An Ohio Army National Guard member from Cleveland is in the running to become the 2009 Miss Ohio USA.

2nd Lt. Elena Gonzalez will compete for the title against more than 50 contestants from throughout the state during a Nov. 20-22 competition at The Vern Riffe Center for the Arts on the Shawnee State University campus in Portsmouth, Ohio. The winner will go on to represent Ohio in the 2009 Miss USA competition on April 19 at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.

Gonzalez, a native of Euclid near Cleveland, won the opportunity to represent Ohio after winning the title of Miss Euclid USA in July 2008. The competition marked the second such contest for the 23-year-old medical platoon leader and logistic operations officer for the Cleveland-based 237th Brigade Support Battalion. Gonzalez entered her first pageant when she competed for Miss Teen Ohio USA as a high school student in 2003.

A December 2007 graduate of University of Toledo with a bachelor of science degree in biology, Gonzalez enjoyed a full scholarship through the Army ROTC program. She said the military has helped her prepare for the competitions in several ways.

“It’s pushed me to do things that I never would have done in my civilian life, like rappelling or obstacle courses,” Gonzalez said. “It’s definitely been a confidence builder.”

Although Soldiering and competing in pageants might seem an odd mix, Gonzalez said she likes to push the envelope and do the unexpected.

“I like to break stereotypes. You can paint your nails and put on make up and still be a Soldier,” she said. “It has nothing to do with the internal drive for success. The military is just another avenue for success.”

DVIDS

Miss Ohio USA Pageant

The Vern Riffe Center for the Arts
At Shawnee State University
Portsmouth, Ohio

November 20-22, 2008

UPDATE TWO: If you like this story, you may like our continuing series about women in the military.

UPDATE: It appears that Ms Hodge has has a bit of luck. The reigning Miss England got into a fist fight over a man and had to step aside. Our Combat Barbie was up to the challenge and is now the new Miss England.

Step aside Jill Stevens. The Bits have their own beauty queen hero, Katrina Hodge.

A female soldier who once fought off a suspected Iraqi insurgent has won a place in the final of Miss England.

Katrina Hodge, 21, will participate in the contest in July, having already won the Miss Tunbridge Wells crown.

L/Cpl Hodge was nicknamed Combat Barbie in 2005 after being given a bravery commendation for saving the lives of members of her regiment in Iraq.

They were held at gunpoint when their vehicle overturned but L/Cpl Hodge punched the gunman and took his rifles.

She said: “I was in complete shock at first. The force of the accident caused our vehicle to roll over three times and threw us off guard.

“As I came round, the Iraqi suspect was standing over us with the rifles. I knew if I didn’t act fast then our lives would be in danger.

“I punched him and the force startled him enough for me to retrieve the rifles from him.”

BBC

Private Katrina Hodge, 18, wrestled TWO rifles from a prisoner and then floored him with her bare hands.

The amazing act of bravery came after the vehicle they were both travelling in went out of control and crashed.

Clerk Katrina ” given her nickname because of her love of “pink girlie stuff” ” used her Army training to subdue the insurgent as he tried to flee.

She was rewarded with a commendation from the CO of her unit, the 1st Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment.

And last night she said modestly: “I was surprised when I was given the commendation but also very proud of myself ” I don”t think I”ve ever held my head so high.”

The drama happened after Katrina”s unit had searched a house and were taking a suspected rebel fighter back to Shaibah Logistics Base, near Basra, for questioning.

Their vehicle flipped over three times and as the other soldiers lay stunned the suspect grabbed the rifles and ran for it.

Katrina responded instantly ” grappling with him in hand-to-hand combat, restraining him and checking the loaded weapons were safe.

She said: “After the crash everyone was in a state of shock, then I saw the prisoner had the guns.

“I only had a split second but with the adrenalin pumping it was like slow motion.

“For a moment I thought I was going to die, so I screamed at him to give me the rifles.

The Sun
By RICHARD WHITE
and Tony BONNICI

KINGSTON, R.I. (TRADOC News Service, Nov. 3, 2004) – Believe it or not, turning an about-face is really no more difficult in high heels than in combat boots.

“I don’t have any injuries,” Allison Paganetti said matter-of-factly.

To appreciate her ability to execute military facing maneuvers in both types of shoes, you first have to understand why Paganetti has amassed a diverse footwear collection. The new Miss Rhode Island is an Army ROTC cadet with the University of Rhode Island, where she is, military program leaders say, a blossoming leader.

Before the 20-year-old became the state’s representative in October in next year’s Miss USA pageant, the junior from North Kingstown spent two years regularly donning Army fatigues instead of evening gowns and dolling her face with camouflage paint instead of foundation and blush.

Paganetti relishes the life of a cadet and has committed to become an Army officer after graduation in 2006. Despite her passion for pageants and the demands to stay beautiful, she doesn’t shy away from firing rifles, venturing out on field-training exercises and “rolling around in the mud.”

And she’s good at it. Paganetti typically surpasses the maximum score of 300 on the Army physical-fitness test, something she credits to her dedication to keeping her body in shape for being in either the pageant or military spotlight.

“I do everything to ROTC standards,” she said. “I expect to be treated like a cadet. I don’t put anything else in the way.”

Paganetti was crowned Miss Rhode Island Oct. 10, emerging from a field of 41 women. The finals were held at Rhode Island College in Providence.

