‘COMBAT BARBIE’ IN BID TO WIN MISS ENGLAND
A Woman soldier from High Brooms, nicknamed Combat Barbie by her army colleagues, is calling for the people of Tunbridge Wells to support her bid to be crowned Miss England 2008.
Katrina Hodge, 20, a self-described “girly girl,” was posted to Iraq shortly after her 18th birthday where she gained recognition for disarming an Iraqi suspect with her bare hands.
Now the former Hillview pupil has set her sights on winning the well-known beauty pageant to “show females in the army in a good light.”
She said: “It started out as a bit of a joke but I realised it would be a great way to promote female soldiers. A lot of people think only women who are body builders or rugby players join up but the reality is you can be a small, typical girl and be very successful in the forces.”
Pte Hodge said her army colleagues supported her quest to win the competition but thought it was “really funny”.
She added: “They all think it’s a bit crazy but they know I am very spontaneous and I like to go out of my way to do things people think I can’t do. Last year I auditioned for Big Brother and got down to the final 30.”
After returning from Iraq in 2005, Pte Hodge received a citation for courage for disarming an armed Iraqi rebel.
She and members of her unit were transporting the suspected rebel fighter back to base when their vehicle skidded of the road and flipped over three times.
In the course of the incident the suspect grabbed two loaded rifles but was tackled and disarmed by a whiplashed, and unarmed, Pte Hodge.
She is now based at a military hospital in Aldershot which deals with soldiers who were injured in Afghanistan.
On being a woman in the armed forces she said: “Life is not always easy. When I first joined it was a shock dealing with the discipline.
“I’m a bit of a girly girl so knowing I couldn’t get my nails and my hair done whenever I wanted was quite tough for me.
“But I have really enjoyed my time in the army. It provides me with so many opportunities to travel and it’s great to work as a team. I’m not treated any differently, I’m just one of the lads.”
Pte Hodge, who turns 21 next week, plans to serve out a full 22-year career in the forces, but she regularly returns to her Gordon Road home to see her mum.
She said: “Whenever I’m out and about in Tunbridge Wells my friends tell people I’m in the army and no one believes them. I have to get out my ID and show them.”
She has entered the Miss Photographic heat seven and is hoping for as many telephone and text votes as possible.
If she gets through the preliminary round she will represent Tunbridge Wells in the next stage of the competition.
Pte Hodge added: “People in beauty contests always say they want world peace but in my case, rather than saying it, I’m actually doing it.”
source : thisiscourier.co.uk / Alarabiya
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