Sunday night, Miss District of Columbia Deshauna Barber was crowned Miss USA 2016, the first military service member to hold the title in the pageant’s 64-year history.
ROTC senior Wendy Martin, an aspiring Black Hawk pilot and Miss National Sweetheart 2014, said the audience’s positive reaction when Barber responded passionately to a question regarding women in combat roles is encouraging.
“Beyond just her winning the crown, I’m just so proud and excited to hear that response because we live in a time when being a woman in the military isn’t just accepted, but it’s so supported,” Martin said.
The response stems from a cultural shift and the emerging understanding that people, especially women, don’t exist in a dichotomy, Martin said. Women can be both pretty and smart, or be glamorous while pursuing a traditionally masculine interest or career, she said.
Barber’s introduction to military life began at an early age. Her father is a now-retired Army Master Sergeant, and Barber currently serves as a logistics commander for the 988th Quartermaster Detachment Unit at Fort Meade, Maryland, according to the Miss USA website.
Barber isn’t the first service member to grace a national pageant stage in recent years. She is preceded by Miss America competitors Miss Kansas 2013 Theresa Vail, a sergeant in the Kansas Army National Guard’s Medical Detachment, and Miss Utah 2007 Jill Stevens, an army medic with the Utah National Guard.
But as the first to hold the Miss USA title and advance to compete for Miss Universe, Barber is breaking the mold for women in pageants and women in the military.
Martin’s personal military career began because of a pageant. Hoping to purchase a gown for an upcoming pageant, Martin struck a deal with her father to attend junior ROTC camp in exchange for the gown. Martin flew in her first Black Hawk helicopter while at the camp, and the rest is history, she said.
Martin said the skills she’s learned in pageants have helped her become a better soldier, and vice versa. The self-confidence, perseverance and articulation she’s learned in pageants has helped her address her platoon confidently, and the pride she takes in herself and her military career have made Martin a more passionate and self-assured competitor, she said.
As a fellow military woman and pageant competitor, Martin said Barber’s success doesn’t come as a surprise.
“In my experience, it really doesn’t surprise me at all that there are many women involved in pageants and the military,” Martin said. “They’re both very competitive fields, and it takes a really strong, resilient, confident personality to have success in both, I don’t see how they’re any different from one another besides the makeup and the glamour.”
Lin Warmsley, the LSU ROTC director of academic affairs and personal development, said social development is a key aspect of military life many civilians overlook.
In addition to developing well-trained soldiers, the ROTC focuses on helping members develop into responsible adults through targeted cognitive development, she said. This includes teaching cadets social graces such as how to properly shake a hand, greet a host and conduct themselves in formal settings.
Warmsley said Barber’s poise and quick response during her interview question stems from the lessons she learned in the military.
“They are ready, they are disciplined, they are trained to respond at a moment’s notice,” Warmsley said. “Whether it’s in a military land operation or whether it’s in greeting the president of LSU, that’s preparation and whole person development.”