Paganetti was surprised and overwhelmed when her name was announced, breaking down in tears. She didn’t expect to win. Then again, she never does because she doesn’t want to be disappointed if she comes up short.

This time, of course, she wasn’t disappointed.

“It’s an extreme goal I’ve been working for so long,” Paganetti said. “I was just shocked to make the top 10. … All my hard work has paid off.

“ROTC encourages us to be motivated to have goals. I was just enforcing one of things they were teaching us,” she said.

Judges warmed to Paganetti’s personality, said Elaine Paolo, regional assistant and parents director for the Miss USA competition that oversees Miss Rhode Island.

“When she came out on stage, she was shining,” she said. “She’s one of the most confident girls I’ve seen in a while.”

Lt. Col. Paul Krajeski, who heads Rhode Island’s Army ROTC department, expects Paganetti’s pageantry success will bring the program much-welcome attention.

“I expect it to bring to light our program to people who don’t even know we exist,” he said. “It can also show that cadets are individuals who have their own hobbies and come together as ROTC cadets for a common purpose – service to the nation.”

Krajeski joined the university two years ago when Paganetti began her freshman year. He described her as an emerging leader who will “capably lead our Soldiers someday.”

Krajeski has seen her develop considerably over that time, becoming more mature and exhibiting a great deal of motivation and initiative. She’ll need those qualities to try and juggle the demands of a cadet and of Miss Rhode Island.

But those who know Paganetti, a kinesiology major who also is pursuing a minor in military science, said they believe she will manage to meet all the obligations.

“She knows her priority as a cadet for the school year is to prepare for LDAC (Leader Development and Assessment Course at Fort Lewis, Wash.),” Krajeski said. “The program is committed to her being all she can be at the competition.”

Being a cadet, Paganetti said, is tougher than competing in pageants because of her inexperience with ROTC. She chose to be part of the program because of its reputation for producing leaders by enhancing management and leadership skills and promoting self-motivation.

That’s where she said ROTC has helped in the pageant realm, driving her push for success.

Paganetti, whose grandfathers served in the armed forces, is eagerly anticipating her military service. She’s not sure yet if she’ll make it a career. If she doesn’t, she plans to return the pageant field, possibly training others for competition.

Paganetti is a relative newcomer to pageants. While many begin taking the stage as toddlers and even infants, her career started at age 12 when she decided to live out a dream.

Paganetti relishes the thrill of competition. Her passion for being on stage was not hurt by the fact she quickly found success, finishing in the top four in her first competition and being invited to participate nationally. Her charm, poise and, of course, beauty, have earned her an array of honors and recognition.

Perhaps her most notable crown, before winning Miss Rhode Island, came last year when she was named Miss U.S. Model at a competition in Nashville, in which she beat out women from around the country.

But competing in other pageants, Paganetti said, doesn’t compare to Miss Rhode Island, a qualifier for Miss USA that comes with considerable visibility and an array of prizes. Among them: cash, jewelry and clothes.

She said she wasn’t nervous being on stage with thousands of people in the audience, including friends, family and ROTC cadre cheering her on.

“When I compete, I feel more at ease. I’ve been preparing for so long,” she said. “It was all or nothing for me, so I put everything I had in to doing it correctly.”

That meant spending countless hours performing physical training, conducting mock interviews and practicing public speaking. She trained with her younger sister, with whom she spends considerable time helping her blossoming pageant career. Briana Paganetti, 14, just won Rhode Island’s Miss U.S. Teen Model.

Allison Paganetti’s platform centers on community service. She volunteers with children and the Special Olympics.

“Those are the things that make me happy,” she said.

Meanwhile, trying to juggle the life of a cadet with the responsibilities of Miss Rhode Island will be no easy feat. As a cadet committed to being a future Army officer, she still has classes to attend, projects to tackle and drills to complete. And as Miss Rhode Island, she will be making many appearances, speaking to various groups and, come April, representing her home state on the national stage in Baltimore.

“I push myself as hard in ROTC as I do in the pageant world,” she said.

Paganetti is used to the grind. She runs on little sleep, getting only four or five hours a night. She gets up around 4:30 a.m. to exercise and doesn’t go to bed until about midnight.

The grueling pace can be tiring, but she said it’s worthwhile.

“I was always raised and told that if you don’t have time, you make time,” Paganetti said. “If that means taking hours out of my sleep, that’s something I have to do.”

For now, many of those waking hours are spent preparing. No Miss USA contestant from Rhode Island has won the competition since it began in the early 1950s. And only Miss Rhode Island 1973 finished in the top five.

State pageant organizers say that could change with Paganetti. She has the looks, the talent and the charisma to win.

But Paganetti, as usual, isn’t building up herself mentally.

“Whatever happens, happens,” she said.

U.S. Army
By Steve Arel/Eastern Region ROTC Public Affairs

When Allison Paganetti joined the Army Reserve Officers Training Program (ROTC) at the University of Rhode Island, her fellow cadets kidded her. Is it true, they asked, that you compete in beauty pageants?

“I pushed myself to the limit during physical training to avoid being stereotyped,” says the sophomore who was crowned Miss U.S. Model this summer. “I think they were really surprised.”

The 19-year-old exercise science major has always been athletic. She runs track and plays some field hockey. A former cheerleader, she now coaches a pre-teen varsity cheerleading league in her hometown of North Kingstown. The team won the state championship last year.

