COL Gladwyn Bowlin
Colonel Gladwyn G. Bowlin was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Military Intelligence Corps upon graduation from ETSU in 1973. He completed Military Intelligence Officer’s Basic Course at Ft. Huachuca, AZ and reported for duty to the 2nd Battalion 39th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 9th Infantry Division, Ft. Lewis, WA. He served as Battalion Intelligence Officer, Brigade Assistant Intelligence Officer and Assistant Brigade Adjutant. He completed a Master’s Degree in Human Relations from Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, Washington.
As an Army Reservist, Bowlin served 25 years that included assignments to the Intelligence Threat Analysis Center, Washington, DC; 401st Military Police Camp, Nashville, TN; 81st Army Reserve Command, Atlanta, GA; 411th Military Intelligence Detachment, Pensacola, FL; and First Army, Ft. Gillem, GA. While serving with First Army, he was assigned as the Department of Defense Liaison to North Carolina for Military Assistance to Civil Authorities. In September 1999, he helped evacuate over 2,000 people to safety during hurricane Floyd. COL Bowlin retired from the Army Reserve in June 2003.
As a Department of the Army civilian, Bowlin began his career as the Information Security Manager for Ft. Campbell, KY and the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). During the 1980s, he was the lead security planner for numerous counterdrug support operations and peacekeeping deployments. In 1989, he began serving as the Information Security Officer for FORSCOM. He led a Commander directed team to produce the first Classification Guidance for Operations Desert Shield and Storm. The guide was adopted by DOD, US Central Command and Department of the Army until replaced after the war in February 1990.
For the next fifteen years, Bowlin served in FORSCOM HQ’s in a variety of Security, Counterintelligence and Intelligence positions, earned a second Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Georgia, and was selected in 2005 to serve in the FORSCOM HQ’s as Chief of the Security Division, until his retirement in July 2014. Mr. Bowlin held the position of Security Division Chief for nearly 10 years. His responsibilities included Security of Classified Information, Disclosure of Information to Foreign Countries, Security of Sensitive Intelligence Systems, and Assessment of Terrorist Threats to Deploying Forces for a massive force of 283,000 Soldiers.
Bowlin’s most notable civilian achievement was his selection as the Individual Making the Most Significant Contribution to the Worldwide Department of Defense Antiterrorism Program in 1998. As both an Army Reservist and an Army civilian, the day Mr. Bowlin was scheduled to receive the award from the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Low Intensity Conflict, Colonel Bowlin was mobilized to respond to Hurricane Betty on North Carolina coast. For over 35 years, he provided exemplary service to the Army and the Military Intelligence Corps.