When she graduated from Paul VI Catholic High School, Allie Weiskopf Chase had a free ride to any school in Virginia, with intentions to study journalism.

She took a detour, however, and applied to Boston College on a whim. When she was accepted, her parents told her she needed to find a way to pay the tuition.

"Seventeen-year-old girls should not be able to make big decisions," Chase laughed. "But I decided to join the ROTC program with the plan of doing one day and then calling my parents and saying it was too hard."

Several years later, Chase is now a captain in the Army, working as the executive assistant to the commanding general of the 3rd Infantry, stationed in Baghdad.

Chase graduated from Boston College and was commissioned as an intelligence officer, so she is still able to use the skills she learned in her journalism classes.

The commanding general is responsible for about 20,000 officers, Chase said, and before every trip to visit soldiers and every meeting he has, Chase has to brief him about what has been going on and the important news of the day.

"We go out to the battlefield every day," she said. "Because the war is going well now, it doesn’t make the front pages of the newspapers back home, so people don’t hear about all the good stuff we see daily."

For example, Chase said she attended nearly 50 memorial services for soldiers killed in action last May. This year, it has been so long since a soldier was killed, she does not remember the last time she had to go to one.


STATIONED IN southern Baghdad and the four surrounding provinces, Chase said people are starting to come out of their homes more frequently during the day. A boat on the Tigris river is no longer seen as something to fear or shoot at, as it was a short 15 months ago when she first arrived.

Chase credits the additional troops sent to Iraq by President Bush at the start of 2007 for the transformation.

"The 3rd Infantry Division was deployed last May as part of the surge, and the soldiers have worked hard to stabilize this part of the country," she said.

When one division is sent home this summer, no plans are in place to replace them, which Chase said is a test to see if the area is ready to be left unattended.

"About 100 of our guys live in the towns and villages with Iraqis, and we’re trying to build relationships with them, showing them that coalition forces are there to help and have become their neighbors," she said.

Seeing U.S. soldiers every day has encouraged Iraqi citizens to trust them, and has in turn led some Iraqis to let soldiers know when "a bad guy comes into the village," Chase said.

"I really think the increase in troops plus the cooperation with the Iraqis has helped things go so well," she said.

Still, Chase admits she is living in a war zone, as quiet as things may be lately. She does not tell her parents, Jim and Kamay Weiskopf, too much about the daily activities of her job, just to let them know she’s doing fine.

"You’re always nervous," she said. "One suicide bomber could kill X number of people without warning."

Iraqis are starting to find jobs and rebuild their lives, as electricity becomes more constant and schools start to reopen. The mission has not officially become a peacekeeping one for the 3rd Infantry, but the majority of their work is in that direction, she said.


CHASE WILL be returning to the U.S. in a few weeks, coming back to her family’s home in Clifton around June 20. She’s excited to reunite with her family and friends and to have a two-month vacation before going back to work.

Two people in particular are anxious for Chase to return home: her young nieces, Meghan and Amanda McCabe.

"Aunt Allie deployed to Iraq on Meghan’s sixth birthday and just before Amanda’s fourth birthday," said their mother, Jennifer McCabe, one of Chase’s older twin sisters.

"We told the girls that they would be 7 and 5 by the time Aunt Allie came home. We tell them Aunt Allie is in Iraq to protect our country from bad people and that our country is safe thanks to Aunt Allie and all the other soldiers," she said.

When Chase returns home, McCabe said her daughters are planning a trip to a local Build-A-Bear workshop to make teddy bears with their aunt, followed by a trip for ice cream.

"It’s one of their favorite things to do with their Aunt Allie," McCabe said.

Even while she is gone, Chase is frequently in their thoughts and prayers, she said.

"Every so often, the girls ask to call Aunt Allie and we have to explain that it’s not possible," McCabe said. "If they have something to share with Aunt Allie, we send her an e-mail. We keep her picture visible and pray for her every day."

Chase’s parents and sister said they are proud of her and the work she is doing in Iraq.

"Allie has not complained about the conditions or hardships of her situation, but rather, she has kept her focus on her responsibilities," McCabe said.

Jim Weiskopf, a retired Army soldier who served for 26 years, said he and his wife support their daughter and will be thrilled to have her home.

"I’ll miss her homecoming, but her mother and her best friend are driving to Fort Stewart in Georgia to meet her," Weiskopf said.


AS A PARENT, Weiskopf said he is always concerned about Chase’s safety, but as a former soldier, he knows all the precautions the Army takes to protect its own.

"We are unbelievably proud of Allie and her choice of profession, whether she chooses to do something else or stay in the Army for her career," he said. "We love her and want her to come home safely in three weeks."

In the meantime, Chase will continue to make her daily round, visiting with soldiers and writing thank you notes to anyone who sends her a care package.

"Sometimes I think I’m just a big kid, trying to make light of the light situations we have here because there are so many tough situations," Chase said. "But I get to see the progress we’re making every day. Fifteen months ago, people were quiet and hunkered down in their homes. Now we see people outside, hanging up their laundry."