She’s competed in beauty pageants since sixth grade. “I got a pageant flyer in the mail,” she recalls. “Since I was such a tomboy, I thought it would be fun to compete. When I placed in the finals, I decided to enter more contests.” Paganetti has competed in numerous competitions including the Miss Pre-Teen Rhode Island , Miss Pre-Teen USA, Miss Teen Rhode Island (twice), Miss Providence, and the Miss Rhode Island Model contests.

Winning a national title took Paganetti and her 13-year-old sister Briana by surprise. Paganetti only entered the Miss U.S. Model contest so that she could accompany Briana to Tennessee so that she could compete for Miss Young Teen Model.

Paganetti’s decision to join ROTC was influenced by the terrorist attacks on 9/11.

“Many of my friends joined the Marines. I knew I needed to do something.”

Another influence was her grandfathers, both of whom had served in the armed forces.

“The program was hard for me at first,” she says. “I was completely lost. But then, everything came together.”

She says her best friends are the other cadets. “I’m learning to become a leader. I can better manage my time and myself since being in the program,” says the woman who commutes to campus each day, attends classes, studies between them, coaches cheerleading, and scoops ice cream at the Newport Creamery in North Kingstown —something she has done since she was 15.

Her older brothers, Dave and Rob, like to tease her when she’s in her Army uniform. “I know they only do it because they are proud of me,” she says.

She doubts she will be competing in more pageants or visiting many cities wearing her Miss U.S. Model crown next summer since she will have Army commitments.

Told that the cadets once visited Gettysburg, the model soldier recalls visiting that famous Civil War battleground with her family. “I remember re-enacting Pickett’s charge with my brothers,” she says with a smile. “I was leading.”

University of Rhode Island

As the reigning Miss Utah and as a combat medic who has deployed to Afghanistan with her National Guard unit, Sgt. Jill Stevens said her experiences as a soldier have helped her in her civilian life.

In an interview on the “ASY Live” program on BlogTalkRadio.com, Stevens said her experience from November 2003 to April 2005 taking care of up to 40 patients on any given day at the Bagram Air Base medical aid station gave her the determination and adaptability that are paramount to her success in other aspects of her life.

“Being a solider, you are really trained to adapt to any situation,” she said, “and it has really prepared me for civilian life.”

Stevens, who serves in the Utah National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 211th Aviation Regiment, joined the National Guard in 2001. She said her military life and her civilian life aren’t as different as some people might think.

“A lot of people think these paths are so different and that I live a dichotomy, but there’s a reason I am involved in both organizations,” she said. “Both the military and the Miss America Association promote education [and] teach you to be a leader, think on your feet and stay in shape and, above all, to serve your country,” she said.

During her service in Afghanistan, Stevens said, she developed a great deal of pride for her country, particularly for the women who serve in the military. During her deployment, she competed in the inaugural marathon race at Bagram and was the first woman to finish. Stevens now has completed 14 marathons, and she said the one in Afghanistan “was one of the toughest.”

“Here I was a woman, running in a country where women were mistreated, defiled and oppressed. … I was angered as I was running, but at the same time proud — proud to be not only an American woman but an American soldier fighting for their worth,” she said.

She said she thought of Afghanistan’s women every step of the way, and it carried her to the finish line.

“We are making a difference,” she said. “I know these women are realizing their worth, and some are taking a stand to determine their place in the world.”

During her deployment, Stevens said, it was important to keep morale high for the continued strength of the force.

“I was there to take care of the physical injuries,” she said, “but I also really saw the emotional side. I saw firsthand that keeping the morale high really helps our soldiers perform better.”

“ASY Live” on BlogTalkRadio.com is part of the Defense Department’s America Supports You program, which connects citizens and companies with servicemembers and their families serving at home and abroad. Stevens recalled the touches from home that helped her most during her deployment.

“Thoughtful gifts meant a lot to me — favorite foods or an encouraging e-mail was great, [because] it meant so much that they took time to think about me,” she explained. She took the importance of boosting morale a step further with her own personal cause to encourage her fellow servicemembers.

“Since we had electricity over there, I was like, ‘Mom, send me a bread machine!’ she said. “Whenever I heard they were having a rough day, I baked bread for the soldiers … just to boost their spirits.”

Another important memory of her deployment, Stevens said, was the opportunity to interact with local children despite the language barrier.

“You speak different languages; you’ve grown up in really different cultures,” she said. “We would communicate with the kids by smiling and making funny faces.”

Back in the United States after her deployment, Stevens acknowledged, she had the wrong idea about pageants before she got involved in that aspect of her life.

“All I thought these girls did was just wave their hand and look pretty, and that was not something I wanted to be associated with,” she said.

That was before she learned that pageant titleholders can make a difference by their ability to serve as spokeswomen and form organizations. “I love to serve, I love to give back,” she said. “That’s why I am a soldier and a nurse.”

The realization that a pageant title could help her make a difference, Stevens said, is when she “learned how to put on make-up instead of camouflage paint.”

Stevens said she was impressed by the support she received from other soldiers when she decided to pursue the Miss America title.

“I have brothers and sisters around the world that are so supportive, and I know that whatever it is, they’ve got your back,” she said.

During her pageant, she recalled, 100 soldiers were in the audience, cheering her on. “I didn’t know half of them,” she said, “but they came to support another soldier.

