Miss America 2010 Caressa Cameron wrapped up a week-long visit to Germany May 13, 2010, with a visit to U.S. Africa Command headquarters where she participated in briefings, attended a luncheon with local volunteers, and expressed gratitude for U.S. military members serving in the Stuttgart area and those in Africa supporting the command. Cameron is no stranger to the military, with a father who served as a Marine and a mother working personnel readiness issues at the Pentagon. She said she is inspired by the work being done by service members. "What I wanted to accomplish this week was just to say thank you, to show my gratitude, and to be of support to our service men and women," said Cameron, who also spent time earlier in the week visiting with wounded personnel at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC) in Kaiserslautern. LRMC is the largest military hospital outside the United States and serves as a treatment center for service members wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as noncombat health care for military personnel and their family members who are stationed in Europe. "[The hospital visit] is something that I am definitely going to take back because a lot of the young men and women who I met are so resilient, so positive, who want to get better so that they can go back," Cameron said. HIV program briefings Among the highlights of her visit to U.S. Africa Command, Cameron said, was the briefing she received on HIV/AIDS, an issue close to her heart after losing an uncle to the disease when she was 8 years old. Personnel from U.S. AFRICOM's Health and Humanitarian Activities Branch discussed Department of Defense programs combating HIV/AIDS worldwide, as well as in Africa, where several countries have among the most prevalent infection rates in the world. U.S. Africa Command supports African militaries in establishing HIV/AIDS prevention programs through its Partner Military HIV/AIDS Program (PMHAP), as part of the DoD HIV/AIDS Prevention Program (DHAPP). PMHAP, implemented through DHAPP, is a key agency of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the U.S. response to the global HIV/AIDS pandemic. Through PEPFAR and the Office of the Secretary of Defense, prevention programs have been established in 43 African nations. In 2009, more 42,000 African troops and families received palliative care; nearly 4,000 peer educators were trained; nearly 4,000 health care staff here trained; and more than 200,000 people received counseling and testing, said Eric Threet, a humanitarian assistance program coordinator for U.S. AFRICOM. Cameron talked about the similarities between the fight against HIV/AIDS in the United States and in Africa. "The work they are doing in Africa is very much similar to the work that's being done in the United States," said Cameron. "For us to have the technologies and the equipment and the availabilities to do so many wonderful things, not just in our country, but in other countries, is great." Cameron said she was hopeful that programs conducted by U.S. Africa Command would "get us on a path where [African militaries] can be stable and eventually this disease can be one that is eradicated, not only in Africa, but in the United States as well, and every other country that is ailed with this disease." Emphasizing that prevention is a key aspect of fighting HIV/AIDS, Threet showed Cameron some of the items regularly distributed during visits to the continent, including mosquito nets and condoms. Cameron also had the chance to try on a pair of self-prescriptive glasses, which are distributed by the Humanitarian Activities Branch to African residents who do not have access to eyewear. The glasses, which are attached to a syringe, allow people to adjust a dial to reduce the amount of fluid within the lenses and change the prescription. Meeting with Stuttgart volunteers, visiting schools Prior to the HIV/AIDS briefing, Cameron joined Major General Michael Snodgrass, U.S. AFRICOM's chief of staff, for a luncheon to congratulate six people in the Stuttgart military community who were selected as the volunteers of the year. The volunteers had the chance to ask Cameron questions about her experiences as Miss America and take photos. Throughout the week Cameron visited military schools in the Stuttgart area, where she talked to the students and answered their questions. She said she particularly enjoyed the questions from the younger students, who asked if she gets to keep the crown and if she gets to rule over people. Cameron said she enjoys being a role model for younger people and can relate to many of the struggles they go through. "When I was young, I had a unibrow, very long sideburns, braces, glasses…Kids were very mean to me, they called me 'wolverine'," she said. "Now I have transitioned to a place not that I feel beautiful because of what I see, but because I'm comfortable with who I am and what I set out to do." Message to young people Her message to young people is to find out who they are and accept it. "What I say to other young people who might be in the same place that I was, who may be feeling awkward or not fitting in is that it's really more about finding out who you are on the inside because, in my opinion, beauty is subjective." In an interview, Cameron explained that after her year of service for the Miss America organization, she will return to school with the $50,000 scholarship she received upon winning the pageant. She plans to pursue a degree in communications with a focus in broadcasting and hopes to have a career as a broadcaster. "This job is one of the best internships I could have ever gotten because I'm always behind a camera or reading a teleprompter," said Cameron. "I have an opportunity to span my level of influence and my message and the things I have to say far and wide. That's a great part about being Miss America." See related article: Miss America 2010 Visits U.S. Service members and Families in Germany