Miss America Joins the Air Force

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Teresa Scanlan, Miss America 2011, speaks to the crew of the Military Sealift Command dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS Charles Drew from the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Cape St. George during a replenishment at sea. (Christopher Johnson/U.S. Navy)

2011 Miss America Teresa Scanlan announced on Instagram that she's joined the United States Air Force.

Ever since my year as Miss America, I had a dream of joining the military. ...This summer, that dream finally came true. . I am beyond honored and humbled to announce that I am now officially an A1C in the Air National Guard and graduated Air Force Basic Training as an Honor Graduate (top 10%) last weekend. The title of “airman” is one I proudly hold and I hope to represent the Air Force well. . As Miss America, most people know that I spent much of my time with the military. Whether visiting Walter Reed and Bethesda military hospitals, working with the USO, or doing base visits, I became overwhelmed with appreciation for our troops and I had a growing sense that I needed to do more to serve. I knew I wanted to do more than sign autographs and take pictures with our armed forces; I wanted to serve alongside them. Now, almost 8 years later, that dream is a reality, and one that I will not ever take for granted. . Most people know that over the past 8 years I have rarely been able to keep anything private in my life. Yet this was one thing that I wanted to remain private for a while, so I apologize to anyone I haven’t been responding to over the past 2 months while I was at basic. This dream was highly personal, so I didn’t want to make grand announcements and deal with other people giving their opinions before I joined. . Now that I’ve officially graduated and am ready to begin my service while in law school over the next 3 years however, I’m more than happy to share my decision. It’s one that I don’t regret and of which I’ll forever be incredibly proud. ...And now I begin the process of responding to everyone that has messaged me over the past 2 months! 😫😂 . #airforce #usaf #airnationalguard #militarymom #missamerica #curvesandcombatboots #military

A post shared by Teresa Scanlan (@teresascanlan) on

Scanlan is now an Airman First Class in the Air National Guard. She's also a law student at UC Berkley.

During her term as Miss America, Scanlan participated in USO tours, visited Walter Reed and Bethesda military hospitals and toured several military installations.

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