This continued support from her “family” of servicemembers is now an important part of who she is and will help keep her focused toward her next goal, said Stevens, who will hold her Miss Utah title until July.

“There is so much negative publicity on the news today, and optimism is important,” she said. Looking forward, Stevens said, she will rely on her military experience and connection to maintain her optimism and carry her into her next endeavor.

“Wherever you go, if you wear the uniform or sport the military ID card, you connect with people immediately,” she said. “I know that will always be a part of me.”

DoD
By Jamie Findlater
Special to American Forces Press Service

Salt Lake Tribune

There she is, Miss . . . Stevens.
Jill Stevens, the Utah tomboy turned combat medic turned beauty queen, was unable to take another improbable turn into the Miss America crown Saturday night. That honor went to Kirsten Haglund, 19, of Michigan, a more conventional contestant for the stately 87-year-old institution.
But Stevens’ journey to the competition may nonetheless be a clue to how Americans have come to see veterans – and female veterans in particular.
The 24-year-old Utah National Guard soldier, who served a tour of duty in Afghanistan, didn’t make it to a spot on the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino stage alongside 15 other contestants in spite of her veteran’s status, but rather because of it – as an alternate finalist chosen by the viewers of the TLC cable series “Miss America: Reality Check.”
Stevens, a native of Kaysville, had long acknowledged that she didn’t quite fit the model of a pageant queen. A marathon runner and the only contestant to choose a one-piece suit for what is billed as a the “fitness” portion of the competition, she answered to her elimination by dropping to the stage for a set of push-ups, to the cheers of thousands in the audience, including scores of fellow members of the Utah National Guard.

She did not take the competition as seriously as various judges wanted. She was modest and funny and, worst of all, not one of the “cool” kids. She did us proud, and we want her to know that.

Tomorrow is the big night. Here are some of the latest links about GI Jill:

The Spectrum: Jill Stevens tries to relax before Miss America finale

Film.com: The Missed Potential of Miss America Reality Check

Davis County Clipper: Next battle for Stevens: Miss America

My Sunshine: Let the Games Begin

The Dougherty Family: There He Is

Utah State VA Blog: Miss Utah not your Stereotypical Pageant Contestant

Karly Staples: Exciting Utah News

Utah Army National Guard Sgt. Jill Stevens’ “personal combat zone” has shifted from Afghanistan to Nevada, from a minefield to a beauty contest, from combat boots to high heels.

The 24-year-old Stevens also is Miss Utah, and she is a contestant in the Miss America Pageant in Las Vegas, which will be televised Jan. 26 on The Learning Channel.

Stevens, a combat medic with the Utah Guard, has a resume that isn’t what you would typically expect from a soldier, or a pageant contestant, for that matter: graduate, summa cum laude, Southern Utah University; soldier, Army National Guard; veteran, Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan; contestant, 2008 Miss America Live.

If she wins the crown, Stevens will be the first Miss America to have served in a combat zone, a pageant spokesperson said. She would become the 80th Miss America overall for the pageant, which began in 1921, according to the Miss America Web site. (There were eight years when a new Miss America was not named).

In her duties as Miss Utah, Stevens has traveled from Florida to California, from the destruction of Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana to the streets of Washington, D.C. She has spoken to generals from 40 countries.

Back in Utah, she talks about her military experiences with students from preschool through college and challenges them to push-up contests.

“We have our personal combat zone,” Stevens tells students. “I served in one in Afghanistan. We all have them in life, whether it be with school, family, peer pressure or finding a career. It’s our own minefield and we have to learn to dodge the mines by keeping focus on the target, not doubting ourselves, and believing what our potential is and what we can do.”

Like other citizen-soldiers and -airmen, Stevens stays busy and balances life out of uniform with life in uniform. She recently said she hopes the pageant audience and judges see beyond her military uniform to the full complexity of her life.

“I don’t want to showcase this in a, ‘Oh, look at me, I’m a soldier, I serve my country, you should pick me’ kind of way,” she said. “I want them to think. I want them to look at Jill Stevens and see the whole picture of everything that I do, and being a soldier is a huge part of that, but there’s a lot more.”

Nevertheless, her pageant platform mirrors the Guard’s domestic playbook: “Ready when disaster strikes – emergency preparedness for everyone.”

“That comes from my soldier side of being ready for anything,” Stevens said. “As a medic, we have to be ready for any injury that we face on missions.”

And Stevens draws on her Guard experiences – from Basic Combat Training to a combat zone – in her talks with students.

“I talk about going through the gas chamber, and I relate that to doubt in our lives,” she said. “I talk about shooting at a range, relating that to goals – how we need to keep focused on the target. I talk about running through a minefield in life.”

The final stop on her run for the title of Miss America is a four-day competition in Las Vegas, culminating with the crowning of the winner on national TV.

Conspicuously absent from the competition will be Stevens’ military uniform. But with the help of the American Legion, at least 50 of her fellow soldiers will attend the final night of the pageant at Planet Hollywood on Jan 26.

That arrangement started when a former Miss America, Sharlene Wells, called the Miss America Organization to say that a group of Utah National Guard soldiers wanted to come to the pageant and show their support, but had no budget to buy tickets.

The organization in turn called the American Legion, which offered to sponsor the soldiers and pay for their tickets to attend.

“The motto for the American Legion is ‘for God and Country,’ and that’s exactly what Stevens is doing,” said Joe March, the Legion’s public relations director. “She stands as a great example of a proud American who is dedicated not only to her country, but to her community and her comrades.”

