Casey poised to lead ground troops in Iraq

WASHINGTON -- At an early age, friends and family pegged George W. Casey Jr., as a young man destined to serve his country. But the son of a career Army officer from Allston didn't intend to follow in his father's footsteps. He enrolled at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and planned to later attend law school.

What was supposed to be a two-year stint in the service between university degrees led Casey to his true calling, and by 1970 he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army -- the same year a helicopter crash in Cambodia claimed the life of his father, Major General George W. Casey, the most senior American officer killed during the Vietnam conflict.

Now a four-star general, Casey, who graduated from Boston College High School, is set to take command of US forces on the ground in Iraq.

People who remember him from his days as a caddy at the Hatherly Country Club and Sunday mornings at St. Anthony's in Cohasset say the Pentagon brass is looking to the right man to do a tough job.

"He really is one of the best and the brightest," said his cousin, Brian Casey, 52, of Hyannis, yesterday. "I wouldn't want [the job in Iraq], but he really has a wonderful disposition. I think he'll stay out of the politics and do his job as he's always done."

Over more than three decades in the Army, Casey has commanded troops at every level, from platoon to division, earning a master's degree in international relations from the University of Denver along the way. He has commanded US troops in Bosnia, served in the United Nations peace-keeping mission in the Sinai Desert and held senior positions in the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

In a poignant ceremony in Washington last fall, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld and Casey's wife, Sheila, pinned on his epaulet his fourth star, one that was worn by his father. .

Currently the Army's vice chief of staff, or its second-highest ranking officer, Casey is the Army's day-to-day manager, making sure the troops are well-equipped and well-trained, while also dealing with highly charged political issues, including the abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and the recent charges of sexual assaults on female soldiers.

Family and friends remember Casey for his ready smile as well as his deference to his elders. He ran track and played basketball in high school and also wrote for the school's literary magazine.

"This guy was all American," recalled Thomas E. Burke, 85, of Cohasset, whose clubs Casey used to tote around the links at Hatherly in the 1960s. "All the Caseys were the same way."

On the course, Burke would regale Casey about his experiences as a Merchant Marine captain in World War II, when his ship was torpedoed in the Gulf of Mexico in 1942.

Burke remembered that during their rounds, Casey would often talk about world affairs, including the US mission in Vietnam. "He was a serious type of guy," Burke said.

Casey, 55, declined to be interviewed for this article because his appointment to replace three-star General Ricardo Sanchez in Iraq has not yet been made official. But in a recent speech he laid out what he believes the US occupation in Iraq is all about.

"Our goal is to create a global environment that makes terrorism unacceptable as a means for attaining political goals," he told the Army War College in November. "That is a goal worthy of the nation, and one that will require patience, commitment, and the focused application of all elements of national power."

Casey was born in Japan, where his father was stationed, and moved around often. But he settled at 30 Ocean Ave. in the Minot section of Scituate with family members for his senior year. He quickly became "well adjusted to our curriculum," according to his B.C. High yearbook entry. Many of his family members are still in the Boston area, including his three sisters and mother, Elaine, who lives in Scituate. Casey's grandfather, John Casey, was chief of physicians at St. Elizabeth's hospital. His uncle, Edward M. Casey, was a president-elect of the Boston Bar Association in 1977 when he died, and had helped set up legal services for the poor.

Never an idler, when he wasn't running track or studying, Casey was working part-time jobs. When he was at Georgetown, he was a member of the Reserve Officer Training Corps and a part-time equipment manager for Vince Lombardi's Washington Redskins. "He was doing something purposeful all the time," said Burke's son, Thomas W. Burke, 55, who knew Casey in middle school and was a friend of his brother, Peter. "He was easy to meet, friendly, very polite, well-mannered, and well spoken. He was a fun-loving guy and you didn't have to break a lot of ice. Yet he always had a disciplined manner about him at the right time."

In addition to the support of friends and family, Casey seems to enjoy the confidence of his peers.

"His feet are firmly planted on the ground. He knows his soldiers' business, but most generals deal with the tactical and when they deal with the political and strategic they have more difficulty. George Casey can bridge both those worlds," said retired Lieutenant General Daniel Christman. "He has enormous credibility within the Army, but more importantly he has the trust and confidence of General John Abizaid," the commander of the US Central Command.

In an interview with the B.C. High alumni magazine last fall, Casey said he believed the media tended to galvanize people around short-term goals. "It's up to leaders to keep the focus beyond individual incidents and on long-term objectives, " Casey said.

Bryan Bender can be reached at bender@globe.com