The Miami Herald recently published a somewhat censored report of “Sgt 1st Class A,” an unidentified female California National Guard Soldier and Muslim. She was on her first deployment in her 20-year career, and the article briefly described her past and how she celebrated Ramadan.

Islam, she says, makes her a better soldier, “thoughtful, compassionate, understanding — all those things you need as a leader. That’s where I pull my strength from.”

In an interesting twist, the article says the Soldier got her start in Islam through fashion:

she was working at a strip mall near a shop specializing in modest Muslim clothing. A shop worker asked her to model some. She agreed, so long as it was colorful clothing, not the drab attire that some associate with Islam…

The clothes fit, and then so did Islam. So now she belongs to a mosque in Oakland, California…

The reporter seemed to be in search of a more interesting story, particularly about the prisoners and Islam, but the SFC kept it fairly simple:

“For me I’ve been charged to do a job,” she replied of her duties handling logistics and personnel issues for her platoon. “The other part of that, that’s somebody else’s responsibility. Not mine.”

Repeated at the Stars and Stripes.

ADVERTISEMENT