As she goes into the competition, Stevens said “My target is Miss America. The military has taught me if I practice, work hard at it and keep focus on the target, I’ll be ready.”

(Editor’s note: Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill contributed to this report. Greenhill and Staff Sgt. Rebecca Doucette work for the National Guard Bureau.)

worse, the Miss America Pageant.

Southern Utah University reports:

To show appreciation and support for Jill Stevens, a send-off party will take place Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Great Hall at the R. Haze Hunter Conference Center. The send-off party is sponsored by SUU Public Relations, Alumni & Friends, administration and SUUSA.

Stevens will be modeling her swimsuit and evening gown, and performing her talent, which will also be performed at the Miss America pageant. A panel discussion will follow to give people the chance to pose questions to Stevens. Afterward will be refreshments, where people will have the opportunity to talk to Stevens.

Army News
BY Beth Reece

One of the Army’s own will take a shot at the “Miss America 2008″ title Jan. 26 in Las Vegas and a new Army Web site will follow her progress.

A combat medic and Miss Utah 2007, Sgt. Jill Stevens is a member of the Utah National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 211th Aviation Regiment. She will chronicle her preparation and competition in the Miss America pageant at www.army.mil/gijill.

The pageant will be broadcast live on TLC, and a new reality series will air the night before to help viewers get to know each of the 52 contestants. Sgt. Stevens will also be featured in the cover story of the December issue of Soldiers magazine.

Sgt. Stevens had just started nursing school at Southern Utah University in the fall of 2005 when the school’s pageant director recruited her to run for Miss SUU.

“I was like, ‘Yeah, right.’ I wear combat boots; I don’t do heels,” she said.

But the chance to serve and help others – much like she does in uniform – through politics and community, attracted Sgt. Stevens to pageantry. That year she won Miss SUU and went on to become second runner-up in the 2006 Miss Utah pageant.

“At that point I was done,” she said. “I had learned so much about myself, and it was great that, as a Soldier, I’d made it so far.” But friends urged her to go for the crown.

“I knew Jill could win. She’s so multifaceted, and many of the girls are one-dimensional,” said Sharlene Wells-Hawkes, a former Miss America and recent judge. “Her whole life story sets her apart from others. She’s a renaissance woman.”

As Miss Utah 2007, Sgt. Stevens travels the state and across America to spread the word on emergency preparedness. She also gives motivational talks to students about her slogan, “Lock and Load,” which she translates to “Be ready for anything and make every moment count.” And last month she visited Soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and ran the Marine Corps Marathon.

Sgt. Stevens joined the Army National Guard six months before 9/11. Two years later, she deployed to Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, where she cared for 10 to 40 Soldiers a day at the medical aid station.

It was in Afghanistan that retired Sgt. 1st Class Lee Porter predicted Sgt. Stevens would one day be Miss America, a year before she considered entering a pageant. “She’s an all-around amazing girl, the type of person who’s going to make a difference in people’s lives,” he said.

The divide between Soldier and beauty queen, beret and tiara, evening gown and Army combat uniform, is not so vast to Sgt. Stevens.

“To me, they go hand in hand. The military wants people to get an education, to be fit and, above all, to serve. It’s the same with Miss America. They also want you to be educated; they also promote fitness; and the biggest part is service. Both teach you to be leaders.”

Which title best suits her?

“Oh, definitely the Soldier,” she said. “I show up to my Miss Utah events in uniform. In parades, I’m in uniform instead of an evening gown to show that this is who I am.”

Sgt. Stevens’ journey through pageantry and the Army’s ranks will be featured in the December issue of “Soldiers” magazine, available at www.army.mil/publications

TLC is hosting a reality show titled Miss America Reality Check. It features the 52 contestants for the Miss America title including GI Jill, Jill Stevens.

The site features a Flash presentation that my computer hates.

That said, you are offered the opportunity to vote for your favorite contestant. The winner will be given a slot as a finalist in the contest.

The Miss America contestant who receives the most eligible and verified votes during the Voting Period and who is not already included as a top 15 finalist in the Miss America Pageant, as chosen by the Miss America Pageant judges (“Top 15”), will be chosen to become the “16th finalist” in the Miss America Pageant. If the contestant with the top votes is already in the Top 15, the contestant with the next-highest number of votes will be the 16th finalist, and so forth. The 16th finalist will be announced at the Miss America Pageant airing on Saturday, January 26, 2008 at 8:00pm Eastern Time.

Rules

FAQs

Combat Medic Badge

It has not gone unnoticed here that a significant number of the men and women in the WOT Heroes category won their awards as medics. It is also fair to say that a number of these awards went to medics killed in the line of duty. For Jill Stevens to have received this award, she had to have been performing her medic’s role in actual combat.

And, to my delight, this is one award that is NOT allowed to be awarded to general officers.

U.S. Army

The Combat Medical Badge (CMB), or Medical Badge as it was initially called, was established by the War Department in March 1945. It was created as a means to recognize the important role performed by medical personnel assigned or attached to infantry units, and who on a daily basis shared the same hazards and hardships of combat in World War II.

