Miss District of Columbia Deshauna Barber was crowned Miss USA on Sunday night, beating out Miss Hawaii Chelsea Hardin and Miss Georgia Emanii Jovan Davis.
Here's what you need to know about the pageant winner:
1. She's the first military member to be named Miss USA. According to the pageant's website, the 26-year-old IT analyst for the U.S. Department of Commerce is a logistics commander for the 988th Quartermaster Detachment Unit in Fort Meade, Maryland. Her father was a master sergeant in the U.S. Army.
In a press conference after the pageant, Barber said she has spoken to her superiors about taking a break from her work with the Army Reserve, where she serves two days a month, The Associated Press reports.
"My commander should be watching right now," she said. "Two days a month is definitely not active duty. It is an obligation that I signed up for, but they are very flexible in the United States Army Reserve."
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2. She gave a strong answer when asked whether women should serve in combat. The crowd went wild Sunday night when Barber answered a question posed by judge Joe Zee.
"The Pentagon recently made the decision to open up all combat jobs to women. ... Now some have questioned whether this has put political correctness over our military's ability to perform at the highest level. What are your thoughts?" he asked.
Her powerful response: "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 Army."
3. She hopes to raise awareness about post-traumatic stress disorder. According to the Miss USA website, "Deshauna has a passion to serve the men and women in the U.S. military, specifically focusing her platform on PTSD treatment for soldiers returning from deployments and suicide prevention in the Armed Forces."
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4. She believes that presidential hopefuls should spend more time discussing ways to help veterans. In a press conference Sunday night, she said candidates need to address the problems at VA hospitals.
"I think that a lot of the topics that they discuss (aren't) as important," she said, according to the AP.
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5. The northeast D.C. resident has lived all over the country. She was born in Columbus, Georgia, and later lived in North Carolina, Nebraska, Minnesota and Virginia – where she received a bachelor's degree in business management from Virginia State University – before moving to the District of Columbia, her Miss USA bio says.
