Theresa Vail is not the conventional Miss America contestant.

Competing as Miss Kansas, the 22-year-old is in the military and has tattoos, a rarity in the pageant.

"I have served my state and my Country for 6 years. I may not be on the front lines of war but I wear my uniform with unmistakable pride. I yearn for the day that I get to deploy and serve my Country to the fullest potential," she wrote on her blog on May 25.

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The blonde-haired beauty and member of the Army National Guard also has no intention of covering up her tattoos during the competition. Vail, who has the Serenity Prayer and the U.S. Army Dental Corps insignia on her skin, discussed her ink in an August blog post in order to warn the nation that her tattoos will be seen when she competes.

"As of right now, the stigma is girls with visible tattoos do not compete in pageants, and certainly do not win. I want to break that. I am a traditionalist, I am conservative and I am a God-fearing woman," she wrote on MissKansas.org. "Having tattoos does not negate any of those. Think about it."

Indeed, both of her tattoos were visible during the swimsuit competition at the Miss America pageant on Tuesday. One is located on the right side of her body and the other on her left shoulder. The Miss America finale will air on Sunday night.

Scroll through our gallery to see photos of Vail.