The need to establish a badge for medical personnel was a result of the Combat Infantry Badge (CIB) being established on 27 October 1943 for the infantryman, who was subjected to the worst conditions in combat, sustained the most casualties and receiving very little, if any, recognition for their sacrifice and heroic actions. The CIB could only be awarded to infantrymen. While it was recognized that other personnel, like the medics, served along side these gallant soldiers, suffered the same hardships of combat, and often died on the battlefield treating their comrades, no exceptions were made for this prestigious award. This new infantryman’s badge led to many requests and recommendations to create special combat badges for medical personnel and other components of the army; however the War Department disapproved all of these initiatives.

The Army Medical Department continued its efforts to have a combat badge established for its personnel serving in infantry units. The War Department finally approved the Medical Badge for medical personnel in WD Circular 66, dated 1 March 1945, and made it retroactive to 7 December 1941. The approval of the Medical Badge did not include the $10.00 extra pay a month that was authorized to an infantryman who earned the CIB. While the issue of extra pay was being addressed, the infantryman certainly had no objections to the medic or “DOC”, as he was commonly referred to in the unit, to receive equal pay.

One infantry unit took matters in their own hands and took up a collection from its members for their medics who “shared their dangers but not their pay”. In July 1945, extra pay was approved for medical personnel who served in infantry units.

In February 1951, the war department approved the addition of stars to the CMB to indicate subsequent awards of the badge in separate wars or conflicts. Multiple awards of the CMB is limited to WW II, Korean Conflict and Vietnam. The rules for award of the CMB have been expanded to include Army medical personnel who served in armor and ground cavalry units during Desert Shied/Storm. Medical personnel of the Navy and Air Force who have been assigned or attached to similar Army units engaged in active ground combat may also be awarded the CMB.

The CMB is one of the most coveted awards a “Soldier Medic” can earn and certainly has been and always will be the ultimate “Portrait of Courage”.

Miss Utah, Jill Stevens, has a Flickr site. 91 images, including her duty in Afghanistan. Go and take a look.

The United States Army is proud of all its soldiers, though not all of them will have an Army website dedicated to them. Jill Stevens, Miss Utah, does. Jill is also Sgt. Jill Stevens, combat medic, and a member of the Utah National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 211th Aviation Regiment.

For the past 6 years, Jill Stevens has been serving in the US Military as a Combat Medic in the Utah National Guard, while earning her degree in Nursing at Southern Utah University. In November 2003, Jill was deployed to Afghanistan, returning home in April 2005. She has earned 5 medals for her outstanding service, and was the first female finisher of the inaugural Afghanistan Marathon, making a total of 12 marathons she has completed together with earning the highest Fitness award during Army Basic Training. In representing the Army National Guard, Sergeant Stevens recently addressed Generals from 40 different nations gathered at Hill Air Force Base.

In addition to her US Military service, Jill recently graduated Summa Cum Laude from the Nursing program at Southern Utah University on a four-year leadership scholarship. Last summer, she placed 3rd in the Cinco De Mayo Sailboat Regatta in Mexico, and this summer, Jill was chosen one of four women for the “Women of Strength” featured in Muscle and Fitness Hers Magazine September/October 2007 issue. Additionally, Jill has been a fitness instructor for Gold’s Gym for several years, as well as a bread baker for Great Harvest. Possibly one of the most unusual adventures for Jill though, has been her unexpected experience in becoming Miss Utah 2007, and looking forward to her national competition in the Miss America Pageant in January 2008.

Update: This hero has passed away. Her obituary may be found here. Many thanks to a reader for the link. She was not awarded a Bronze Star (God knows why not) but an Army Commendation Medal with V device for valor.

FYI: a letter she wrote to a fellow soldier after the fight in Najaf.

Hey you I did get my self in some trouble when you left. I was almost killed. Check lexingtonheraldleader, you will see I was a hero for a day and made a name for myself. All the way to the pentagon.
I took someone out and killed him with a 400 meter shot. I saved 3 peoples lives with 3 different gunshot wounds. I fought with Not for your eyes security and the el sals for 11 1/2 hours before special forces showed up I was the only female you would have been proud. I was almost killed and still kept fighting. Just like they taught us. Nobody thought I could have done something like that but hell I didn’t either. So when We came under fire I did what I had to to survive and that was fight. One of the security guys said when he yelled for me to get down. when I hit the ground the 3 bullets were within an inch of my kevlar. I couldn’t move I was pinned down and I thought I was hit. Because every inch of my body hurt. They thought I was dead. But when the shooting stopped i lifted my head enough to where they knew I was ok. And they covered me so I could crawl to them and then they checked me from head to toe like big brothers and then I was [TOS Violation] and got back up and started shooting again.
But the next day I hurt from head to toe. And I was bruised and cut from head to toe. Busted 1 knee and fractured right hand in four places and busted chin. But I still kept fighting until my mission in Najaf was over then I flew back to Baghdad on helicopter with my group and got xrays and my hand was broke. Then I went back to the base dropped off my gear and went to go see my boss and the general was outside with about 4 officers including my boss. I said sir I would salute you but and he goes no I want a hug, because you did us proud.

Army Times

RICHMOND, Ky. A former Miss Teen Madison County has been recommended for the nation’s fourth-highest military honor for her actoins during a battle in Iraq earlier this month [April 2004].

Along with a Bronze Star with a ‘V’ for valor recommendation, Army Spec. Theresa Lynn Flannery, 26, is also receiving a Purple Heart for an injury she received while under fire during a battle at Najaf, Iraq.

