Captain, U.S. Army

Captain Lev was born in Moscow in 1976.  While the Soviet Union was not the most welcoming environment for Jews at the time, she was able to have an active Jewish childhood.

I was lucky enough to attend Hebrew school and Youth Zionist camp while over there. I also participated in the Bat Mitzvah twin program and corresponded with Bat Mitzvah girls from the US and Great Britain. Talk about Jewish solidarity in action.

Her family moved to the US in 1990 and she enlisted in the Army Reserve in 1995 with only a green card. Her first MOS was Medical Supply, but she soon reclassed to Civil Affairs.  After completing Fordham University School of Law and passing the New York State Bar Exam she went on active duty in the JAG corps.
Capt. Lev’s present duty station is Baumholder, Germany.  However, as a part of 1st Armored Division she deployed to Iraq from May to December 2003 where she provded legal assistance to soldiers in the Baghdad area.

Many of my cleints downrange were immigrants like myself. In an effort to complete their naturalization we encountered numerous obstacles.  It was always my firm conviction that American citizenship is a privelege, but I believed GI’s in Iraq earned that privelege more than anyone.  During the visit of the Secretary of the Army Les Brownlee I brought my clients’ plight to his attention (and got a coin out of it).  Staring October 1 this year, our embassy in Baghdad will begin conducting naturalization ceremonies for soldiers.

As if that didn’t keep Captain Lev busy enough, she managed to work on a website between assisting clients.  She affectionately calls it her “Baghdad Baby.” It is a Jewish feminist website in Russian (the first of its’ kind).  You can see it at www.womenofvalor.net (if you speak Russian).