Georgia-based Miss Military forced to surrender crown

By Christian Boone

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

With her good looks and impressive resume, Apryl Sanders was a shoo-in as the inaugural Miss Military.

"Her crown was waiting for her," said Calvin Hill, founder of the nonprofit Military Civilian Experience Inc., which organized the Mr. and Miss Military event. "We were working on the sash."

But it wasn't to be for the 22-year-old Airman First Class stationed at Robins Air Force Base, 18 miles south of Macon. Sanders' superiors forced her to decline the honor, saying she did not follow the chain of command.

Hill, recently retired from the Navy, is flummoxed.

"We didn't think this would be a problem," said Hill, who said he cleared the competition with the Pentagon. "They told us they didn't care what soldiers did in their spare time."

Sanders, a weapons manager for the 16th Airborne Command and Control Squadron at Robins Air Force Base, entered a YouTube video --  under the name Nitrogen Pink -- for the online competition last month. She was one of about 20 contestants, winning with roughly 5,000 votes.

Hill said the video, since pulled, wasn't tawdry.

"This was never meant to be a beauty contest," he said.

Sanders informed Hill on Wednesday that she'd have to turn down the crown.

"She was disappointed, but her main thing was to protect her career in the Air Force," Hill said. "We had high hopes for her. Now I know how the New England Patriots felt when they lost Tom Brady."

Sanders, an Army brat raised in Germany, couldn't be reached for comment. She's been deployed to parts unknown.

Her replacement: Devi Novick, representing the U.S. Navy. Petty Ofc. 2nd Class Habib Zaiden was named Mr. Military.