Flannery broke bones in her right wrist and hand diving for cover during the two-hour firefight, then treated other fellow soldiers before having her own injury diagnosed.

A letter from Col. William Ettinger, deputy commander of her unit, to Flannery’s family outlined Flannery’s work and her injuries.

‘Words cannot express how proud I am of your daughter,’ Ettinger wrote. ‘She is a fine soldier.’

Theresa Flannery’s father, David Flannery of Richmond, said family members did not know the extent of her injuries or actions until receiving Ettinger’s letter.

‘I get choked up reading that letter,’ David Flannery said.

If Theresa Flannery, who won Miss Teen Madison County in 1991, is awarded the Bronze Star, it would be the second to go to the Flannery family for duty in Iraq. Her youngest brother, Warrant Officer Christopher Flannery, 20, was awarded the Bronze Star while serving with the Army Reserve during the campaign to oust Saddam Hussein last year.

Christopher Flannery is now in Army helicopter pilot training in Georgia. Theresa Flannery’s second brother, Kentucky Air National Guard Senior Airman David Flannery II, 22, was activated and served overseas during the campaign in Afghanistan. He is now back home in Berea.

About a year after high school, Theresa joined the U.S. Army and became a combat engineer, serving in Germany and other places. She joined the Army Reserve after her enlistment ended.

‘There have been a lot of sleepless nights, ever since 9/11,’ said David Flannery, who served in the Air Force during the 1970s and was a Lexington police officer from 1978 to 2002. ‘You try to limit your TV watching, waiting and looking for news. You can’t watch the 11 o’clock news and then go to bed. It doesn’t work. There’s too much on your mind.’

According to Ettinger’s letter, Flannery volunteered to accompany a group of coalition military observers in Najaf, where up to a million Shiite Muslims were participating in an annual religious pilgrimage. Authorities feared guerrillas opposed to the U.S.-led occupation might attack the pilgrims.

On the morning of April 2, the letter said, the situation in Najaf began to turn violent, with militiamen opening fire on the compound of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Najaf, where Flannery was on duty.

Though having seen news reports about the fighting in Najaf and Fallujah, David and Maggie Flannery really didn’t know of their daughter’s direct involvement until a few days ago when she called. Theresa Flannery said only that her hand was injured, that she had been in some firefights and that she had helped a wounded soldier. Only in later conversations did details start to come out.

Her mother, Maggie Flannery, said she’s still amazed by her daughter’s story.

‘I just think back to when she was in all those pageants,’ Maggie Flannery said. ‘Here she is, this delicate beauty queen type, and she’s in the middle of all this fighting. It’s just hard to believe.’

Richmond Register

“This is why I fight and why I continue to serve,” said Sgt. Theresa Flannery, as she held her 2-year old son on a stage where she was once crowned Miss Madison County and Miss Teen Madison County.

Flannery, a 1997 graduate of Madison Southern High School who spent most of 2004 with the U.S. Army in Iraq, was recognized Friday evening as the second annual Kentucky Veterans Welcome Home Celebration began at the Madison County Fair Grounds.

Flannery joined the military in 2000, had already fulfilled her two-year active duty assignment and was assigned to the Lexington-based 15th Transportation Reserve Company, when she was activated in December 2003.

The next month she was driving vehicles in Iraq. On April 4, 2004, her unit came under attack by insurgents who hoped to kill or capture a member of U.S. Ambassador Paul Bremer’s staff in the volatile city of Najaf.

For nearly 12 hours, she was operating a rifle rather than an automobile, firing off 800 rounds.

She was the only woman in a continent of about 20 Americans that stood with Spanish soldiers to hold off an attack by more than 1,000 insurgents.

“I fractured my hand as I jumped to the ground to take cover,” she said. “I heard two bullets whiz past my head as I fell.” Two of her comrades were wounded as the attack began.

“Their blood is still on these boots,” she said, pointing to her unpolished footwear.

“My hand was swollen, but it was not diagnosed as fractured until two weeks later,” she said. “It hurt as I was firing my rifle, but when you’re fighting for your life, you forget about the pain.”

She was awarded a purple heart and a combat citation for valor.

Flannery said both of her brothers, David and Christopher, followed her into the military.

Their parents are David and Maggie Flannery of Berea.

Flannery, who now lives in Lexington, is set to receive two associate’s degrees from the Bluegrass Community and Technical College in May. She hopes to receive those diplomas before returning for a second tour of duty next year in Iraq.

DoD

WASHINGTON, April 4, 2004 – Spanish and Salvadoran troops in Najaf came under attack from gunmen hiding in a crowd of protesters, coalition officials said in Baghdad today.

One El Salvadoran soldier was killed, and 12 El Salvadoran soldiers and one U.S. soldier were wounded when a large number of men, many dressed in black, attacked a Coalition base with small-arms fire, said a coalition news release. The wounded were transported to the 31st Combat Support Hospital for treatment.

Coalition forces including U.S. Air Force aircraft and U.S. Army gunships responded to the attacks. The situation in Najaf is now stabilized, senior military officials said in a background briefing earlier in the day.

Officials said the attacks began at about 11:45 a.m. Iraq time, when a vehicle leaving an Iraqi Civil Defense Corps base came under small-arms fire. From about noon to 2:30 p.m., the coalition base came under attack from “a large number of personnel.”

