Breaking down stereotypes while raising awareness

Newly crowned Miss USA DeShauna Barber will have a high-profile voice in the coming year. And she plans on using that voice to help her fellow members of the military.

Barber, a lieutenant in the Army Reserves, became the first member of the military to wear the crown when she was named Miss USA in early June. The daughter of a retired Army master sergeant – her mother, brother and sister also have military experience – Barber already has pledged to speak publicly about suicide and post-traumatic stress disorder among members of the military and veterans.

A logistics commander for the Army’s 988th Quartermaster Detachment Unit in Fort Meade, Md., Barber spoke with American Legion Social Media Manager Steve B. Brooks about her military background, winning Miss USA and how she’s going to use her new-found celebrity status to benefit the U.S. military and veterans.

Steve Brooks: How did growing up in a military family help develop your values and develop the person you are today?

DeShauna Barber: It definitely made me appreciate our solders’ sacrifices. I saw my dad being deployed so many times. He was in Special Forces. It gave me a new-found appreciation for the sacrifices of our veterans, and it also just made me want to be part of it. My mother and my father, they were so big on patriotism, so big on being humble and appreciative of all benefits we get as American citizens. I knew that it was something I wanted to fight for. Myself and my siblings knew that it was something that we wanted to be a part of, so we all knew that right after high school we wanted to join the Army.

Q: How early on did you start thinking you wanted to follow in your father’s footsteps?

A: Probably like 7 or 8 (years old). They used to do thing at Fort Bragg for the Airborne soldiers. They would have them jump out of a plane … and they would allow family to be there as the soldiers parachuted out of the sky. There was something so inspiring about it. As a kid I thought these people were like Superman and Superwoman. They were like my Marvel characters in a way.

Q: Why get involved in the Miss USA pageant?

A: It was something that happened out of nowhere. I was working in Target and a lady approached me and asked me if I was interested in pageants or if I ever competed. She told me I was beautiful (and) that I could easily be the next Miss Universe. At the time I didn’t believe anything that she was saying. But she convinced me to meet with her at Starbucks the next day. I was 19 at the time. She brought a foot-tall stack of pageant books, and she convinced me that day to enter my first pageant. It kind of gave that girly aspect that I didn’t really get as a child. With my father and mother both serving, we really didn’t have that “let’s go and get a manicure.” It wasn’t really a girly childhood that I had. Pageants give me the opportunity to get in touch with that glamor side, that girly side.

Q: What did it feel like the second you realize that you won Miss USA?

A. It felt surreal, even up to this point. The amount of stereotypes I was able to break on that stage, it was definitely a historic moment. It’s still very surreal.

Q: What was the reaction for your fellow servicemembers when you won?

A: They were so happy. I had probably over 200 missed calls and text messages after I was crowned, and probably 150 of them were from my unit and from my soldiers. It’s awesome to see that they’re so happy. I just spoke with one of my sergeants (recently). She was like, “Literally, everyone knows that our commander is Miss USA.” My soldiers have been incredibly supportive. The Army as a whole has been extremely supportive. The Miss Universe organization has been in touch with the U.S. Army Recruiting Command, and they’ve all been working together on how we can really take advantage of this position – that I’m in right now – not only to promote pageants but to promote the Army Reserves.

Q: You’ve talked about breaking down stereotypes. Why is that important to you, and does that bring with it a certain amount of responsibility?

A. I definitely do think it brings a certain amount of responsibility because I have to uphold … this reputation that I’ve kind of set. We have this stereotype where pageant girls are stupid or they’re airheads. That she come from very privileged backgrounds. That they’re uneducated. I’m educated. I’ve met doctors, lawyers, even a rocket scientist … that all were pageant title holders. It definitely gives me a certain responsibility, but it also allows me the opportunity to attract different type of women (to pageants). They’re like, “She did it, maybe this is something I can look into doing.” I wanted to not only break the stereotypes, but I wanted to attract diverse women with diverse backgrounds to also consider competing.

Q: One of your focuses is going to be raising awareness on mental issues facing the military and veterans. Why is that so important to you?

A. I definitely think it’s important for the country. There are 22 veterans who commit suicide every day. That is a huge number. I know a soldier that committed suicide last year who suffered from PTSD. He left behind a wife and two kids. It’s a huge issue, and it’s something that needs to be discussed in the public eye, and it hasn’t been. It’s really just been discussed among the military community. It’s good, as Miss USA, that I’m able to discuss these things. It’s good that I’m able to bring awareness to the issue, and I really am hoping that people will start thinking about this. And they’ll start recognizing the signs when a soldier returns from a deployment and they just seem a little bit off. Let’s just talk about it. Let’s make sure that people know that it’s an issue. It’s important that we talk about it.”