Former Indonesian Beauty Queen Wants to Quit the U.S. Army Because She Literally Can’t Even

November 28, 2016

A former Indonesian beauty queen who chose to serve in the U.S. military last year has announced that she no longer likes it and is now planning to quit and move back to Indonesia.

Kristania Virginia Besouw, Miss Indonesia 2006, surprised her fans in March last year after she posted a photo on social media of herself dressed in army uniform along with other trainees. Just a little over a year, she is now saying she wishes to leave the military soon and return to her hometown of Manado, North Sulawesi.

“I don’t like it, [I] want to resign,” Besouw said in an interview with kompas.com (via the Jakarta Post). “[It’s] tiring to always travel and move. What’s important is I already know how it feels to be a soldier.”

Besouw said she was earlier poised to get promoted to a higher rank. “I was sent to the Noncommissioned Officer Academy to study a basic leader course for a month in September, which allows me to achieve a higher rank,” she said.

After a change of heart, she decided to instead leave the military immediately after her contract expires in October 2018.

“I’ve graduated from it; all I need to do is just meet with the council.”

A native of Manado, the capital city of the North Sulawesi province, Kristania explained that she has longed to visit her family and friends back at home.

“I long to see Manado; I want to eat Manado’s spicy, delicious foods. I also miss my close friends and family,” she said.

After her victory in the Miss Indonesia pageant in 2006, she later represented the country at the Miss World contest in the same year. In 2008, Besouw married a medical doctor who graduated from the Philippines. Following her marriage, Besouw moved to Colby, Kansas, and then got her U.S. citizenship after passing the MAVNI (Military Accessions Vital to National Interest) program for those who study in the U.S. for at least 2 years. She is currently on active duty in Killeen, Texas at the Fort Hood army base as a nurse.

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