Tulsi Gabbard, the newly appointed national intelligence director, recently shared the heartfelt reason why she chooses not to color the gray streak in her hair.

Having joined the Hawaii Army National Guard in 2003, Gabbard served in Iraq and Kuwait before rising through the ranks to achieve the position of lieutenant colonel. She was later deployed to the Horn of Africa.

During her first deployment to Iraq in 2004, she began to notice she was developing the small patch of gray hair toward the front of her face.

Despite facing criticism from online bullies who likened her gray streak to that of Cruella De Vil and suggested she should dye it, Gabbard has embraced the stark contrast between the gray and her long, dark locks as a key element of her distinctive and glamorous appearance.

‘I’ve chosen to keep it as a daily reminder of the terrible cost of war, who pays the price of war, and the importance of peace,’ she said in 2019.

That same year, reporter Brian Schactman likened the gray streak to a character from ‘Poltergeist’, asking if it were similar to a birthmark.

‘It’s not a birthmark,’ she said. ‘My generation would say it’s more like Rogue from X Men than Poltergeist.’ 

Gabbard responded to cruel trolls who asked whether she was going to ‘fix’ the streak by noting there is nothing that needs to be ‘fixed.’

‘I don’t know what you mean by “fix,”‘ she said.

The stark contrast of the grey against her shock of long, dark hair has become part of her signature glamorous look

During her first deployment to Iraq in 2004, she began to notice she was developing the small patch of gray hair toward the front of her face

Newly appointed national intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard has revealed the touching reason she’s never considered coloring the gray streak in her hair

‘If you mean dye, no, I’m not going to dye it… I’m not going to fix that gray strand.’

Others have compared her to Disney villain Cruella de Vil. 

Gabbard’s defiant response to critics has sparked praise online, with women pointing out there is no shame in developing gray hairs.

‘It adds character, beauty and a sense of realism to your personality. Not faking it for superficial surface likeability,’ one supporter wrote.

‘I was just made aware that the white streak in [Tulsi Gabbard’s] hair is from the stress of combat. She wears it like a hero. God Bless you madam. I look forward to the day you become our first female President,’ another added.

Gabbard was sworn in as President Donald Trump’s director of national intelligence on Wednesday.

She was considered an unconventional pick to oversee and coordinate the country’s 18 intelligence agencies, given her past comments sympathetic to Russia, a meeting she held with now-deposed Syrian President Bashar Assad and her previous support for government leaker Edward Snowden.

The military veteran and former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii was confirmed on Wednesday by a 52-48 vote.

Gabbard was sworn in as President Donald Trump’s director of national intelligence on Wednesday

She was considered an unconventional pick to oversee and coordinate the country’s 18 intelligence agencies, given her past comments sympathetic to Russia, a meeting she held with now-deposed Syrian President Bashar Assad and her previous support for government leaker Edward Snowden

Trump called her a ‘courageous and often lonely voice’ and urged her to ‘just stay the way you are’

The Senate’s slim Republican majority was able to stave off Democratic opposition, with the only ‘No’ from Republicans coming from Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell.

Gabbard promised to work to ‘refocus’ the intelligence community in line with Trump’s vision.

‘Unfortunately, the American people have very little trust in the intelligence community, largely because they’ve seen the weaponization and politicization of an entity that is supposed to be purely focused on ensuring our national security,’ she said.

At Gabbard’s swearing-in ceremony Trump called her a ‘courageous and often lonely voice’ and urged her to ‘just stay the way you are.’

‘She’ll be clear-eyed and she’ll be focused on the threat of radical Islamic terrorism and lots of other threats too, threats from within,’ Trump said.