Major Laura Geldhof, military intelligence branch, deployed to support Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 from the 704th Military Intelligence Brigade - an Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM) unit - at the National Security Agency. Beginning as a signal intelligence (SIGINT) cell, military intelligence personnel from the 704th fell in on the Combined Forces Land Component Command (CFLCC) in Kuwait. Initially a liaison officer, Major Geldhof's role was to facilitate access to national intelligence products eventually including other intelligence modes. This involved developing and executing new ways of doing business in the coalition-joint environment, supporting combat and stability operations. The NSA relied on volunteers, a mix of joint service personnel - active and reserve, as well as civilians. Major Geldhof's cell also oversaw the push down of other LNOs from NSA to lower levels, beginning at the US corps-level and to the US Marines. Establishing secure computer connectivity at the appropriate level provided an on-going challenge. These intelligence professionals collected many lessons as tensions between requests for information and security remained constant. After rotating back to the US, Major Geldhof found herself deployed to the region again to support the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA). The CJTF covers a wide area from the east Africa across the Red Sea, operating into Yemen as well. Many nation states in this region balance precariously on the edge of failure or have failed creating fertile ground for terrorist operations. Major Geldhof first supported a joint, combined exercise with the Ethiopian government, Alliance Pride in 2004. Intelligence support from the CJTF can flow throughout the region to all US embassies as well. Providing access to national intelligence products presented many of the same challenges that supporting OEF did for Major Geldhof and her operators. Her experiences and the near-constant collecting of lessons helped adapt national intelligence to support the Global War on Terrorism.

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