2nd Lt. Elena Gonzalez is a medical platoon leader and logistics management officer with the 237th Brigade Support Battalion, 37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. Gonzalez is a contestant and is scheduled compete for the Miss Ohio USA title on Nov. 21-22 at the Vern Riffe Center for the Arts on the Shawnee State University campus in Portsmouth, Ohio.

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

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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?

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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.

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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.

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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

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