Seatrade Cruise News is part of the Informa Markets Division of Informa PLC

This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 8860726.

Miss USA to serve as Carnival Vista godmother

cf8defb00a2b3ea1c1abf6830b587be1_XL
Deshauna Barber - first woman serving in the US military to win the Miss USA title
Miss USA Deshauna Barber will serve as the godmother of Carnival Vista during Nov. 4 festivities in New York City. Barber made history earlier this year when she became the first woman serving in the US military to win the Miss USA title.

Barber will do the honors during a shipboard ceremony that is part of an overnight gala event honoring Operation Homefront and featuring an exclusive invitation-only concert by seven-time Grammy-winning country music superstar Carrie Underwood.

'I love that Carnival carries more families, including military families, than any other cruise line and I’m looking forward to checking out all of the ship’s many innovative features when I’m on board next month,' Barber said.

In addition to the concert, the festivities will include overnight accommodations, meals, activities and entertainment for hundreds of military families.

The concert and overnight gala are the culmination of 'Honor. Family. Fun.,' Carnival’s year-long fundraising effort for Operation Homefront to help the organization fulfill its mission of building strong, stable and secure military families.

The daughter of a retired Army master sergeant who was a member of the Special Forces, Barber joined the Army Reserve as a quartermaster officer in 2011. After earning her bachelor's degree in business management from Virginia State University, she went on to complete her master's degree in computer information systems from the University of Maryland University College.

Barber currently serves as logistics commander for the 988th Quartermaster Detachment Unit in Rockville, Maryland. A passionate advocate for the US military and a champion of gender equality, Barber focuses on PTSD treatment for soldiers returning from deployments and suicide prevention throughout the Armed Forces.