Army Commander Wins Miss USA Pageant [PICS]

This year's newly crowned Miss USA has both beauty and brains in spades - and has also served her country.

Miss District of Columbia Deshauna Barber will go on to compete in the Miss Universe contest as the winner of Sunday's 2016 Miss USA competition held at the T-Mobile Arena off the Las Vegas Strip.

Barber, who works as an IT analyst for the U.S. Department of Commerce in Washington D.C. as well as a Logistics Commander for the 988th Quartermaster Detachment Unit at Fort Meade, Maryland, broke down in tears as she won.

The 26-year-old, whose mother, father, brother and sister have also served in the army, claimed the title after giving a strong answer when asked about women in combat, saying that gender doesn't limit women in America.

Barber said that women are just as tough as men during the question-and-answer segment, adding: 'As a commander of my unit, I'm powerful, I am dedicated. Gender does not limit us in the United States.'

Now, Barber, who is the first-ever member of the military to win Miss USA, says she'll be taking a break from the Army Reserves to juggle her new duties. She said her current Army commitment is two days per month but that there's great flexibility with the Reserves.


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=> Daily Mail