An education gained atop the bluffs near the Missouri River is being put to use in the desert near the Tigris River.

Capt. Lynn Schneider, a graduate of St. Mary's Central High School and the University of Mary, has helped set up a chamber of commerce and a women's center in south Baghdad. Schneider left Bismarck after earning a business degree in the early 1980s, and is serving in Iraq with an Army Reserve unit from New York.

She is part of a civil affairs team that is helping to transfer the country's government back to the Iraqi people. As part of that effort, Schneider has been chosen as chairwoman of the new chamber of commerce in south Baghdad, and is working with others to set up a center for women in that area.

"We work with the local population, to try to win their hearts and minds," Schneider said. "We have several different districts, and we support different missions. We see what people need - water, electricity, health care - and try to get it for them."

Schneider said the people in Baghdad, for the most part, just want to move past the war and get on with their lives.

"They see us there, and know they need us for security purposes," Schneider said. "But their focus is on getting their lives back together. They know economic development and education are critical for the future of their country."

Schneider, who called the Tribune on Thursday from Qatar, said everyone in Baghdad - both Iraqis and Americans - hope the transition goes as smoothly and quickly as possible.

"We are continually turning over larger and larger aspects of running the country to the people," Schneider said. "Essentially, we're working ourselves out of a job."

When her tour is up, Schneider will return to her home in Arlington, Va. She said she is looking into moving back to North Dakota.

(Reach Tony Spilde at 250-8260 or tspilde@ndonline.com.)