Photos from Carly Schroeder Instagram

Carly Schroeder, the 28-year-old actress best known for her role in the Disney Channel series “Lizzie McGuire,” is taking a route that few in Hollywood have attempted: joining the military.

Schroeder appeared on TMZ Live on Wednesday to discuss her decision, sharing that she’s already been accepted into Officer Candidate School and has begun training.

I’ve been considering it for a while, and it is a big choice, but thankfully my parents and my little brother were very supportive of me,” Schroeder said, sharing that her father was a Green Beret and her brother is a Marine. “(My father) said, think about it, talk to every branch and pick which one is best for you. I picked the Army.”

“Going into the military gives me an opportunity to better advocate for this (armed services) family I’m going to be a part of and it gives my voice more validity. I also learned in college about human trafficking, and I think going into the military will actually teach me skills that can help me help others who have been affected by this.”

She added that she hoped to eventually go into intelligence, which is involved in fighting trafficking.

Schroeder has preemptively trained for her new career, albeit in the civilian sector, and hopes that the combination of paramilitary training and military experience will one day help her fight human trafficking.

“I’ve been through a TNVC (The Night Vision Company) night fighter course, I did CQB combat, I’ve done precision long range rifle, which is like- what you would see…the sniper rifles,” she said. “I’ve done Telluric Group classes, I’ve worked with Green Line Tactical. I just took one last weekend.”

While Schroeder doesn’t get to pick what MOS she will go into until a certain point in Officer Candidate School, she has expressed interest in military intelligence, where she will likely use almost none of the skills she has learned in the rather pricey tactical classes she’s taken.

Schroeder has been documenting her training on Instagram, most recently sharing footage from a target practice session.

Best known for playing Melina Bianco alongside Hilary Duff on “Lizzie McGuire” Schroeder has also appeared on shows such as “General Hospital” and “Law & Order: SVU.”

Popular Military contributed to this report

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