Of the 600 women graduating from elite Wellesley College in 2006, just one was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Army.
Theresa Piasta's fellow economics majors were bound for New York City, eager to kick-start investment banking careers on Wall Street, a path the 23-year-old Santa Rosa native says she might pursue some day.
But first, Piasta, a standout soccer player and student body president at Ursuline High School, had a family tradition to uphold, burnished by the shock of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
"I knew that I wanted to make a difference," Piasta said.
When hijacked airliners tore into the World Trade Center and Pentagon, Piasta's senior year took a sharp turn. Instead of the football pep rally planned that week, she organized a schoolwide prayer service.
Five years later, she followed her older brother, Edward, 27, into the Army, and this summer Theresa will follow him to Iraq as a first lieutenant in a field artillery unit.
The law says women soldiers cannot engage in combat, but in Iraq there is no defined battlefield and violence erupts unexpectedly on highways and in towns.
"Women are kicking open doors in Baghdad -- anything can happen," said Theresa, who returned last week to the 41st Fires Brigade, based at Fort Hood, Texas.
Edward, an Army captain and lawyer in the Judge Advocate General Corps, will depart this week for his post at Camp Victory near the Baghdad Airport, where he has five months of a 15-month tour remaining.
He works mostly on the sprawling base, advising 3rd Infantry Division commanders on issues ranging from rules of engagement and targeting to tribal reconciliation, psychological operations and international law.
Officers in the field call for legal advice in the midst of a mission. "There is significant pressure to get it right," said Edward, a former Cardinal Newman student body president who graduated with honors from Marquette University and University of San Francisco Law School.
The siblings -- two of seven children in a prominent Santa Rosa Catholic family -- were both home last week on leave, seeing each other for the first time in almost a year.
"It's been great," Edward said. "We've just done nothing."
Theresa calls her brother a role model; Edward says his father, Joe Piasta, a Santa Rosa trial lawyer and former JAG attorney, is "the best mentor anyone could have."
Joe Piasta, who retired last year as a colonel after 33 years of active duty and Army Reserves, traces the family's devotion to duty to his father, Edward A. Piasta, 81, of Pomona, a World War II infantryman. "My father set the standard," Joe Piasta said. "Freedom isn't free."
Theresa and Edward went to college on Reserve Officers Training Corps scholarships, which carry an eight-year military commitment.
Edward went straight from USF, his father's alma mater, to the Army JAG Corps. His unit, the Multinational Division Center, went to Iraq last March as part of the U.S. troop buildup ordered by President Bush.
Iraq seems safer now, with fewer military and civilian casualties, he said. "There is significant progress, (but) it's very fragile."
Both soldiers say they focus on their jobs, not on the politics of the war, which Americans regard as a mistake and a likely failure, according to public opinion polls.
"I'm optimistic that it will be a worthwhile experience," Theresa said.
But transition from Wellesley, the women's liberal arts college that opened in 1875 and counts Hillary Clinton among its alumnae, to the Army's macho-male domain has been a challenge. "I left behind a culture I loved," Theresa said.
She trained hard to finish first or second in every footrace with her male Army peers. "I have to be that strong woman all the time. I can't show any weakness as an officer," she said.
While her Wellesley classmates enjoy fashionable, fast-paced Manhattan lifestyles, Theresa has been stationed at Army bases in small towns, where a Wal-Mart Supercenter is the community's fixture.
Counting her four years at all-girl Ursuline, Theresa was immersed in a female environment for eight years before becoming an Army minority. She's one of about 1,500 female first lieutenants, who amount to 21 percent of the officers at that rank and 17 percent of the Army's 84,700-member officer corps.
Joe and Kathy Piasta have two children at home: Joan, 18, an Ursuline senior bound for USF on a soccer scholarship, and John, 14, a Cardinal Newman freshmanand soccer goalie.
Mary Piasta, 30, is a San Francisco lawyer; Ann, 25, is a pediatric oncology nurse in New York City; Frank, 21, is a pre-med student and soccer player at Yale.
Like many military parents, the Piastas are proud -- and worried.
"I pray all the time," Kathy said. "For all the troops. There are more over there than just my children." Her religious faith sustains, she said.
"It's scary as hell," Joe said, referring to his children "walking IED alley." Roadside bombs, officially known as improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, account for 40 percent of the 3,927 U.S. fatalities in Iraq.
The 93 American servicewomen killed since the 2003 invasion of Iraq are less than 3 percent of the total.
American fatalities last year peaked at more than 100 per month in April, May and June, but since August have steadily declined to 23 in December.
Edward, who was ROTC cadet commander at Marquette, went to Iraq in March as part of the troop buildup. He credits the counter-insurgency strategy implemented by Gen. David Petraeus with a tangible move toward security and stability.
American forces are "in harm's way," Edward said, but they are getting results. "Over time, we have gotten better at what we do," he said.
It's possible the insurgents are laying low, but Edward believes that aggressive tactics have made an impact. "We know they are off balance," he said.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said last week that about 30,000 troops, equal to the buildup, should be out of Iraq by July, and a similar number could leave by the end of 2008.
A senior military commander, however, told Congress that Iraq probably won't assume responsibility for its internal security until 2012 and will be unable to defend its borders until 2018.
Edward Piasta is guardedly optimistic that the U.S. will bring stability to Iraq. "If the surge works, the Middle East will be a better place," he said. "It's exciting to possibly be part of something that will have a lasting impact in the Middle East and the world."
Theresa Piasta said she's likely to serve future tours in Iraq. Some of her fellow soldiers, wearing combat patches on their shoulders, will be on their third or fourth deployment this year.
"I feel like it's my time to go," she said.
You can reach Staff Writer Guy Kovner at 521-5457 or guy.kovner@pressdemocrat.com.
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