While preparing for the 2010 Miss Teen America pageant, Brianne Good received a call from an Army recruiter that would forever change her life.

When she was first accepted into the pageant, Good started having nagging doubts if this was the right place for her. “I was going around getting sponsors, and getting all my stuff for the pageant, practicing my walk and going to stylists and such,” she recounts. “And I was just uncomfortable with the whole ordeal.”

So when an army recruiter called her up about joining the military, the unconventional teen decided to leave behind the pageant dresses for some fatigues.

Good was finally deployed last January and is now serving as private first class in Qatar, specializing in communications and mechanics.

The former pageant contestant talks about the importance of women in the military. “The nation needs women to support the military. Like I said, with the different culture that we go to, males can’t play the same role that women play,” she tells NBC. “It’s good to have women in the military to be able to complete the mission.”

While Good’s path is certainly unconventional, she isn’t the first pageant contestant to join the army. 2004 Miss Rhode Island USA was competing in the pageant while active in the Army’s ROTC program while 2007 Miss Arkansas USA was actually Second Lt. Kelly George.