Bridgette (Smith) Arnold
U.S. Air Force, 1993-2017, Operation Iraqi Freedom

Bridgette (Smith) Arnold
U.S. Air Force, 1993-2017, Operation Iraqi Freedom

Bridgette (Smith) Arnold served 24 years in the Air Force mostly supporting Special Operations Forces and national-level intelligence agencies as a counter-terrorism subject matter expert. After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Arnold was selected as the Department of Defense’s first intelligence liaison to the President-mandated Terrorist Threat Integration Center, coordinating with analysts from many U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies. Arnold deployed to conflict zones around the world including Iraq and Afghanistan. She also deployed to southeast Asia in support of the humanitarian response mission for the 2004 Indonesia tsunami. In her Military Women’s Memorial memorable experience, Arnold wrote, “These deployments have afforded [me] opportunities to collaborate closely with an array of interagency partners and other U.S. and foreign organizations.” Arnold retired from the U.S. Air Force as a lieutenant colonel in 2017.