Fort Meade, Md.-based 1st Lt. Deshauna Barber, 26, was crowned Miss USA June 5 – becoming the first service member ever to win a beauty pageant. The daughter of a career soldier, Barber is attached to the 988th Quartermaster Detachment. She joined the Army in 2011 after graduating from Virginia State University, and represented the District of Columbia in the competition. Media reports said that Barber impressed the judges with an answer to a question about the role women should play in combat. “We are just as tough as men. As a commander of my unit, I’m powerful and dedicated. Gender does not limit us in the United States,” she said.