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Fort Hood soldier defies cultural norms, breaks barriers

"Of everybody in the family, I was not expected to be where I am right now."

Sergeant Imane Ouaouzar knows seven languages and aspires to climb the ranks to be a female general one day. Fort Hood's 3rd Cavalry Regiment soldier moved to America from Marrakech, Morocco in Africa back in 2012.

"Of everybody in the family, I was not expected to be where I am right now," Ouaouzar said.

She took a leap to be the first in her large family to both live on her own and in the United States. She didn't plan on joining the military in the U.S. at first. She said she just wanted to work and be successful like any American would. But upon the advice of an American friend, she enlisted and went to basic training.

She was inspired by her grandfather who served in the French Army during World War II.

"He would tell me how he went to France and Germany and what he did and all that and how he was brave. I don't know if that was true or not, but my grandfather was illiterate and he got selected when he was 13," she said.

Ouaouzar defied cultural norms from her home country because many women in Morocco are expected to get married and start a family at a young age. Her grandmother got married at 12-years-old while her mother got married at 15-years-old.

"Of course I was supposed to be a wife," she explained.

She recalls her most recent visit to Morocco heading back after her accomplishments.

"A policeman there and he saw it was U.S. Army and he just gave me the look like hmm, U.S. Army and I was like yea, I was like so happy about it," she said."And he was like, so what is your rank there? And I was like Sergeant, and he was like again, hmm, Sergeant, and I was like yes!"

But with the support of her family, especially her father, she is aiming to be a role model for all of her female family members.

"It takes like years and years but we were able to rebel in certain things and just like found a way. But at the same time, I make sure to follow certain rules," she said.

Ouaouzar is heading to Officer Candidate School later this year and she is not stopping there. The soldier is planning to get a Bachelor's degree stateside and even hopes to get her Masters too.

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