Army allowing beards and more for off duty soldiers now

AROTC-dad said:
The three young men who saved the day on the Paris 15:17 train were not all clean shaven while on vacation (two of them were military).

I don't think they look like bums.

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Not to sidetrack. I was thinking of these exact guys during the Military Parade discussion.

These and countless other E's are what I think of when I think about the US Military. It's what I want the rest of the world to think of.
 
On this broader topic, consider SMA Chandler compared to SMA Dailey. SMA Dailey is enormously popular among the troops for relaxing certain tattoo and uniform requirements, among many other things. Even something as simple as letting Soldiers wear headphones in the gym when in uniform can make an impact on the ranks.
While it's true that it's not required to be liked as a leader, the amount of respect troops have for leadership often directly correlates to their effectiveness. If Soldiers think that you are willing to take their concerns into account and demonstrate that you care how they feel, you can have a greater impact on the organization.
Something so simple as allowing troops not to shave on weekends, and wear hats indoors in civilian clothing, can have a surprisingly noticeable impact on the morale of the formation. The benefits to these changes can be exponentially out of proportion to any perceived downsides.
 
Well, it is true that not all men can shave daily without discomfort. My husband is one of those. He began shaving at 12 and towards the latter part of high school, he began growing a beard to prevent the discomfort. The fact that he looked great in a beard was a nice bonus. :)
And yes, I did know him then and I remember the bleeding he used to deal with before giving up shaving.
 
WheeledMech said:
SMA Dailey is enormously popular among the troops for relaxing certain tattoo and uniform requirements, among many other things.
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WheeledMech said:
While it's true that it's not required to be liked as a leader, the amount of respect troops have for leadership often directly correlates to their effectiveness.
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I disagree entirely. Leadership is not and never has been a popularity contest. Sure, it’s great to be liked by your men, but there have been many leaders in the past who have been disliked by their men and yet still made great leaders. It’s the same reason officers and EM’s are not supposed to become overly social with each other outside of work, if they did, mission effectiveness would be hampered. It is possible to have the respect of your men without being overly popular. The two are not directly correlated.
 
AROTC-dad said:
Tex, the military for years segregated African Americans too. It changed.

For many years we had the draft that ensured all the branches achieved their mission. Now with an all volunteer force the military has made various adjustments to better recruit the best officers and enlisted personnel.

I don't disagree that looking professional and squared away is important, but we should make reasonable adjustments to best attract talent.
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AROTC-dad what does segregation have to do with dress and appearance standards have to do with segregation? You’re comparing apples and oranges. And also what are considered reasonable adjustments? Shall we also allow our servicemen to dye their hair different colors too since that is what today’s “talent” is doing. What about long hair for males or buzz cuts for females? Just changing regulations because it is what “the times” are is short-sighted. It’s amazing how many people join the military knowing full well what the standard is, but then whine and complain about having to maintain said standard once they’re in. It’s almost as if they expect the service to adopt their ideas of what the standards should be.

Honestly sir, I’m not trying to put you down with my comments, I’m just trying give you an idea of what I see happening in the active duty force everyday as a result of these changes.

Also, just a fun fact about the draft, the moratorium on the draft was brought about not because of the desire to create an all volunteer force as many think, but because of the lack of a need for large ground armies to fight future wars where technology had taken the place of people. The government wouldn’t hesitate to bring it back if they thought that the need for massive forces on a physical battlefield was necessary.
 
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Jcleppe said:
What would you have these soldiers do, wear Khakis and a collard shirt when ever off duty.
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Nope, never suggested that at all. But I would have them shave their faces if they didn’t have a medical waiver, ditch the bling for the males, and wear their hats like normal people, which are all extremely reasonable expectations. And if you think those are unreasonable then you might as well do away with dress and appearance regulations all together.
 
Tex232 said:
But I would have them shave their faces if they didn’t have a medical waiver,
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Ok, so enlighten me on how you would enforce this. How are you going to check up on that service member that didn't shave, sitting on his couch on a Sunday afternoon watching a football game, the one that is sitting on a beach 30 miles from base with his hat on backwards and unshaven for two days. Let me know how your going to micro manage the every movement of an off duty service member.

Lets slow down on this slippery slope, I don't think letting the soldiers in Korea do something that is already allowed most everywhere else is going to lead to dying their hair purple, I mean heck, if they don't have to shave off duty lets just let them do anything.

Just so I know...How do "Normal" people wear their hats, explain that to me. You might want to be careful how you answer that.

But what do I know, from all your observations of life on Active Duty you must have a very long service record to draw from, Oh wait.
 
I remember Travis and SF during Zumwalt's Navy. Some of those red beards looked great but it was a shock. Others were good but red was the best. They were all pirates in training.
 
Tex232 said:
Contract and everything else considered, I still don't see the need to punish me for not wanting to commission. It's not as if I'm telling them to let me out without paying them back. They're basically saying they'd rather force me into the AF against my will and have someone that just does an average job at best, than get their money returned to them no questions asked. I'd be wasting my time with the AF and they'd be wasting their time with me.
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You know what, I apologize, I didn't quite know where all this hostility was coming from, now I understand.
 
AF6872 said:
When the Draft ended we were still using vacuum tubes in electronic gear. It wasn't technology that ended the Draft.
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Gee...I was still in high school. This was when we were still throwing rocks.
 
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