Washington, D.C.’s Deshauna Barber, an Army Reserve officer and information technology analyst, was crowned Miss USA during Sunday night’s pageant, which aired on Fox.
Barber wowed the judges with her stance on women in military combat roles.
Barber was asked by judge Joe Zee if the Pentagon had buckled under pressure and political correctness when it came to putting women in combat roles.
“As a woman in the United States Army, I think it was an amazing job by our government to allow women to integrate into every branch of the military. We are just as tough as men. As a commander of my unit, I’m powerful, I am dedicated and it is important that we recognize that gender does not limit us in the United States.”
Currently, Barber serves as logistics commander of the 988th Quartermaster Detachment Unit at Fort Meade, Md. She will now go on to represent the U.S. in the Miss Universe pageant.