"Muslims have a great role to support the military and the country," Hosein told The Washington Post in an interview published on last month.

"I feel the role of a chaplain in these times is even more critical."

In June, she will become the first female to complete the practical component of a pioneering degree program for training Muslim chaplains at the Hartford Seminary in Connecticut.

Shareda, who holds a B.A. in business and marketing from the University of Massachusetts, has already completed the basic part of the program. The graduation ceremony was one of her unforgettable moments in life.

"It’s my duty to attend to one special student," Ian Markham, the program’s presiding dean, told graduates and relatives.

"I’m pleased to present to you Shareda Hosein."

"It’s a very proud day," said her mother, Ojeefan Hosein. "I feel great. My daughter accomplished what she wanted."

Hartford’s program is the equivalent of a master’s of divinity degree, the minimum educational requirement for chaplains in the military and federal prison system.

For Hosein, 47, the army is more than a choice she made when she turned 18.

"I like the sense of discipline. I like the sense of structure. You know when your next promotion is due. You know how you have to perform to get a good evaluation. It’s set," she said.

After years of following orders, she came to think she was less obedient to God when it came to some religious obligations, particularly hijab.

"I had to do my own self-examination," she recalls.

She asked herself why she had no problem complying with the military’s rules – keeping her hair above the bottom edge of the collar when in uniform – but ignored her religious obligation.

"Am I more afraid of man’s laws than God’s laws or God’s requests?" she wondered at one point.

"And that was, like, the shift for me … The next day I decided to wear it." She was 35.

Yet, Hosein continues to suffer an inner conflict between her love of the army establishment and its failure to accommodate her religious beliefs.

"There’s a war that goes on in my head, because covering is the essence of being private and keeping my beauty for my home life, my family. And when I wear my uniform, I can’t be covered, because that’s for the public," she explains.

"It’s a big part of my journey and my struggle … I want to be true to both my career paths, my personality and my life. And in every way I feel integrated with both, going from one to the other, with the exception of not being able to cover in uniform."

The army is proving to be the stumbling block for the fulfillment of Hosien’s chaplaincy dream. It has declined her application, citing Islam’s prohibition against women leading prayers in the presence of men.

During a 10-month mobilization in Kuwait with her Reserve unit in 2004, she asked for a meeting with the Army’s visiting chief of chaplains. She was given time with his aide instead.

"He pretty much said, ‘Hey, we’d love to have you. We need you, but you can’t lead prayers with men and women. So you can’t come onboard,’ " she recalls.

But Hosein maintains that chaplaincy involves more than worship services and that she could ask any male colleague to lead the prayers.

She told the aide that her military experience would help her "explain to the spouses, the women, the wives, this is what your husband is experiencing because I’ve lived the life."

Hosein is still hopeful that backing from prominent Muslim leaders would help convince the reluctant army.

Ingrid Mattson, the first female president of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), America’s largest Muslim advocacy group, wrote to the Army saying that Shareda’s chaplaincy "would be an asset" to the service.

Maj. Abdul Rasheed Mohammad, who became the Army’s first Muslim chaplain in 1993, is also supportive.

"She doesn’t have to lead men in prayer to be chaplain. That’s the bottom line."

Last September, Hosein became Tufts University’s first female Muslim chaplain. She advises the Muslim Students Association, counsels students and organizes religious and social activities for them.

"She’s so understanding, and she’s helped the community so much," says Tufts senior Danyal Najmi.

"She helped us get our act together."