you ruin the rapport by telling somebody what's going on, things get screwed up." He reflects at length on the relationship between CA and MI and gives advice to others who may find themselves in similar situations.

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