U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is leaving the presidential campaign trail for two weeks to fulfill her annual service commitment to the National Guard with a tour in Indonesia. Gabbard, a major in the Hawaii Army National Guard, will resume her campaign activities Aug. 25.

“I love our country. I am grateful to be able to serve our country and the American people in many ways, including as a soldier,” Gabbard said in a news release. “And so, while some people are telling me, ‘Gosh, this is a terrible time to leave the campaign. Can’t you find a way out of it?’ That’s not what this is about. I look forward to joining my fellow soldiers for a joint-training exercise with the Indonesian military, focused on counterterrorism and disaster response.”

Gabbard, D-Hawaii, has served in the Army National Guard for 16 years and deployed twice to the Middle East — in Iraq from 2004-2006 and Kuwait from 2008-2009, according to her campaign.

She touts herself as the first female combat veteran to run for the presidency. She is also among the first female combat veterans elected to Congress, along with U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, a graduate of McKinley High School who attended the University of Hawaii at Manoa.