Capt.-promotable Rose Lopez-Keravuori

Bio

On May 1, Rose López-Keravuori was crowned Mrs. Virginia-America 2005. Rose is an intelligence analyst with BAE Systems and also serves as a Military Intelligence Captain in the U.S. Army Reserve. Rose grew up in Los Angeles, CA and Limoges, France and is the daughter of a Cuban émigré and a Mexican-American father, both of whom stressed the importance of education in a person’s development.

Rose earned a BS in French and Spanish and Computer Science Engineering from West Point. At West Point she was chosen as the representative to the Mexican Military Academy as well as one of two cadets to attend a semester at the French Military Academy of St Cyr.

After graduation, Rose was stationed in Germany as an active duty Military Intelligence Officer for six years. During that time she deployed to Hungary during the 1999 NATO Air-Campaign against Serbia, deployed to Kosovo in 2000 for peacekeeping operations, and deployed after September 11 to Kosovo and Macedonia. During her time in the military, Rose also completed a Masters in International Relations with emphasis in Economics from the University of Oklahoma and a Masters in Business Administration from Cameron University. She was elected graduation speaker for the graduate degree commencement exercises.

Army

Capt.-promotable Rose Lopez-Keravuori, who also happens to be the reigning 2005 Mrs. Virginia, was a guest of the U.S. Army team at Sunday’s DIRECTV 500 Nextel Cup race. It was the first NASCAR race for Keravuori, who was crowned Mrs. Virginia last May.

A 1997 West Point graduate with degrees in Spanish, French and Computer Science Engineering, Keravuori spent six years on active duty in Germany as a military intelligence officer.

A multi-talented woman, she is a classically trained musician who is also fluent in several languages.

“I speak French and Spanish fluently, and German pretty well,” said Keravuori. “And I’ve studied at a university level Mandarin Chinese, Russian and Hungarian.”

Keravuori credits her extensive language ability for improving her work as a military intelligence analyst in the U.S. Army Reserves. “They help a lot. But unfortunately my languages don’t really help me in the areas where we’re deployed today. Arabic would help me.”

When she’s not working, Keravuori and her husband are avid outdoor adventurers. Their experiences range from ordinary to extreme, including some desert sand dune surfing.

“I did that in Namibia, in western Africa,” said Keravuori. “After active duty I took a year and a half off with my husband and we’re both outdoor enthusiasts. We took 30 days to hike across Costa Rica, camping with indigenous tribes throughout. We ice climbed in New Zealand and hiked around Tibet. I love being outdoors.”

Living in Arlington within sight of the Pentagon, Lopez-Keravuori has traveled all over Virginia to promote her pageant platform on education. Slated to surrender her crown in May, she’ll then prepare for her next adventure – a six month deployment in support of the global war on terrorism.

“I’ll be going to Bagram in Afghanistan as an executive officer, so I’ll be an intel officer for Soldiers dispersed throughout the country. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to deploy and do my part,” said Keravuori.

Before Sunday’s race, Keravuori took a few lessons in how to change a tire using one of the team’s gas-powered impact wrenches. And just like most things she’s tried, she soon had it mastered … almost.

Captain Jeannie Deakyne

KCEN-TV

On the day that NBC 6 visited Army Captain Jeannie Deakyne was overseeing the promotion of 2 of the soldiers under her command, when we surprised her with an award of her own.

“I couldn’t believe that somebody would have picked my name out of a pile and to think I would be deserving of one of the 6 volunteers in Central Texas,” said Jeannie.

Always humble, Deaknye was deployed to Iraq in February of 2004 to command the company that operated the Baghdad International Airport.

After returning from Iraq, she was awarded the Bronze Star Medal. She also worked tirelessly to assist in the mobilization of approximately 2000 soldiers from Ft. Hood who were deployed to areas affected by Hurricane Katrina.

UTA Magazine

When Jeannie Panton Deakyne gets up in the morning, she doesn’t have to decide whether to wear a dress, a pantsuit or jeans to work.

Instead, she dons the uniform of the United States Army.

Stationed in Iraq, Deakyne (pronounced Dee-kine) is a captain in the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division.

The former Student Congress president earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from UTA in 1998. In December of that year, she received her commission as an Army second lieutenant. Her active duty commitment ended in June 2004, but she extended it to “voluntary indefinite” so she could serve in Iraq.

She arrived in the Middle East in March, spent two weeks in Kuwait, then moved north to Iraq’s Camp Cooke, approximately 20 miles northwest of Baghdad in the town of Taji. Camp Cooke, named after a sergeant major who was killed in action in Iraq, is bordered to the east by the Tigris River.

“The landscape just west of the Tigris is straight out of a children’s picture Bible,” she said. “Palm trees and rushes follow the river inland about 100 feet. The remainder of the camp, however, is barren, with rocks, sand and gravel as far as the eye can see.”

The camp was formerly the Al Taji Airfield, used as a base for the elite Iraqi Republican Guard as well as a munitions storage facility.

Deakyne’s section of two officers, six noncommissioned officers and seven soldiers spends each day providing administrative support, conducting records management and processing awards and evaluations. But additional combat duties, including guard duty and tracking operations, are really what keep the Brigade S1 section busy.

“We also have the mission to process casualties and notify their families. To date, we have had 11 casualties, including two killed in action as two Apache pilots were shot down on Easter Sunday. We held a memorial service the following Tuesday, and I witnessed emotion I never thought I would see in the Army.”